Sparty on, MSU. For the second year in a row, Sparty is the number one mascot in the country.

After his 2004 national championship, Sparty began working on his next routine to bring to the 2005 Universal Cheer Association/Universal Dance Association College Nationals in Orlando, Fla. on Jan. 15.

"Everybody here is just extremely proud of Sparty," said Jeff Kemperman, graduate student adviser for the Student Alumni Foundation. "It takes a lot of work to put this together, and this is just a testament to how superior he really is."

Sparty beat out two other Big Ten mascots for the number one spot - Goldy Gopher from the University of Minnesota and Bucky Badger from the University of Wisconsin.

To make it to the final competition in Florida, Sparty had to submit a two-minute video that counted for half of his overall score. The theme of this year's video was "Sparty TV," and was ranked by the judges as best in the country, Kemperman said.

Mascots of the top ten videos moved on to compete in Orlando.

At the Orlando finals, Sparty had to perform a 90-second skit.

The skit was titled "Sparty's Favorite Movies."

Judges looked for creativity, crowd involvement, use of props, overall impression, enthusiasm and animation. Sparty's skit also was ranked first in the country.

"I can't really say that I'm surprised that he won because he does such a fantastic job," said Kelly Bubb, a general business administration senior. "The way he interacts with students, kids and adults really sets him apart."

The College Mascot National Championship is different from other mascot contests because mascots actively compete in front of judges, Kemperman said.

"This is an actual competition, and not just a panel of people who sit around somewhere and decide which mascot they want to be the best," he said, adding that in other competitions, mascots are judged on their everyday routines at campus events.

"The key to Sparty winning this was creativity and the time he put into it," Kemperman said. "Really, the overall character Sparty portrays is superior."

Dennis Lorenz, a zoology junior, said Sparty always makes himself available to the students.

"You always see him around campus, and he does a great job as mascot," he said.