The Evolution of a Mascot: Hopkins Solidifies its Hilltopper Identity

At the Fall 2024 Homecoming assembly, the Hopkins community welcomed a brand-new Hilltopper mascot as it dramatically burst through a breakaway banner to raucous applause. The reveal followed a video presentation by the student media club, HOP TV, teasing the arrival of a new “kid” on campus. Some in the crowd admitted that they were actually expecting a human student to appear, until quickly realizing that “kid” can also be used to describe a baby goat. 

 

Joined by all athletic captains on the gym floor, the mascot, appropriately named The G.O.A.T. (short for Greatest Of All Time), threw stuffed-animal goats out to the crowd and showed off its dance moves. Throughout the Homecoming weekend, The G.O.A.T. was a lively presence across campus, posing for photos, cheering on teams, and engaging in dance-offs with enthusiastic Hilltopper fans. While this moment was the culmination of a two-year effort by the School’s Communications and Athletics departments to solidify an official athletic brand and corresponding mascot, the origin of the Hilltopper goes much further back into
Hopkins history.

 

A trip into the Hopkins archives, thanks to archivist Thom Peters, shows the earliest reference to team names in the late 19th century, when they were identified by their number of players, such as “the Hopkins Eleven” for football and “the HGS Nine” for baseball. As sports writing became more colorful at Hopkins around the 1950s, team names evolved to nicknames that followed the word Hopkins, such as the Hopkins “Gridders” (football), “Booters” (soccer), “Hurlers” (baseball), and “Natators” (swimming). The Fencing team was once referred to as “The
Stabbers” and the Track team as “The Cindermen.”

 

Although the School colors of maroon and grey predate the 1950s (the colors are believed to be from the 1880s at the very beginning of athletics at Hopkins), in the early 1950s, occasionally teams were referred to by the colors in capital letters: For example, “The Hopkins Maroon and Grey.” 

 

On November 19, 1954, an article in The Razor wrote the term “Hilltopper” for what appears to be the first time in Hopkins history. In the piece titled Varsity Ends Season With 20–13 Defeat, a passage said the following: “In a football thriller played in chilling cold, Cranwell School of Lenox, Mass., tied the Hilltoppers 14–14.” This moniker did not immediately stick, however. Older-style references to color, to numbers of players, or to sports nicknames continued to be used until a Razor headline on May 17, 1957, read, “Hilltopper Nine to Combat Taft on Upstate Diamond Wednesday.” From then on, the Hilltopper name took hold and has never changed.

 

The origins of the Hopkins goat mascot trace back to 1995, when Thom Peters, then a History Department member and a Junior School Head Adviser, was tasked with enhancing school spirit at Homecoming. Peters arranged for a local farm billy goat named Sable to serve as the “Hilltopper” mascot. Sable took photos with students, attracting large crowds. Capitalizing on the excitement around Sable, the Student Council  introduced a goat costume for school events. The success of this rollout sparked an idea that the School should have stuffed animals, mugs, and even a “goat emblem” to accompany its merchandise. Although it took nearly 30 years to come to fruition in an official capacity, the School has finally made good on its promise.

 

During the 2023–2024 school year, an initial goat design was created following a brand-strengthening project executed by the Hopkins Communications Team, the Hopkins Athletics Department, and the athletic branding firm, Summit Athletics that brought a new athletic font to the fold. The treatment was designed to mirror the goat statue outside of the Athletic Center, which had been gifted to the School by the Class of 2017. This design was tested via focus groups that included members of the Student Council, athletic captains, athletic department members, coaches, the Hopkins administrative board, the School Store, and representatives of the alumni body. Feedback from the focus groups revealed common perceptions of how people felt their School and mascot should be represented. For example, a recurring critique of the first drafted design was that it was too “cartoony” and overly friendly. Many expressed a desire for the mascot to exude more confidence and competitive energy. Adjusting the eyes to appear less “cute” and more focused or “fierce” emerged as a consistent suggestion. Several participants believed that refining the eyebrows and reshaping the horns to be longer and more prominent could reinforce the goat’s athletic identity while maintaining a welcoming tone that aligns with Hopkins’ community values.

 

Another theme from the discussions was the need to show the goat in action. Attendees suggested that the current standing pose lacked dynamism and failed to fully embody the energy expected of an active mascot. Ideas like depicting the goat confidently leaping or charging resonated across focus groups. These adjustments would help convey the readiness and determination associated with athletic competition while making the goat visually compelling for uniforms and merchandise. 

 

Ultimately, the feedback underscored the importance of portraying a mascot that embodies pride, confidence, and resilience—one that students, athletes, and alumni alike can rally around as a true representation of the Hilltopper spirit.

 

“I am very pleased with the finished product and how we are able to use it on gear, uniforms, signage, and facilities,” said Athletic Director Rocco DeMaio. “We never really had an athletic mascot, logo, or brand, so this was a huge opportunity for us to bring pride and brand identity to athletics,” he added.

 

The new athletic fonts, logos, and mascot have already become fixtures around campus and in the School Store, the Hop Shop. Looking forward, there are plans to refit all aspects of the Athletic Center with the new branding.