YoUDee

YoUDee
University	University of Delaware
Conference	CAA
Description	Blue Hen
First seen	1993
Related mascot(s)	Baby Blue, Air YouDee
Hall of Fame	2006

YoUDee (pronounced yoo-dee) is the official mascot of the University of Delaware. YoUDee is an androgynous "fighting Blue Hen" and is named after the state bird of Delaware.

History

According to the University of Delaware, YoUDee's great-great-great-grandfather, Col. George W. YoUDee, distinguished himself in the American Revolutionary War and was cited for bravery in battle. Capt. John Caldwell, commenting after the Battle of Trenton, said, "There's no yellow streak in that chicken. He's blue to the bone." Col. YoUDee was given a gold medal of valor, so blue and yellow-gold now serve as YoUDee's official colors. The men in the company commanded by Captain Jonathan Caldwell actually carried Blue Hens with them into combat in order to hold cockfights in their spare time. It is said that the men under Capt. Caldwell fought so bravely that they were compared to their fighting blue hens.^[1]

Physical appearance

YoUDee is 6 feet, 8 inches, from the soles of his blue and yellow sneakers to the top of his comb. YoUDee's chest is 64 inches. YoUDee also has a wingspan of 6 feet, 1 inch and a tailspan of 5 feet, 6 inches. Careful breeding has produced beautiful plumage of PMS #300c blue feathers, particularly striking in YoUDee's broad, sweeping tail. YoUDee wears Air YoUDees on its feet. YoUDee's stylish size 28FF blue and yellow sneakers help it soar through the air with hangtime measured in minutes. ^[2]

Design

YoUDee was created by Real Characters Inc. (RCI) of Atlanta. Tom Sapp, chairman and creative director, was in charge of design. He also designed a line of YoUDee artwork for apparel and other items, on sale at the University Bookstore and other outlets. Real Character Productions Inc., an affiliate of RCI, handcrafted the three-dimensional mascot using Scott foam, Antron fleece, medical-quality plastics and a variety of special materials. Keith Bailey was the chief designer and led a design team including Chris Heine and Dixie Harris.^[3]

National championships

YoUDee won its first Universal Cheerleaders Association mascot national championship in 2001 and has won seven overall, its latest coming in 2017. YoUDee was inducted into the inaugural class of the Mascot Hall of Fame on August 16, 2006 in a ceremony at Philadelphia's LOVE Park. YoUDee also participated in the Capital One Mascot Challenge in 2012.

Championship Years	YoUDee Performer
2002	Chris Bruce
2009	Bart Piegdon
2011	Chad Mills
2012	Andrew Macleary
2013	Kenny Siebold
2016	Ryan Jones
2017	Justin Williams

Notable alumni

Many past YoUDee performers have portrayed various other mascots in major/minor league sports and entertainment after graduating from the University of Delaware.^[4]

NFL

Ryan Hughes- Swoop (Philadelphia Eagles)

Frank Ventresca- Air Swoop (Philadelphia Eagles)

Brandon Williams- Poe (Baltimore Ravens)

Kevin DiGirolamo- Swoop (Philadelphia Eagles)

Justin Williams- Swoop (Philadelphia Eagles)

MLB

Corey Inganamort- Screech (Washington Nationals)

Ryan Jones- Galapagos Gang (Philadelphia Phillies)

Kenny Siebold- Galapagos Gang (Philadelphia Phillies)

Chad Mills- Galapagos Gang (Philadelphia Phillies)

MiLB

Nico Tennant- Wool E. Bull (Durham Bulls)

Bart Piegdon- Archie (Reno Aces)

NHL

Kevin Giambi- Slapshot (Washington Capitals)

Ryan Jones- Gritty (Philadelphia Flyers)

Justin Williams- Gritty (Philadelphia Flyers)

NBA

Robert Boudwin- Clutch the Bear (Houston Rockets)

Entertainment

Chris Bruce- Reggy the Purple Party Dude (Raymond Entertainment)

Robert Boudwin- Newton the Dragon

References

↑ "YouDee Profile". www.bluehens.com. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
↑ "YouDee Profile". www.bluehens.com. Retrieved 2017-10-10.
↑ "YouDee Profile". www.bluehens.com. Retrieved 2017-10-10.
↑ "Mascot Alumni". www.bluehens.com. Retrieved 2017-10-09.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] "YouDee Profile". www.bluehens.com. Retrieved 2017-10-09.

[2] "YouDee Profile". www.bluehens.com. Retrieved 2017-10-10.

[3] "YouDee Profile". www.bluehens.com. Retrieved 2017-10-10.

[4] "Mascot Alumni". www.bluehens.com. Retrieved 2017-10-09.

University of Delaware
Colleges	Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics College of Arts and Sciences College of Agriculture and Natural Resources College of Engineering College of Health Sciences College of Education and Public Policy College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment
Athletics	Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens Football Baseball Men's basketball Women's basketball Men's Lacrosse Men's Soccer Frazer Field Fred Rust Ice Arena Bob Carpenter Center "Delaware Fight Song" Delaware Stadium Bob Hannah Stadium YoUDee Colonial Athletic Association
Campus	Main campus Newark Satellite campuses Dover Georgetown Lewes Wilmington Botanic Gardens Delaware Biotechnology Institute Disaster Research Center Energy Institute Images University Museums at the University of Delaware
People	Alumni Faculty Police
Student life	Deer Park Tavern Emergency Care Unit Figure Skating Club Greek life WVUD
Other	RV Hugh R. Sharp University of Delaware Press

Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens men's basketball
Venues	Delaware Field House (1966–1992) Bob Carpenter Center (1992–present)
Culture & lore	YoUDee
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19

Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football
Venues	Frazer Field (1913–1940) Wilmington Park (1940–1952) Delaware Stadium (1952–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Battle of the Blue (Villanova) James Madison Route 1 Rivalry (Delaware State) West Chester William & Mary
Culture & lore	YoUDee "The Delaware Fight Song" University of Delaware Marching Band Winged football helmet
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
National championship seasons in bold