RMU Recruits Another RoMo

Not just anyone can suit up as RoMo --  grinning, colonial-era mascot.  

"You need the ability to engage with people," said Marty Galosi, assistant athletic director at RMU. "When you put on that costume you've got to have a different personality." 

The university held a round of auditions earlier this month to hire a second actor to don RoMo's signature Colonial guise. Galosi said the university's athletic department decided to recruit a second RoMo after noticing increased demand for the mascot to attend community events. 

"It's not just sporting events," Galosi said. "The number of appearance requests has really increased, whether its grand openings, you name it." 

Galosi said six actors vied for the spot, but a current RMU student, who remains unnamed, landed the role and will begin his tenure as RoMo in January. He and the current actor, whose identity also is hush-hush, will eventually juggle RoMo's busy schedule together. 

The new actor will spend the fall learning the RoMo ropes: Galosi said he may even get to consult with the current RoMo -- an RMU alumnus who has played the part since the mascot's inception in 2006.

RoMo has become a fixture of the RMU sports scene since the university introduced the character five years ago, Galosi asid. 

"Now that we have a mascot it's really opened our eyes to what we were missing out on when we didn't have one," Galosi said. "We just didn't have that presence in the stands." 

The current actor who plays RoMo has a skill set that just might rival many of the athletes he roots for: You can often spot him at games doing cartwheels or skating alongside the university's hockey team. 

"You also have to really exaggerate your movements so that people can see what you're doing from 100 yards away," Galosi said of playing RoMo. "There are classes and stuff to train mascots on how to act. But I don't think we'll get into that."