Meet Tony: The Shark That Found A Home In Mississippi

OXFORD, Miss. (WCBI) — Visit any sporting event at the University of Mississippi and there’s the usual.

Some wild fans, energetic cheerleaders and of course a rich history.

Ole miss does have one thing unlike any of the aforementioned and his name is Tony.

“No one else has a landshark, he’s unique to Ole Miss,” said cheerleading coach Ryan O’Connor.

Developed by the student body the unorthodox mascot was modeled after the memory and mentality of former ole miss linebacker Tony Fein: the first person in history to ever throw the infamous fins up.

“It really came about from the embracing of, a sort of a swagger type way of going about things,” said associate athletics director of sports productions and creative services Micah Ginn. “A mark of confidence, a mark of accomplishment, even a mark of hello. You know a greeting. It can be used in many ways.”

There is no ‘one’ tony. Rather it’s a team of six-foot individuals playing the landshark character.

“Everybody that does fit that build you come to try-outs and you get to try on the suit,” said O’Connor. “We give you some band music and say the bands playing the fight song–how’re you going to react? We practice not talking in the suit. We practice all having the same walk. We’d hate to have one tony skip, one tony that’s very slow. We want to have him be just one character.”

“I tell people all the time you’re not going to find a more poignant or meaningful mascot story in all of college athletics,” Ginn said. “So how important is it to remember Tony Fein through the landshark? It can’t be stated how important it is. It’s awesome to see.”

“I think people really love him because he is unique and he does have a great story,” O’Connor said. “You know he’s named after somebody who was really important to our university and I think knowing all that and knowing his history just makes people love him even more.”

Persons interested in becoming a ‘Tony’ should look for information come February.