North Catholic graduate serves as Dayton mascot during NCAA Tournament
DAYTON, Ohio — North Catholic graduate Colin Cantella has a bit of an alias these days.
Rudy Flyer.
That’s the name of the University of Dayton’s mascot and Cantella, a senior at Dayton, was the man inside the costume during the men’s basketball team’s NCAA Tournament games this season.
“Being the mascot here is something I’ve always wanted to do,” said Cantella, a Cranberry Township resident. “When the opportunity presented itself, I jumped on it.”
Cantella is one of 13 men on Dayton’s coed cheerleading team. A marketing and sales major with a minor in visual arts, he’s been a member of the cheerleading squad since he saw a flyer posted at school about tryouts.
“I played basketball all my life, including for North Catholic,” he said. “I knew I wasn’t good enough to play for the Dayton team, but I was looking for a way to stay around basketball and keep myself active.
“The cheerleading thing sounded perfect, so I went for it.”
Upon making the team, Cantella recognized the time commitment cheerleading took. The unit cheers at every Dayton home football, men’s and women’s basketball game, along with practicing twice a week and seeing the athletic program’s strength and conditioning coach twice a week.
While staying in shape, Cantella yearned to don the Rudy Flyer costume.
“When I was in eighth grade, I was the mascot for our youth football games,” he said. “Those little kids loved it. Just seeing the smiles on their faces was enough motivation for me.
“I’ve wanted to be a mascot again ever since. During the (Dayton) regular season, my time is tied up in cheering at our home games, and someone else wears the mascot outfit. But for the Atlantic 10 (conference) tournament and March Madness, they wanted one of us (cheerleaders) to do it. I guess everybody noticed how badly I wanted this.”
Because Dayton’s male cheerleaders are heavily involved in stunts, the transition to mascot was fairly easy for Cantella.
“There’s only so much you can do inside that costume,” he said, laughing. “But the mascot’s job was to hype up the crowd, and I did that. You can do a lot of goofy things, and I totally got into character.
“I did a bunch of jumping jacks, went into the stands and interacted with people. I was amazed by how many people wanted their picture taken with Rudy Flyer. I was part of more than 150 photos, I’m sure.”
It wasn’t just Dayton fans or small children that enjoyed being around Rudy Flyer. Cantella said fans from Duquesne, Arizona, Utah and Nevada were also intrigued by the character.
“I felt like a celebrity in that costume,” Cantella said.
For him, it all came back to the kids. The job description of being a Dayton cheerleader includes serving as an ambassador for the university and generating enthusiasm for the athletic programs.
Rudy the Flyer does all of that — especially where children are concerned.
“I had such a good time entertaining them,” Cantella said.
He added that his biggest moment as Rudy Flyer was participating in a “dance contest” with other mascots during March Madness.
The contest was not officially scored or anything, but Cantella didn’t care.
“I got into it, busted a few moves, even did the worm,” he said. “If that had been scored, I know I would have won it.”
Cantella has one more year left of eligibility as a Dayton cheerleader — including the possibility of donning the Rudy Flyer costume again.
“I hope I get the chance,” he said. “If not, I’m glad I had the chance.”
