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Hawk Sports Personality Takes Flight at Mississippi College


MC's new on-field character, Tom A. Hawk, made its debut at Saturday's football battle with Delta State. The Hawk was a hit with fans!

Mississippi College Choctaws sports fans embraced a new Hawk personality and saw school spirit soar higher at Saturday’s MC-Delta State University football game.

Dressed in a cool Blue & Gold costume and proudly wearing No. 99, this Hawk roamed the stands amid the Heritage Bowl battle. Portrayed by a student, the big bird posed for dozens of pictures with Choctaws fans of all ages.

Choctaws was emblazoned on its chest for the hawk’s November 14, 2015 debut at Robinson-Hale Stadium. MC will keep the nickname Choctaws as has been the case since the early 1920s.

Dubbed informally by students as Tom A. Hawk, the on-field personality is designed to rev up fans at MC sporting events throughout the season.

It’s been pushed by members of the Mississippi College Student Government Association for the past year. SGA President Mary McRae of Tishomingo County was delighted to see the Hawk’s initial appearance. She took plenty of photos on her cell phone as a keepsake of its initial performance as thousands of fans looked on at the stadium on the Clinton campus.

“Our hope is that having an on-field personality will promote even more school spirit and increase support for our athletic teams,” McRae said Monday. “Tom will be a great asset for students, families and fans that attend MC sporting events!.”

At one point, the Hawk raced with the blue and gold MC flag on the track after the Choctaws scored a touchdown against the Delta State visitors.

While MC eventually lost a hard fought Gulf South Conference contest 37 to 29, students are happy the hawk is here to stay.

Mary Elizabeth Stringer of Tylertown, president of the Nenamoosha Social Tribe on the Clinton campus, is delighted to welcome the new character into the MC family.

A business major, Mary believes the Hawk will be a nice asset for MC athletic teams for years to come. “Having it interact with the students has been so successful and is a great way to increase the school spirit on campus.”

There are 17 species of hawks in North America. The Magnolia State is home to plenty of hawks. Pro sports teams like the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA use the bird as a mascot to represent the team. Same for the Chicago Blackhawks in the National Hockey League. The Shorter University Hawks of Rome, Georgia in the Gulf South Conference faces MC in football and other sports.

Having the Hawk character on the field with its large gold feet puts Mississippi College teams on a par with universities in the state and nation keeping a fun personality on hand, Stringer noted.

“We still embrace our mascot as the Choctaw,” said Jim Turcotte, vice president for enrollment services and dean of students. “The students requested that we provide an on-field personality to help with school spirit.”

Last year, then SGA-president Chip Wilson of Memphis led student leaders to tackle the topic. The students worked with MC staffers like Jonathan Ambrose and Sharia Brock, who took the lead for the college. Together, they decided on the character they call Tom A. Hawk.

The student wearing the outfit for the first time in November was chosen by the SGA executive council, McRae said. The name of the student is being kept private, officials say.

The MC athletic department will work with MC cheerleaders to hold auditions and select several students to wear the costume. It figures to be too demanding of a job for one student to take on, Turcotte added.

“We are very pleased that our students care about school spirit and that they are so enthusiastic about supporting our college,” says Turcotte, a Clinton resident, MC alumnus and former Choctaws football player. “The Choctaw remains our mascot as always, but this new symbol will add even more to sporting and other public events.”