Roongo Revealed every BU fan’s favorite mascot — Roongo. But inside the furry costume is a Bloomsburg University student who brings the character to life. For the last four years the person who portrayed Roongo was Mike Hall ’11 from Danielsville. Hall, who graduates this spring with a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction, came to Bloomsburg as a swimmer, but an injury forced him out of the pool. He got the itch to be Roongo after seeing the mascot in action at a football game and responding to a posting on BU’s website. IT’S BIG, FURRY AND
Mike ‘Roongo’ Hall ’11, center, is shown with his dad, Gary, and mother, Robin.
Dorsch Recognized for Academics
TIM DORSCH, a senior from Schwenksville, received the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Champion Scholar Award at the men’s swimming championship. The PSAC Champion Scholar Awards program honors the student-athlete with the top grade Swimmer Tim Dorsch is congratulated by Carlin Chesick, PSAC assistant point average who is commissioner competing at the site of each of the PSAC’s 23 team championship finals. Dorsch compiled a 3.90 cumulative grade point average while majoring in secondary education and German. He is the second BU student-athlete to earn the honor this academic year, joining Bryce Shaffer of Gettysburg who was the winner at the men’s soccer championships.
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“I was not scared the first time I was Roongo,” says Hall, who spent summer 2011 as the backup mascot for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees Triple A baseball team. “More than anything, I was apprehensive because I had never done anything like it before or been in front of 5,000 people. Doing both at the same time was slightly unnerving, but about 10 minutes into my first football game it fell right into place.” Over the years Hall, a.k.a. Roongo, appeared at alumni events and Homecoming and fired up the crowd at Huskies sporting events. A hit with both young and old, he’s lost count of the number of times he posed for photos at the University Store, Redman Stadium or walking around campus. “My best memory as Roongo is impossible to choose,” says Hall. “Whether it was watching our field hockey team win their third straight national title at home or our football team win the PSAC East football title by beating Kutztown or going crazy in the stands behind the basket during both men’s and women’s games, I enjoyed so many exciting and wonderful moments as Roongo. I will be able tell stories for the rest of my life. I treasured each and every time I donned the costume.”
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Champs Remembered
MEMBERS OF the 1991-92 women’s basketball team celebrated the 20th anniversary of winning the school’s only Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) women’s basketball championship during halftime of the Huskies vs. West Chester game earlier this year. The 1991-92 team finished with a 22-8 overall record and won the PSAC title with a victory over Edinboro. The team was led by head coach Joe Bressi, Bloomsburg's all-time wins leader with 175. Two team members, Michelle Simons and Kathy Maguire Stoudt, have been inducted into BU’s Athletic Hall of Fame. Team members shown are: Lesley Seitzinger Colegrove ’94, Kathy Maguire Stoudt, Melissa Butterworth ’93, Careen Bulka Caufield ’94, Vicki Eichelberger Souders ’93 and Brenda Ryan Hossler ’94.
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SPRING 2012
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