Meet ‘Baby Hooter,’ one of five people who portray Temple’s mascot

FORT WORTH, Texas — Even before she set foot on North Broad, Chloe Getz knew she wanted to contribute in some way. Growing up, she watched Temple football and men’s basketball. She fell in love with the Owls.

Now she is one of the Owls — literally.

Getz, who’s from Jim Thorpe, Pa., is among the five people who play Hooter, the Owls’ mascot. She’s one of two women currently wearing the suit, along with graduate student Devon Duffy, and has been in her role for 3½ years. At the end of her freshman year, she answered an Instagram casting call and was one of four people selected out of 12 candidates. They’re members of the spirit squad and bounce from team to team as the physical embodiment of Temple’s Owl.

“I think people fail to realize that it’s an opportunity, let alone what could happen within it,” said Getz, who’s been a fan since age 7 and called Temple her “dream school.” “I know at least with our team here at Temple, we’ve really grown what Hooter was. I know that Hooter was known before this, but not nearly as much as he is now. There’s a lot of work that comes into it; there’s a lot of physical work that comes with it, and there’s a lot of mental work that comes with it.”

Aside from the time commitment — Getz once spent seven hours in costume during homecoming — “you kill a lot of calories” in the suit, she said.

So how do you train for that?

“Honestly, I don’t do any cardio before going into the suit,” she said. “It really does take a lot of stamina. The best way of getting used to it is just to keep doing it.”

She added that doing smaller events and simply walking around campus as Hooter helped her adjust to the suit. Her twin brother, Anthony, who’s also a Temple student and produces graphics for several collegiate and professional teams, is a positive influence, as well.

There’s research involved, too, about opponents and the Temple community. During Temple men’s basketball’s American Athletic Conference tournament semifinal against Florida Atlantic, Getz was spotted with a sign highlighting that Temple was the first school in the country with an owl mascot — the school adopted the nocturnal bird in the 1880s as a nod to its beginnings as a night school. Along with Florida Atlantic, Rice also features an owl mascot

“There’s a lot of preparation … and of course there’s a lot of joys out of it, too, because we have a lot of kids that really love who we are and what we represent,” she said.

Known as “Baby Hooter,” the 5-foot-3 Getz has seen many ups and downs from inside the suit. This season, the women’s basketball team tied for first atop the regular-season standings before reaching the AAC tournament semifinals, while the men’s team finished 11th in the AAC but made an improbable run to the final. Serving as the face of the Owls during that run meant “the world” to her.

“It’s so great to see because I’ve seen all of the hard work they’ve put in at practice, in the classroom, and also just as an overall team,” said Getz, who previously served as a men’s basketball team manager. “So it’s really special for me to be able to represent them, not only as a friend, a fellow student, but also as their mascot. It means so much to me.”

» READ MORE: Temple nearly authored a Philly college hoops tale for the ages, one with many layers

Through her role as Hooter, Getz has gotten to know other mascots and schools throughout the country, including other women.

“There’s a whole bunch of [women] in the community of mascots,” Getz said. “There’s a lot of us that chitchat and talk about our struggles and the fun parts about it. But there’s actually more than people think.”

Getz and the others who play Hooter know of The Inquirer’s Mascot Bracket, and she said a victory would mean a lot. Hooter is among 16 finalists in the bracket, and the winner will win a $1,000 donation to their school.

“There’s such well-known mascots here in the city, and why not have the one true city school mascot be one of them?” she said.

» READ MORE: What is the best amateur sports mascot in the Philly area? Make your picks in our bracket.

Getz, who also works for Temple’s athletics compliance department and as a tour guide, wants to continue with a career in college athletics after she graduates in May, just not as a mascot — though she said her time as Hooter has been among the most “rewarding” things she’s ever done.

“There’s a lot of tears, a lot of laughs, a lot of smiles,” she said. “It’s been the driving force for a lot of things that I’ve done. … To work in college athletics, it’s really has meant the world to me, and it’s really changed my life for the better.”