With his high-energy presence at sporting events and local happenings, and his unrelenting school spirit, Sparty is once again on the Mascot Hall of Fame ballot for the second year in a row.

“We wish we could have gotten in (last year),” said Mike Thompson, vice president of recruitment from the Student Alumni Foundation, the organization in charge of the Sparty Mascot Program. “There were a lot of other mascots there that were well deserving.”

However, in the next month, Sparty hopes to add the Golden Silly String Award, which is received upon induction, to his three national championship titles and two “Buffest Mascot” awards by Muscle & Fitness Magazine.

“The word keeps growing about Sparty as a mascot and national champion,” said Susie Hamilton, SAF adviser.

Sparty has a good chance of being inducted this year as he has gained more national recognition, said David Raymond, emperor of fun and games of Raymond Entertainment and CEO and chair of the executive committee of the Mascot Hall of Fame.

“You see Sparty in national broadcasts – that helps a lot,” Raymond said, adding that it also works in Sparty’s favor that MSU has gained national prominence as well.

“The Sparty act had a pretty good showing,” Raymond said. “He’s got a great chance this year, but it does require great support from the MSU faithful.”

To be elected for induction, Sparty needs to receive 75 percent of the votes cast.

A Facebook.com group called “VOTE SPARTY! – Mascot Hall of Fame” was created to help Sparty to victory by directing members to the Mascot Hall of Fame voting site.

“Grassroots (movement) is most effective,” Raymond said.

Sparty is competing against the following five collegiate mascots: Lil Red from the University of Nebraska, Smokey of the University of Tennessee, Brutus the Buckeye of The Ohio State University, Sebastian the Ibis of the University of Miami and Big Red from the University of Western Kentucky.

At the voting site, fans can cast their vote for their favorite college mascot or professional mascot. Overall, there are 12 mascots – six college and six professional – vying for a position in the 2007 inductee class.

It’s very probable that multiple mascots could be inducted this year, Raymond said.

“It would be a big surprise if only one of the professional mascots and one of the college mascots got nominated.”

Raymond also said Sparty was one of his personal collegiate favorites, along with Big Red, to get inducted this year.

“Every time I see them, I laugh,” he said. “I certainly wouldn’t be disappointed if Sparty, Big Red and Brutus were inducted.”

Thompson said Sparty’s biggest edge is he represents his university better than the other mascots.

“Sparty represents everything about MSU – not just the athletics or extracurricular stuff,” he said. “Wherever he goes, he gets a warm reception, no matter what situation he’s in.”

As for Sparty’s future as a Hall of Famer, Thompson is pretty confident in the outcome.

“I think he’ll get in this year,” he said.