When Mitch Messinger ’92, G’93 suited up as Otto the Orange in the early ’90s, he never imagined a family member would one day share that experience with him. So it came as a surprise—nearly three decades later—when he learned his bonus daughter, Sarah Jacoby ’26, had donned the Otto outfit, creating a family legacy they both cherish. “Knowing that Sarah was doing something that’s so near and dear to my heart is incredibly special,” he says.
During a February 2023 tour of the JMA Wireless Dome, Mitch Messinger ’92, G’93, his wife, Deb, and bonus son Josh met up with Otto. After the tour, bonus daughter Sarah Jacoby ’26 surprised them, revealing herself as the ever-lovable Orange.
This spring, Jacoby completed a nearly four-year run as the spunky, fun-loving, mischievous mascot. While the identities of the student-athletes who perform as Otto are closely guarded, Jacoby worked with Julie Walas ’07, G’13—Team Otto’s coach and program manager and an Otto alumna herself—to let her family in on the secret. During a campus visit in February 2023, Walas gave Messinger, his wife, Deb, and bonus son Josh an unsuspecting tour of the JMA Wireless Dome, and Otto showed up to tag along. In the team’s locker room, Walas began introducing Team Otto members. That’s when Jacoby revealed herself, taking off the costume. “I just joined the team before December,” she told her family, bringing tears to her mom’s eyes. “I’m so happy to be here—meet all my friends!” Jacoby also shared the surprise with her bonus sister, Jillian Messinger, a lifelong Otto fan who was in her first year at Kenyon College and graduates this spring as well.
Walas was thrilled to finally let Messinger and his family in on the secret—and have an Otto family legacy to add to the mascot’s storied history. “What an honor to be a link in this special connection for this family. We knew having Sarah on the team would mean a lot to Mitch—but my goodness, we didn’t know how much it’d mean to all of us,” Walas says. “It’s brought the whole community of Ottos together in a new way and solidified the idea that Otto is forever for each of us.”
Introducing the Original Ottos
Messinger—one of the six original Ottos—gets together with the Hall of Fame mascot, sharing a picture of himself in action as Otto back in the day.
That couldn’t be more true for Messinger, a former captain whose loyalty and support for Team Otto have never wavered. He is one of the six original Ottos—the OG Ottos, as they call themselves—who created the name at a summer mascot cheerleading camp in Tennessee in 1990. Even then, Otto’s future was far from secure. A mascot known only as “the Orange” first appeared in the early ’80s, seeking to gain a foothold as the University’s latest mascot amid a barrage of contenders. But through costume and name changes (shoutout to Otto ancestors’ Clyde and Woody), the fuzzball’s popularity grew and Otto finally gained official mascot recognition in 1995.
Messinger, in mascot mode, welcomes his parents to the sidelines of what’s now the JMA Wireless Dome. Taking on Otto’s persona worked perfectly for Messinger, who enjoyed combining his love of sports and acting.
When Messinger committed to Syracuse, he told his best friend, “I want to be the mascot. I want to be the Orange.” At the time, he was captivated by Syracuse—with the men’s basketball team coming off its appearance in the 1987 NCAA title game, and the Big East tournament drawing Orange fans to Madison Square Garden. “I always loved sports and I also loved theater,” Messinger says, “so what better way to combine my love of sports and theater than by being a mascot.”
Spreading Joy
When Sarah Jacoby ’26 left their California home for Syracuse, she never imagined she’d become a member of Team Otto and create a family legacy that she and Messinger would share.
Growing up in California, Jacoby was initially unsure about leaving the West Coast for Syracuse, but a campus tour swayed her interest. “During my college-looking process, I realized Syracuse literally had everything I wanted in a college and checked all the boxes,” says the psychology and communication sciences and disorders double major.
Any thought of being a mascot was far from her mind—until she had her first interaction with Otto on campus. “I was just a freshman looking for community,” she says. “Never in my right mind had I thought I would try out to be Otto.”
During my college-looking process, I realized Syracuse literally had everything I wanted in a college and checked all the boxes.
Sarah Jacoby ’26
Jacoby easily embraced the Hall of Fame mascot’s persona for spreading joy. “You find ways to bring joy to a community and brighten someone’s day,” Jacoby says. “Since Otto doesn’t talk, we have to interact with people in a way that is meaningful and intentional without words, so we have to get creative, silly and playful, and that is the true embodiment of being Otto—you have this childlike spirit bringing joy to everyone.”
Messinger considered his Otto role as a “unique opportunity” to represent Syracuse University—and says it prepared him well for his career as a film and TV publicist in Hollywood, currently working at Disney. He relished stepping into the personality anonymously and entertaining people. And that shared experience has created a community among Ottos past and present. “We have this bond of our love for Syracuse University,” he says.
Sharing Special Moments
Jacoby and Messinger celebrate their Otto family legacy with the famous Orange mascot.
Now, the memories of countless travels and uniquely Orange moments are theirs to keep and share forever. Messinger recalls his first football game—the 1990 Kickoff Classic at the Meadowlands—and performing at a basketball game in Madison Square Garden with his grandparents in attendance. Among road games, bowl games, Big East and NCAA tournaments, he also attended the grand opening of the Carousel Center (now Destiny USA) and made an appearance at the State Capitol in Albany.
Orange pride abounds as Otto joins Jacoby and Messinger in a joyful leap a few days before Commencement 2026.
Among her many performances, Jacoby suited up in New York City for an ESPN app commercial and the 2024 Holiday Bowl. Interacting with fans, she enjoyed drawing them from their seats to skip hand in hand as well as plucking off people’s beanies and rubbing their heads. A skilled dancer, she says her favorite Otto moments are “the random dance breakouts that I have with people or going to a senior citizen home and doing a little dance party during their lunch break, which was so adorable.” Elementary school visits were also on the top of the list—as well as sharing fist bumps with fans and teammates. “I feed off those one-on-one interactions,” she says. “I love them.”
Above all, the importance of being Otto has brought them closer together, sharing Orange pride and spirit and a common bond neither could have predicted four years ago. “This experience is one unlike anything I could have imagined,” Jacoby says. “I will hold it close to my heart forever.”
