A West Virginia University tradition, although delayed by a global pandemic, was held Friday, April 23, as Timmy Eads passed the Mountaineer Mascot rifle to Colson Glover, who will begin his second year in the buckskins with the spring football Gold-Blue game on Saturday, April 24.

The ceremony was a closed event at the Mountainlair, following all current COVID-19 protocols, with guests limited to Eads’ and Glover’s family and friends.

While Eads couldn’t complete his year as the 66th WVU Mountaineer Mascot and Glover’s entire year as the 67th was affected by COVID-19, both men embodied the true spirit of what it means to be a Mountaineer and made the most out of this extraordinarily unprecedented time.

Glover, a junior neuroscience major from Lewisburg, was named the Mountaineer Mascot in March 2020, at the WVU vs. Baylor men’s basketball game.

“While the past year has looked different and has been challenging for everyone, Mountaineer Nation has been resilient and prevailed,” Glover said. “I am honored to have served as the 67th Mountaineer during this trying time and my sincerest hope is that I brought joy to Mountaineers when it was needed the most. I am so grateful for the experiences, connections, and life-long friendships I have made through this journey thus far and I look forward to the many more that lie ahead. Though I will forever cherish the in-person and virtual appearances I’ve made thus far, I am beyond grateful and honored that the Mountaineer Advisory Committee has allowed me to serve our State and University for an additional year as the Mountaineer mascot. I’ve enjoyed every opportunity to don the buckskins over the past year, but nothing will mean more to me than representing Mountaineer Nation to the fullest as the COVID-19 pandemic hopefully comes to a close.”

Eads, a senior public relations major from Buffalo, is finishing his undergraduate degree and will graduate in May. He plans to begin a graduate degree in Integrated Marketing Communications with the Reed College of Media in August.

“The time I spent as the 66th Mountaineer Mascot was the greatest experience of my life,” Eads said. “I’ll forever be thankful for being able to live out my dream of representing the great state of West Virginia and WVU in the buckskins for a year. Each and every event I attended during the year will always hold a special place in my heart, but it’s the people and relationships that really make this role so special. The great people of Mountaineer Nation made a lasting impact on my life, and it is my hope that I was able to do the same for them. It has been great to watch Colson during his first year as the Mountaineer. Although he has been limited to what he can do because of the COVID pandemic, he has absolutely represented WVU and West Virginia amazingly so far. I’m excited to see what all he does in his second year, and I’m hopeful that he will be able to do more typical events as the pandemic slows down. He truly understands what the Mountaineer means to West Virginia, WVU, and all of Mountaineer Nation.”

The ceremony took place with opening remarks from Abbi Yachini, the 2020-2021 Summit of Mountain Honorary followed by remarks from the following former Mountaineer Mascots: Matthew Zervos (1986), Rock Wilson (1991-1993), and Scott Moore (2000-01). Eads spoke about the experience of serving as the 2019 Mountaineer Mascot, followed by Glover who spoke about his experiences this past year and expectations for the year ahead. Closing remarks were given by Ashley Stephens, the 2021-2022 Summit of Mountain Honorary.

The event was sponsored by Mountain Honorary and the WVU Mountaineer Mascot Program.