Retired elementary school principal Tony Coglianese ’80 became a suddenly and strangely popular guy last July. Former classmates, colleagues, and friends he hadn’t heard from in years kept his phone buzzing. They all asked the same question.
Is that you on the shirt?!
A T-shirt celebrating “100 years of the Redbird” sold at a university online storefront—alongside other vintage apparel—features an illustration of a 1970s-era Redbird mascot spreading its wings. Poking out beneath the feathers are two unmistakably skinny legs and a pair of Converse-clad feet.
“They all said it was me. I didn’t believe them,” Coglianese said. “But someone sent me a picture of the T-shirt. They said, ‘Compare this to the photo from your office. It’s you!’”
The image on the front of the T-shirt was indeed an illustration of the framed photo that sat on Coglianese’s desk for years. Portraying Illinois State’s famous Redbird mascot remains one of his strongest connections to Illinois State University. Seeing himself featured on the shirt stirred memories of his time “in the suit,” as did a panel Q&A with 10 of Reggie’s former “helpers” published in the summer edition of State magazine.
Since the story was published, several of Reggie’s former “helpers” reached out to share their memories. Coglianese was one of them. His Redbird role began with a Vidette article about a graduating student mascot. It spurred a conversation between him and friends at a campus dining hall. “I said, ‘Hey boys, they’re looking for a new mascot. You may be having dinner with the next Redbird,” Coglianese recalled.
That moment led to two years in the suit and countless encounters and experiences that have stuck with him—from sinking a halfcourt shot to being lowered from the Horton Field House rafters by “three or four burly football players” to being pictured on a T-shirt more than 40 years later.
“It was my privilege to wear the suit,” Coglianese said.
Here are a few other stories from inside the suit:
So, you want to donate your head?!
Bob Matusiak ’79 does. His vintage mascot head, that is.
Matusiak holds the unique distinction of wearing both the costume made of feathers and a more modern fabric suit. When the feather suit was retired and about to be thrown out, he kept a souvenir.
“I had the old uniform when they brought out the new one,” Matusiak recalled. “I asked what they were going to do with the old one, and they said ‘nothing,’ so I kept the head.”
The new suit, which Matusiak modeled in a story in the Vidette in the fall of 1978, was a dramatic improvement. He no longer needed to spend an hour after each performance using glue and staples to reattach feathers.
But there was one downside to the new suit. “It was a whole lot hotter,” Matusiak said. “I remember that first football game was 85 or 90 degrees, and I think I probably sweated off about 10 pounds.”
Matusiak remains nostalgic about the old suit with feathers, though—enough so that he kept possession of the most recognizable part of it for the past 45 years. It’s resided in a cardboard box in the crawlspace of his Oak Lawn home most recently. After reading the article in State magazine, he decided he would donate it to the University Archives. He plans to drive it down in a couple weeks, and to explore campus to see what’s changed and what’s remained the same.
“Hey, is Avanti’s still open?” Matusiak asked at the end of his interview for this story. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had a Gondola.”
He was also Reggie READbird
Reggie Redbird is a good role model for his many fans. He can often be seen showcasing his athletic talents and having fun, but he also knows when it’s time to hit the books. If you visited Milner Library at the turn of the century, you may remember the iconic series of “READ” posters distributed by the American Library Association featuring celebrities ranging from Oprah Winfrey to David Bowie to Yoda.
And maybe you saw the one featuring Reggie?
“I was in the costume for that, and they gave me a copy that still hangs in my classroom every year,” said Derek Swierczek ’01, now a high school math teacher in Wheeling. “It always makes for interesting questions and stories with my classes.”
Swierczek wore the suit all four years he was on campus. He recalled the joy of bringing smiles to children’s faces and admitted to smiling inside the suit himself, even when no one could see it. He enjoyed being Reggie at all sporting events—not just football and basketball games. He remembers the fear of falling into the Horton Field House pool while supporting the swimming and diving team.
He also recalled the challenges of the suit: limited vision, cumbersome feet, and being hot inside the “carpet of a costume.” He once required a trip to the hospital due to dehydration. “My roommates thought me being Reggie was cool at first until they realized how sweaty I got,” Swierczek said. “Sometimes I had to hang the suit up in the bathroom on our floor in Watterson Towers because it smelled horrible!”
The challenges of the suit made stunts extra difficult, but it didn’t stop Swierczek from grabbing a ball off the rack to take a few shots during halftime at basketball games. By his final performance, he had mastered the art.
“I made five out of seven 3-pointers, going all around the 3-point line,” he recalled. “And then, for my final shot before teams came back out to warm up, I was at halfcourt trying to get the crowd into it for my final shot. I moved back to the tip of the Redbird head at center court, and … it went in, and the crowd went wild!”
Reggie rocked the arena
Reggie Redbird is known for being a pretty talented bird, but on the night of November 6, 2018, he showcased a brand-new skill. With his Fender Statocaster guitar in hand, Reggie stood at the front of the band section and delivered an electrifying version of “The Star-Spangled Banner” for fans attending the men’s basketball home opener.
The performance was years in the making for Jackson Earl ’19, who waited until he had accumulated ample “street cred” by his senior year before pitching the idea. He had previously played the national anthem on guitar prior to a basketball game in high school and before a fireworks show in his hometown.
But playing the guitar while fully costumed? That presented some challenges.
“Well, I quite literally took an old set of Reggie hands and shaved the left hand down with a box cutter until I could feel each guitar string through the glove. Then I poked a hole for my guitar pick to stick out of in the right hand,” Earl said. “I practiced for weeks leading up to the performance—sometimes with just the hands, sometimes with the hands and the head, and sometimes in the full suit, but always in the dark.
“I had to build muscle memory, because there was no way I could see any of the frets or strings out of the head while in an upright stance.”
Earl was pleased with the performance in which he “only missed two notes.” Aiming for “Hendrix meets Satriani,” he used reverb and delay effects through his guitar amp. Reactions were split; some didn’t care for the nontraditional rendition, while others told him he “crushed it.”
“It probably was my proudest moment as Reggie,” said Earl, now a math and computer science teacher at Champaign Central High School. “I was able to add to Reggie’s persona in my own way that no one else had done before.”
The performance brought a fitting end to Earl’s time in the suit.
“Being Reggie was one of the best things I have ever done,” he said. “It felt like a VIP pass to the entire campus. I had the blessing of getting to know students and faculty in a completely unique way, both in and out of the suit.”
We heard from several Reggies and have archived their memories. And there’s still time to be counted in the Reggie roll call. Update your information online and be sure to share your Reggie memories!
