Petersburg native Derek Fincham will once again don his coonskin cap as West Virginia University’s Mountaineer.

WVU ’s Mountaineer Mascot Selection Committee announced Saturday (Feb. 26) during the WVU -Rutgers men’s basketball game that the senior religious studies major will serve as mascot for a second year.

Stephanie Taylor, mascot selection committee co-chair, said judges were looking for someone with a lot of pride in both WVU and the state of West Virginia-and a lot of enthusiasm. Fincham, voted the most spirited in high school, fit the bill.

The selection process included an interview and a cheer-off competition at the Feb. 20 WVU -Seton Hall basketball game, she said. Mascot hopefuls wore the traditional buckskins and fired up the crowd with cheers and chants.

As the 2004-05 mascot, Fincham has made more than 150 appearances at both athletic and non-athletic events. He said the Mountaineer represents the true spirit of every West Virginian.

“I have lived my whole life in this great state, and I have always been proud to be a Mountaineer,”he wrote in his application.”I come from a family that has deep roots and love for this state, and this love runs as deep as the dark coal that has made West Virginia famous.”

Besides being the mascot, Fincham is involved on campus as a member of the WVU Collegiate 4-H and WVU 4 -H Foundation. His other activities include volunteering with the Energy Express AmeriCorps, serving as a spokesperson for the National Low Vision Institute and participating in the Gamma Beta Phi service fraternity.

Fincham has also been a member of the Mountaineer Maniacs and participated in the WVU Red Cross and WVU Philosophy clubs. Among his academic accomplishments is making the University’s President’s List this past semester.

Matthew Chapman, a senior political science major from Cross Lanes, will serve as the Mountaineer alternate, filling in when Fincham is unable to attend an event.

Chapman is involved in many activities at WVU , including the Pi Sigma Alpha political science honorary and Golden Key honor society. He is an undergraduate teaching assistant in the communications department and has been active in the Junior Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps.