CU students have performed as varying versions of Chip, CU Boulder’s character buffalo mascot, since the 1980s.
Aside from crowd-enchanting duties at CU athletic events, Chip has snowboarded the slopes of Winter Park, danced in a NASA spacesuit and conducted an orchestra in Macky Auditorium. Once, Chip breathed fire while wearing a dragon costume.
Up to six students split character duties to cover Chip’s athletic, campus and community appearances — which can total as many as 400 events a year. The commitment is worth it.
“It was one of the highlights of my life,” said Robb Moody (Jour’95), who performed in this mid-90s era Chip costume from 1993 to 1995.
Chip Facts:
- Each semester, several students share mascot duties. Their real identities remain a secret.
- Students who wore this costume cleaned it themselves, said former Chip Robb Moody (Jour’95). Sometimes the bathtub would do.
- In 2009 and 2010, Chip won first place back to back at the Universal Cheerleaders Association’s Mascot National Championship. In January 2020, he won again.
- This Chip was retired around 1997.
- Cameron Forth (CivEngr’97) donated this 90s-era costume to the CU Heritage Center this fall.
Photo by Mona Lambrecht, CU Heritage Center
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