Ralphie VII is ready to roll.
On Friday, the University of Colorado announced that the school’s newest live mascot will make her debut on Saturday, when the Buffaloes host Wyoming at Folsom Field (8:15 p.m., ESPN).
Ralphie VII replaces Ralphie VI, who officially retired last month. CU did not have a buffalo run at the first two home games, but Ralphie VII is scheduled to make her first run on Saturday.
This will be the 381st game in which CU has had a live buffalo run since the Ralphie program debuted in 1967.
“Ralphie’s run is iconic and our fans, students, faculty, staff, and alumni take an incredible amount of pride in this tradition which transcends sports,” Taylor Stratton, director of the Ralphie Live Mascot Program, said in a press release. “We’re excited to be adding a new Ralphie to the lineage of incredible buffalo that have represented the University of Colorado and have elevated the fans’ passion for our student-athletes.”
Ralphie VII is a one-year-old American Bison who currently weighs 700 pounds. She was a gift to CU from the Beauprez Family, multigenerational University of Colorado alumni and owners of Eagle’s Wing Ranch outside of Steamboat Springs.
Although Ralphie VII is a bit younger than Ralphie VI at her debut, she is bigger. Ralphie VI weighed less than 500 pounds at her debut and is currently around 800 pounds.
Ralphie VI had, by far, the shortest tenure of any of CU’s live mascots, running at just 25 games in four seasons. Ralphie VI, nicknamed “Ember,” retired due to an “indifference to running.” She often had a slow trot or walk, including at the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 29 in San Antonio, prompting CU to find a replacement.
According to CU, Ralphie VII is “definitely not indifferent to running,” and has shown a good deal of speed during training.
Per tradition, Ralphie VII will receive her nickname by the handlers after her first run.
Since the program officially debuted in 1967, the six Ralphies have combined to run at 380 games, including 25 bowl games. Ralphie I ran 78 times from 1967-78, followed by Ralphie II (53, 1978-87); Ralphie III (73, 1987-97); Ralphie IV (75, 1998-2008); Ralphie V (76, 2008-19); and Ralphie VI (25, 2020-24).
Fans are encouraged to get to their seats by 8 p.m. on Saturday to make sure they don’t miss Ralphie’s inaugural run.
The Ralphie Live Mascot program subsists almost exclusively on donations. To give to the program, which supports food and care for Ralphie VII, as well as Ralphie V and Ralphie VI, visit CUBuffs.com/sports/ralphie.