Rountree posing in his Augusta University polo, featuring an embroidered drawing of their mascot “Augustus” over his heart.
“YOU KNOW WHAT YOU look like you’d be good at?” This was the simple question that would shape an entire undergraduate experience for Alex Rountree, Gamma Psi (Augusta). His look of confusion at the seemingly random ask was met with Augusta University intermural sports coordinator Bryan Waller’s reply, “Being a mascot.” Rountree was tabling for Pi Kappa Phi in the student center when his personality and stature (both perfect for the jaguar costume) caught Waller’s eye. After his immediate confusion faded, Rountree had just three stipulations regarding accepting the role, saying, “The costume can’t stink, I can’t sweat too much and it has to be a paid position.” Seeing as Waller was able to clean the jaguar costume and offer pay, he decided he could compromise on the temperature aspect. As he took on the mascot role, Rountree had the unique opportunity to create a personality for Augustus. Augustus had been introduced to the campus just a few years earlier when the prior mascot, Al E. Cat, was retired. With a nearly clean slate, the same contagious energy and joy that originally made Rountree stand out to Coach Waller is the personality he brought to Augustus that will now be carried on by everyone who follows in his jaguar-sized footsteps, a legacy that will outlast his time as a student. While other students on Augusta University’s campus attended sporting events and campus activities, Rountree was nowhere to be found. Or so it seemed. Those closest to him might have caught on eventually, with his hectic schedule and his massive gym bag, but to the rest of the student body, his double life remained a secret. While they might not have known him when he stepped into the locker room, he was all too familiar to Jag Nation when he made his grand entrance as Augustus the Jaguar.
16 STAR&LAMP
FALL 2023
