Athletic Identity and Mascot

Nickname: the Drovers · Colors: maroon and slate · Adopted 1963, by vote of the student body

Identity

A drover drives livestock to market on foot. The nickname was adopted in reference to the stock routes that ran through Tolliver Township to the Massillon rail head in the nineteenth century, and to the College’s founding programs in agriculture and the trades.

The wordmark and secondary marks are available from the Office of Marketing and Communications, Room A-206, ext. 2280. Use by outside organizations requires written permission from the Office of Marketing and Communications. The College’s marks may not be used in connection with any product, service, political campaign, or position, and may not be modified, recolored, or combined with other marks.

The mascot

Chester, a steer.

Chester has represented the College since 2003. The costumed character appears at home athletic contests, at Drover Day, at commencement, at Career Exploration Days, and at community events by request.

Chester is a steer and the College’s nickname is the Drovers. The Office of Marketing and Communications receives this question with some regularity and confirms that the two are not intended to correspond. The Drover Club’s minutes of March 2003 record that a steer suit was available at a lower cost than the alternative under consideration and could be fitted to a wider range of student performers.

Prior mascot

Tolliver, a sheep, served from 1974 to 2002. The Tolliver head is displayed in the trophy case outside Drover Court.

Suit and maintenance

The current suit was constructed in 2019, replacing the 2003 original. It is an instructional asset of the Division of Fiber, Textile and Personal Appearance and is maintained by students in TEX 160 (Costumed Character Suit Operation) under faculty supervision. Repair, cleaning, and condition reporting are performed as coursework. The condition log is retained under the College’s records retention schedule.

The 2003 suit is retained for instructional use only and does not appear in public.

Performers

Chester is performed by students enrolled in or having completed TEX 160. Performers are selected each August by the program faculty in consultation with the Director of Athletics. Performers receive the athletic participation fee waiver and are scheduled through the Athletics office.

The identity of the performer on any given date is not published.

Mascot appearance policy

Adopted 2004 · Last revised 2021 · Responsible office: Athletics, in consultation with the Division of Fiber, Textile and Personal Appearance

1. Chester does not speak. The character communicates by gesture. Performers may not speak while in costume, in or out of view of the public, except to a handler in circumstances involving performer safety.
2. The head is not removed in public. Performers enter and exit costume in a designated closed space. At the Corliss Pike campus this is Room D-104. At away and community events, the requesting organization must provide an equivalent space; an appearance will not proceed without one.
3. A handler is required at every appearance. The handler is responsible for sightlines, crowd management, hydration, and calling the appearance. Handlers are trained in TEX 160.
4. Appearances are limited to 20 minutes, with a minimum 20-minute recovery interval between segments, reduced to 15 minutes of costume time when the heat index at the venue exceeds 85°F. Above a heat index of 95°F, outdoor appearances are cancelled. The handler makes this determination and it is not subject to appeal by the requesting organization.
5. Performers complete an annual heat tolerance screening through Student Health Services before the first appearance of the year.
6. Photographs of a performer partially costumed are not permitted and may not be published. This applies to College photographers. See also Policy 2.40.
7. Chester does not appear in connection with political activity, religious observance, commercial endorsement, alcohol service, fundraising by outside organizations, or any event at which the College’s marks would appear alongside those of a competing institution without agreement.
8. Chester does not appear at funerals, notwithstanding requests received. The Division of Funerary and Interment Services is consulted on any request that may implicate this provision and its determination is final.
9. Chester does not attend the Student Applied Projects Exhibition, at the request of the Office of Applied Studies.

Violations of this policy are referred to the Director of Athletics. Repeated violation is grounds for removal from the performer roster.

Requesting an appearance

Community organizations, schools, and College departments may request an appearance through the Department of Athletics, ext. 2200. Requests must be received 21 days in advance. There is no charge for appearances within Tolliver County; appearances beyond the county are charged mileage at the federal rate plus a $60 handler stipend.

The request form asks for: date, time, venue, indoor or outdoor, expected attendance, expected ages, the changing space to be provided, the name of the on-site contact, and whether food will be served. The College declines approximately one-third of requests, most commonly for lack of an adequate changing space or for scheduling.

The College does not guarantee an appearance until a handler has been assigned.