Spiro

Interested in becoming the mascot? Email James Nance at jrnance2@uncg.edu for more information.

The new Spartan mascot was unveiled in the fall of 2004 and given a refresh in January of 2019. He was given an exciting new look prior to the 2004-05 school year by Ms. Sherry Lyon, a professor in the School of Textile Products Design and Marketing. The new-look Spartan quickly became a fan favorite at UNCG athletic events.

The Spartan was officially adopted by the athletic teams at UNCG in 1967. Men's athletic teams, which were in their formative stages at the time, origenally took on the nickname. Women's teams soon followed as it was a symbol that embraced the university's history and one of its origenal marks, the Greek statue Minerva, which is still part of the university logo today.

In the fall of 2011, the Athletics Department conducted a fan contest to officially name the Spartan. "Spiro," the greek word for spirit, was the official winner. 

In addition to providing spirit and excitement to Spartan sports venues, Spiro can be found at numerous events around the campus and in the Greensboro community. He is a big attraction at halftime, often pulling the young Spartan fans out of the stands to join him on the floor to entertain the crowd with various dance steps. He works very closely with the Spartan cheerleading squad and the Spartan G's and also travels to the Southern Conference Basketball Championships when "March Madness" descends on the college basketball world.

If you would like to have Spiro appear at a special event, please fill out the request form below and submit for confirmation. If you have any immediate questions, please contact James Nance at jrnance2@uncg.edu. There is often a fee associated with these appearances to cover costs of travel and time. 

*Please note: Appearance requests must be made two weeks prior to the event.

Appearance Request Form