The mascot whisperer behind Gritty helped Jefferson University reimagine its mascot

When I heard Thomas Jefferson University was going to debut a new version of its mascot, Phil the Ram, my first thought was “Jefferson has a mascot?” and my next was “Why isn’t it just a giant Thomas Jefferson?”

Turns out that like the history of the school itself, it’s complicated. Mutton ever comes easy in Philly.

To help reimagine their ewe-niversity mascot, Jefferson collaborated with mascot whisperer Dave Raymond of Raymond Entertainment, the first person to play the Phillie Phanatic and one of the creators behind Gritty.

“Our job is to go in and make them understand the difference between a mascot, which is a kid in a costume, and a character, which is a living breathing extension of the brand,” Raymond said. “It’s just so cool because I couldn’t tell them what the next Phil the Ram would be when it was done because I didn’t know. I’m learning with them.”

At his unveiling Tuesday during a pep rally for the playoff-bound men’s and women’s Division II basketball teams at the Gallagher Athletic Center on Jefferson’s East Falls campus, Phil the Ram burst through a sheet with his likeness on it to thunderous applause and screams from students (they understood the assignment). Phil was far from sheepish as he shook his hips, flexed his muscles, and hoofed it around the crowd, giving high fives.

Morgan Robinson, a senior point guard on the women’s basketball team, said she liked the new costume.

“Phil’s exciting, it’s great to see him come back,” Robinson said. “He adds to our fan base and gets the cheerleaders and fans excited.”

Phil’s rebirth, which coincides with the university’s bicentennial, was nearly two years in the making, though his history dates back much further, according to university spokesperson Brian Hickey.

In 2017 Jefferson University, which was founded in 1824 as Jefferson Medical College, merged with Philadelphia University, which was founded in 1884 as the Philadelphia Textile School.

Phil the Ram is a legacy holdover from the Textile School, which created him in 1958 after some cheerleaders from an opposing team made fun of the school’s old mascot, the Weavers. The scorekeeper for the Textile’s team, “feeling his shame would never die” suggested a new, more masculine mascot and Phil the Ram was born, Hickey said.

Obviously, men were woolly sensitive back in those days.

When the schools merged, Phil the Ram was co-opted as the mascot for the newly ewenified institution (no mascot duel was necessary, as Jefferson never had one before).

While the old Phil wasn’t terrible, his horns inexplicably curled inside his gaping mouth and the costume had become quite “gnarly,” Hickey said. With some new threads necessary and a bicentennial at hand, the university decided to reimagine Phil.

“We said ‘If we’re going to do it let’s do it right, and if we’re going to do it right let’s get Dave Raymond involved,’” Hickey said.

Raymond came in for a “mascot intervention” to talk about what makes a great mascot, from community outreach to physical conditioning. The most important thing, he stressed, was developing a great backstory for Phil.

All legendary Philly mascots have an origin story — the Phanatic came from the Galápagos Islands and Gritty emerged during construction of the Wells Fargo Center. Phil needed a tale, too.

“The backstory talks about how the character suffered and is rescued,” Raymond said. “Then all of that information goes to our designer who does a handful of sketches.”

Hickey said the university wanted to highlight areas of academics where the school excels in Phil’s origin story. Of course, Jefferson is known as a Center City medical college, but it also has programs at its East Falls campus in fields like fashion and textiles, architecture, and industrial design, where students learn to do things like create prosthetics for humans and animals.

Mixing in the university’s history with some classic Philly-poor-decision-making-in-the-name-of-fun, Phil’s new origin story, as told by Hickey, begins on a snowy day atop Ronson sledding hill in East Falls, a place known as “The Nuts.”

Phil, a scrappy “born-and-bred Philadelphian,” decided to ride his sled down the Nuts standing up and fell and broke one of his horns (no word on what his B.A.C., or baa-alcohol-content, was).

In the aftermath, medical and physical therapy students got Phil back to health, industrial design students made him a new high-tech carbon fiber bionic horn, fashion design students made the horn stylish, and occupational therapy students helped him learn how to use it.

“They came up with this beautiful story,” Raymond said. “It’s been such an evolution of a university that’s scattered across a brand landscape and the mascot’s story reflects some of that confusion.”

Using the story as a template, Raymond worked with designers and builders to create a new costume that gives Phil one shiny, black horn, a tuft of wild blue hair, and a silver goatee. His eyes are wider and friendlier, his gray fur is fuller and fluffier, and his horns no longer terminate in his mouth. I found his new three-pronged nose strange but from some angles, it works well.

A group of six students were trained by Raymond to play Phil, Hickey said, and aside from attending the school’s sports games, they’ll be taking him to fundraisers, student gatherings, and other events.

Susan Aldridge, interim university president, said Phil will be the face of the university.

“Phil makes his grand return at a pep rally for our excellent women’s and men’s basketball teams, and we hope that helps propel them to championship runs. But even when those seasons end, Phil and his bionic horn will still be here championing all the things that make Jefferson unique,” Aldridge said in a statement.

Philly can be a tough town for mascots to make a name for themselves, with big hitters like the Phanatic and Gritty around. But Raymond said Phil doesn’t have to connect with the whole city, but first and foremost, with university students and alumni.

“If Phil were to get a worldwide standing ovation that would be wonderful, hopefully he did something good to get that, but [the university staff] just want to make something they’re proud of, that draws people to Thomas Jefferson University,” Raymond said.

In advance of his return Tuesday, Phil the Ram answered the following questions from me via email:

While I love all mascots (other than the teams who face my beloved Rams), my idol has to be the OG.: Phillie Phanatic. He sets the bar high for all mascots. Go Phils!

Well, my choices are limited at Wawa since I’m a herbivore and all, but the Veggie Egg White Omelet Sandwich on multigrain toast is a good way to start any day. For lunch or dinner? I’ll grab a Roasted Veggie Burrito and Garden Salad with spring mix, spinach, grape tomatoes, cucumber, carrots, red onions, croutons, and a side of balsamic.

It doesn’t matter if it’s sunny, rainy, snowy or cloudy, any day one of the Rams teams wins a game, match, or race is perfect in my eyes.

This is a rather difficult question as I fancy myself as being a pacifist, but if I absolutely had to ram someone or something, it would be my friend Bill since he dared me to go sledding the day I busted my horn. I need to stop listening to him.

I slide my earbuds in, dial up the campus radio station WPHU, and rock out while running around campus before making my way to where I’m needed most.