HokieBird

Gobblers

Virginia Tech athletic teams were called the Fighting Gobblers from the early 20th century until the Hokies nickname was adopted. According to university relations, the name originated in 1909 when football coach Branch Bocock initiated players into the 'Gobbler Club', a name that appeared in print that year. Another legend traces the term to the university's time as Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College, a military school where cadets were forbidden to look at their plates while eating; doing so was called 'gobbling' and was punishable. Athletes received larger portions and were allowed to gobble their meals, leading to the nickname. The 1909 football team was the first called the Gobblers in print, and it became official in 1912. By 1913, local resident Floyd Meade trained a live turkey to perform stunts before games, and live turkeys remained on sidelines into the 1950s.

Fighting Gobblers

The first permanent costumed Gobbler debuted in fall 1962, created by civil engineering student Mercer MacPherson with $200. The costume had a head resembling a cardinal and real turkey feathers dyed in school colors, first appearing at the annual Thanksgiving Day football game between VPI and VMI. In 1971 the costume was modified with a long neck, making it over 7 feet tall, and the name changed to the Fighting Gobbler.

HokieBird

Football coach and athletic director Bill Dooley led a campaign for a new mascot look and name, debuting at the 1981 game against Wake Forest. The turkey-like figure was called 'the Hokie mascot', 'the Hokie', and 'the Hokie bird', derived from the 'Old Hokie' cheer, leading to the official mascot designation of Hokies. The current costume first appeared in 1987 when Frank Beamer returned as coach, arriving at the home opener against Clemson in a white limousine.

HokieBird Curtis Dvorak (1995–96) won the National Cheerleading Association championship in 1996 and has appeared as Jaxson de Ville, mascot of the Jacksonville Jaguars since 1996. Todd Maroldo, Hokiebird in 1996–1997, won the National Cheerleading Association championship in 1997 and became the Carolina Panthers mascot, Sir Purr. The HokieBird also appeared on Animal Planet's 'Turkey Secrets'. The number of students serving as HokieBirds each year and the try-out process remain secret.

Traditions

Before football games, the HokieBird leads the charge onto the field as students jump to Metallica's 'Enter Sandman'. After scores, cheerleaders bring out a bench and weights for the HokieBird to perform one bench press per point scored, or sometimes situps or pushups. The HokieBird has crowd surfed from the bottom of the Corps of Cadets section to the top. At graduation, students who portrayed the HokieBird wear giant orange bird feet; in theory, their identities remain unknown until then.