Ralphie VI
- Born: May 26, 2020, Western Nebraska
- Served: September 2, 2021 - Present
The University of Colorado has anointed its newest live Buffalo mascot – Ralphie VI – who made her debut against Northern Colorado on Friday, September 3, 2021.
The newest Ralphie was a shade over 15 months old when she began her reign, as she was born on May 27, 2020 on a ranch in western Nebraska. An orphan rejected by her mother at birth, she was adopted and raised in part by a beef cow. She tipped the scales at just under 500 pounds at her debut; the previous quintet of buffalo mascots eventually weighed around 1,300 pounds, but it is hard to predict just how big VI will grow.
Ralphie V was retired after the 2019 season after serving the university for 12 years, matching the tenures of both Ralphies I and IV. She is in good health and is enjoying "retirement."
The search for her successor started immediately, but the process was put on hold and then delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The newest Ralphie was donated to the program in November 2020, and after months of training, evaluation and getting to know the fast-growing calf, Stratton felt confident over the course of this the summer of 2021 that she had secured the candidate for VI.
The Backstory of Finding VI
On his ranch just north of Chadron, Neb., Will Isham has been in the buffalo business for the last 20 years. As a CU Boulder graduate (Finance '80), he has always had a love for these majestic animals. His daughter Drew followed in her father's footsteps and also attended CU (Communication '13). After graduation, her close friend and sorority sister Sara Abdulla, began working with CU's Alumni Association (program manager of student outreach). Drew started attending more alumni events and over time, became friends with Sara's colleague, Taylor Marie Stratton, who started working with the organization in 2017.
Stratton left the alumni office when she was named as the manager of CU's Ralphie Live Mascot Program. After it was decided for Ralphie V to retire and the need for a new Ralphie arose, she remembered the young woman from all those alumni gatherings who grew up on a bison ranch and gave her a call. Nine months ago, the Isham family formally donated a bison heifer calf to CU and hope to remain a part of the program for years to come.
While the ranch may be in northwestern Nebraska, the Ishams are truly CU through-and-through. Five members of the Isham family have attended the university: in addition to Will and Drew, Michael Burns ('67), Glory Isham Burns ('75 and a board member of CU's prestigious Leeds School of Business) and most recently, Jay Braddock Voss (Graduate School of Banking '15).