Past Rowdy the Redhawk mascot's identity revealed

After five years hyping up the crowd, pre-game Pibb Extra and being super slick with the ladies, Rowdy is ready to retire his tail-feathers and take off the mask to reveal his true identity.

The identity of Rowdy always has been a mystery, a mystery only a few people have had the honor of knowing -- until now.

"It's utmost importance to keep your identity a secret. You want people to look at you and think, 'He's Rowdy the Redhawk. He's No. 1,'" the undisclosed Rowdy said.

The thing is, the man behind the mask wasn't a lay-low kind of guy at all. He was a prominent figure on campus, and a familiar face to many.

This familiar face hiding behind the beak of Rowdy was known to the sports-loving crowd as the "fat-legged Rowdy who loves to dance."

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They had no idea they were cheering alongside the alter-ego of Nik Weber.

"A couple people in my fraternity, my best friend, and my parents were the only people that knew," Weber said.

Weber played the role of Rowdy from 2012 until his graduation in 2016 with a bachelor's degree in English.

As Rowdy, Weber said he was given the opportunity to serve as a prominent figure in the community, and was able to bring a sense of joy to everyone he encountered. Rowdy brought fun, pride and ownership to the community with his lively persona and exposed Weber to experiences he would never have had, Weber said.

"Rowdy is cool, super slick, a lot of fun, spunky. He likes to be in your face and loves getting hype," Weber said.

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Weber, as Rowdy, was charged with leading the students and fans in cheering and dancing, hyping up the crowd and creating a fun environment.

Weber said his favorite memory as Rowdy was getting onstage with Brad Paisley, playing some air guitar and smacking his butt as a "nice little hello from your local fictitious bird mascot," as he described.

Other than those celebrity appearances, much like Rowdy, Weber lived for game days.

"Game day is so much fun, whether it's the fraternities and sororities that want to be hanging out with Rowdy, or people coming out and cheering on our teams, SEMO really does have a great environment for sporting," Weber said.

But while Weber was at the forefront of all the games and spirit rallies, he said his friends didn't really think twice about where he was every single game day.

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"My friends didn't particularly notice," Weber said. "They thought I was at the game, just somewhere else."

Weber's Southeast experience goes far beyond his role as Rowdy, and his love for the community is deeply rooted in the investments he made in all aspects of his academic career here.

In addition to his duties as Rowdy, Weber served as president of Sigma Chi fraternity and was a member of the Inter-Fraternity Council and IFC judicial board. He was a presidential ambassador and participated in campus outreach, the all-university judicial board and National Residence Hall Association. He played on several intramural teams and was Gamma Phi Beta's man of the year.

Although he will not participate in Homecoming activities this year, he said the events and the university community are special to him.

"Homecoming is a reuniting of fellow Redhawks to be able to comeback to see the framework of what you laid down come into fruition," Weber said. "The precedent that you laid, that you were able to be a part of, flourish amongst Southeast's campus. It's absolutely incredible, whether it's Rowdy the Redhawk or it's a student organization -- just watching Southeast Missouri State University thrive is wonderful."