Induction Process

1. Authorization: By authorization of the Board of Directors of the National Mascot Hall of Fame and the Whiting Entertainment Center, the MHOF is authorized to hold an election every year for the purpose of inducting new members to the National Mascot Hall of Fame from the ranks of qualified mascots.

2. Electors: Electors shall be made up comprised of three different voting bodies; The public, Members of the MHOF, and Executive Committee members. Members of the MHOF must have active memberships to the MHOF, and Executive Committee members are comprised of a body of current and past performers along with executives in the industry that have accepted invitations from the MHOF to participate. MHOF Member votes count for two times that of the public, and Executive Committee member votes are three times that of the MHOF Members, or six times that of the public.

3. Eligible Candidates – Candidates, to be eligible, must meet the following requirements:

a. A mascot must have been active as a performing character in one of the groups described below . . .

i.    The major and minor league sports of baseball (MLB, MiLB, etc), basketball (NBA, WNBA, etc), football (NFL, CFL, etc), hockey (NHL, AHL, ECHL, etc), and soccer (MLS, NWSL, USL, NASL, etc) as recognized in the United States.

ii.   College Divisions of NCAA Divisions I, II, III, NAIA

iii.  Independently performing character

b. A mascot must have been active as a performing character for their team, school, or organization for the previous 10 years prior to the year being elected and be prepared to show documented proof.

 4. Method of Election:

Ballot Creation – A Screening Committee, consisting of MHOF Executive Committee members, shall be appointed by the MHOF. This Screening Committee shall consist of eight members, with four members to be elected at each Annual Meeting for a two-year term. The Executive Director will also serve on the committee in an administrative, non-voting capacity.

The duty of the Screening Committee shall be to evaluate all qualified mascot candidates and consider any nominations submitted by teams, schools, or other organizations by the submission deadline. Upon completion of their evaluation, the committee is charged with submitting their list of mascot nominees to the Executive Director for certification.

Upon receipt, the Executive Director will certify the initial ballot of nominees for the first round of voting.

a. The Ballot – The ballot can have no more than 30 mascots in it comprised with the following limitations, at the discretion of the Screening Committee.

1. Maximum of 15 Professional / Semi-Professional Sports Team Mascots
2. Maximum of 15 Intercollegiate Mascots
3. Maximum of 5 Independent Mascots

b. Ballot Voting – There shall be a period of three weeks, or twenty-one days, during which the ballot will be voted upon. This period of time shall consist of the normal week, beginning on a Sunday at 12:01 am EST, ending on a Saturday at 11:59 pm EST, 21 days later. During that time the Electors will vote via the Internet, using a valid email address for each submitted ballot. Electors can vote once a day during the week and can vote for no more than eight (8) mascots on a single ballot, or one-third of the number of mascots on the ballot. Write in votes are not permitted.

 

e. Final Vote Scoring – Once the three groups of votes have been aggregated and scored, any mascot receiving a score equal to or greater than sixty percent (60%) of the ballots cast shall be elected to membership in the National Mascot Hall of Fame. If there are less than two mascots over the 60% threshold, the top two scoring mascots will be elected even if their aggregated score is under 60%. Votes are calculated within each voting group and aggregated as a percentage of ballots cast within each group. Ballot Total percentages from the membership of the MHOF (including Founder, Individual, Family, Grandparent, and ACM memberships) count for two (2) times the ballot total percentage of the general public’s voting group. Executive Committee member results count for three (3) times that of the MHOF members’ ballot total percentage, or six(6) times that of the general public’s voting group.

5. Voting: Voting should be based upon the mascot’s record of contributions to the team, school, or organization for which the mascot represents.

a)     Mascot character and program can demonstrate a major impact on their sport, and/or community.

b)     Mascot character and program should have performances, which are considered memorable and/or groundbreaking.

c)      Mascot character design is unique, fun and memorable.

d)     Letters from community leaders and stakeholders detailing the mascot’s impact on their particular community.

6. Time of Election: The duly authorized representatives of the MHOF shall call for ballots to be created from Mid-March through April. Voting shall take place during the month of May, annually, with results finalized no later than May 31 of each year. The vote shall then be tabulated by the duly authorized representatives of the MHOF and the Executive Committee.

7. Certification of Election Results: The results of the election shall be certified by a representative of the National Mascot Hall of Fame. The results shall be released for publication in the month of June during the MHOF Annual Fundraiser, Cue the Confetti event in Whiting, Indiana.

8. Amendments: The Board of Directors of the National Mascot Hall of Fame (and Whiting Entertainment Center) reserves the right to revoke, alter or amend these rules at any time.