Photos courtesy of UTPB.
UTPB introduces new mascot at 50th anniversary kick-off rally
The University of Texas Permian Basin kicked off of its 50th anniversary celebrations with a pep rally Monday that featured lively performances and introductions to its newest mascot, Fiona Falcon, and its newest school color, blue.
At the pep rally, Midland Mayor Lori Blong and Odessa City Councilman Mark Matta read proclamations from their cities.
Both Odessa and Midland also desigated Oct. 23, 2023 as “UTPB Day” in their cities.
“It was a grand and exciting celebration filled with music and excitement from the UTPB band, cheerleaders, and others,” Odessa city officials said.
UTPB introduced new mascot Fiona Falcon as the lifelong best friend of Freddy Falcon, who will remain in his current role. Also, the university announced it is adding the color blue as an accent color, “but (of course) we are still keeping orange, white and black as our primary colors.”
There’s a story behind the additions of Fiona Falcon and the color blue.
See, Freddy Falcon has been loving the limelight at UTPB, liberally distributing high-fives and free hugs and performing with all his might alongside the cheer and dance teams. But it is lonely on top, so Freddy asked if his childhood best friend, Fiona, could come share the limelight.
“After all, the campus is growing and that means we have more fans,” university officials pointed out. “Realistically, Freddy knew he couldn’t be the only one hyping the crowds at games.”
Fiona agreed to join the team but only if she could have the color blue on her uniform, which compliments her eyes, according to UTPB. Freddy brought concerns about the color addition to UTPB’s president, who decided “after months of hard conversations” to add blue as an accent to university colors.
“Freddy gave Fiona the good news, so she tightened her bow and dusted off her pom poms and flew to West Texas (literally),” officials stated.
UTPB 50th anniversary events are planned throughout the year. To stay updated on all UTPB events and stories, visit utpb.edu/50.
Find this story in audio for blind and low-vision adults 2 pm daily on The Recording Library of West Texas radio station www.recordinglibrary.org live stream.
