Any University of Maine student will recognize the school’s mascot: Bananas T. Bear. Dressed in his traditional Maine jersey and hat, he is one of the most recognizable figures on campus. What many do not know is the extensive history behind our 101-year-old mascot. While he is no longer a live bear, Bananas continues to bring excitement and fun to any UMaine events that requires his services.

Maine’s mascot was not originally a black bear, but an elephant that was borrowed from a local clothing store in Bangor from 1903 until 1914. During the fall of 1914, Maine’s football team was struggling, and a local resident donated a live bear cub to the University to bring good luck to the team. When the cub, at that time named Jeff, was brought out onto the field, the crowd was said to have “gone bananas,” and the name Bananas has stuck ever since.

Maine had a live mascot until 1966, when a law passed by the state prohibited the use of live mascots. The Alpha Phi Omega fraternity then took up the task of being the “human Bananas.” Now known as the Alpha Delta fraternity, they still provide the mascot services to the University and the surrounding community.

“The first bear [suit] was made by Robert Smullin,” Alpha Delta President Peter Sprague said. “We created the first suit with the help of Gamma Sigma Sigma. We had that suit for at least 10 years or so and then we started making new suits. Since then, we have had six different suits.”

All of the old Bananas suits can be seen in the Spirit Room, a room in the Memorial Union that holds all of the old Bananas suits.

“We were the ones who gave the university the timeline because stuff was getting lost and misplaced through the years. Luckily we have members who are well versed in our history that established a timeline for them and to keep it accurate,” Sprague said.

All of the brothers of Alpha Delta have been Bananas at some point in their collegiate career. In his history, human Bananas has been portrayed by between 800-900 different brothers according to Sprague.

“[The brothers] are encouraged to be Bananas at least once, even if they never do it again, it’s an experience to have,” Andrew Snyder, the Bananas Chairman of Alpha Delta, said.

Those lucky few that are allowed to don the three piece back bear costume have plenty to do. Bananas is always in attendance at every men’s and women’s hockey game, men’s and women’s basketball games, baseball, softball and then any other university event that should need a mascot. The schedule is an all year affair, as there are even up to 30 summer events that Bananas attends, like parades, town days and orientation weekends.

Bananas’s schedule is mostly organized by Snyder, operated on a weekly basis.

“The busiest week we’ve had was at least 12 events,” Snyder said on Bananas’s schedule. All of the scheduling aside, Bananas does get to go to some interesting places.

In 2012, Bananas attended and participated in a cheerleading competition with the UMaine cheerleaders. Aside from all of the sports venues on campus, Bananas has made trips to Fenway Park to play in the mascot hockey game following Frozen Fenway.

“We go to mascot games down in Boston. Anywhere you see a lot of mascots, Bananas will be there,” Sprague said on the Mascot Games, “Usually Bananas plays goalie for the mascot hockey game because our head is so large that doing a lot of skating is difficult.”

There are only three brothers who can be skating Bananas according to Snyder, but the good news for those brothers is that they can be Bananas in a cool environment. The suit was not built with ventilation in mind, and it can get uncomfortable for the wearer.

“Very hot. Very sweaty,” Snyder said on being inside the Bananas suit. “Every once and a while, when your walking, you’ll have drops of sweat that run down your forehead and you’ll have to tilt your head to make sure that it doesn’t get into your eyes. It’s miserable if that happens, you can’t see anything.”

In coordination with the University of Maine’s 150th anniversary, there are big plans for Bananas.

“For the 150th anniversary we’re unveiling a new suit in the Fall,” Sprague said.

This unveiling will be the first since 2004, when the current Bananas mascot suit was introduced at a UMaine football game. There will also be a grand opening of the Spirit Room in the Union, along with a new publication of “History of the Maine Bear,” a publication describing the history of Bananas and his role at the university through the years.

Despite the changes in appearance, Bananas will continue to attend events at the University of Maine for years to come.