The lovely Langston lion mascot has been missing for years. In fact, he’s been gone so long, there is no confirmed year he went missing. Last semester, alumni were asked what happened to the Langston mascot. This led to alumni talking about the mascot on the National Langston Alumni Association Facebook group. This year, the Langston cheerleading team is planing to bring him back. There will be tryouts held on April 18th and 19th. That means the return of Jay the Lion is near.
The head cheerleading coach, Deonne King, is in charge of the Langston mascot tryouts coming up this April. She has been head cheerleading coach for six years at Langston and talks about the process of bringing back the mascot.
It has been a two year process that involved both Dean Busby and Athletic Director Rogers, who said they wanted a mascot and were welling to help. King says they are looking at more than 10 students who are willing to try out to be the mascot.
“We have had a very positive feedback so far about bringing back the mascot. We have even had a woman who used to be the mascot reach out and give support to us,” said King.
The company that King has worked with to bring the mascot back is called the Olympus Group. The athletic department has spent about $10,000 on the mascot costume that is not yet ready to be revealed. King also talked about who else she was worked with when it comes to making the mascot look perfect.
Deonne King
“I have talked to someone that works with the Oklahoma City Thunder about what the Mascot should do and shouldn’t do. That way we can make sure the mascot is perfect as possible.”
King’s goal was to make the mascot look strong and kid-friendly. “It’s a mix of a strong and prideful looking lion but it will also have friendly features like the eyes. Of course, the full suit will also have fur.”
King talks about how someone will be with the mascot helping and assisting them while they are in the suit. That way the mascot knows what’s going on and where he needs to go. Also, it helps the person in the mascot suit whenever they need water or a quick bathroom break.
Making sure the mascot’s identity is not revealed is a big deal. King wants to protect the identity of the mascot until the person that is in the costume graduates. “One of the guidelines is that when they become the mascot they cannot tell anyone. When they graduate from Langston then we will do a mascot reveal.”
King is very excited to reveal the mascot in due time and strongly encourages students to tryout this April. There will be judges and about three people picked to alternate as the mascot. To participate in tryouts and get more info, students can email lucheer@langston.edu.
Dr. Nique Block, a professor, alumni, and member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc., talked about how he found out the mascot tryouts were happening. “I was walking on campus and I saw the flyer hanging up somewhere and I was like, they’re bringing the mascot back? So, I was shocked.”
Last semester in a 2025 Gazette article, Block also talked about how the Grambling Tiger Mascot was talking bad about Langston because we did not have a Mascot at the time. “It started at the Langston vs Grambling game, Grambling had there tiger mascot and he was taunting us and said ‘Where ya’ll mascot, ya’ll can’t afford one?”
The Langston Mascot coming back is a really huge deal to Dr. Block and he hopes that they also keep the name Jay the lion. “The mascots name has been Jay for years, decades really. I was a student at Langston during the 90’s and early 2000’s and the name was Jay then.” Dr. Block is a firm believer in if it ain’t broke don’t fix and that’s why he wants the mascot name Jay the lion to stay the same.
Dr. Block also talked about other things coming back and being fixed around campus including the White House getting renovations, Bringing back the radio station, and having more housing for students.
The Langston mascot returning seems to be important to the students as well. 80 students were asked a yes or no question if the Langston mascot coming back was important. 55 students said yes it is important and 25 said no.
Jay the lion is estimated to return this fall in the first home football game at Langston. When that day comes we will welcome him back with open arms.
Anthony Henry
Anthony Henry is a sophomore broadcast journalism major from Oklahoma City and he currently attends Langston University. He likes to do profile stories and cover special events in his community and on campus. He believes his work is important because of the First Amendment. Journalism is the only profession mentioned in the First Amendment and Anthony believes in the rights of the people and is willing to tell their stories. Anthony enjoys music so much; he listens to R&B, Jazz, and Hip-Hop. He also enjoys spending time with friends. Anthony can be reached at anthony.c.henry@langston.edu as well as @the.realtony3 on Instagram.
