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The Chesapeake Bay Retriever was selected as the university mascot in founding years of the university. But it was UMBC President Michael Hooker (pictured here) who finally brought the idea to create a statue of the campus mascot -- dubbed "True Grit" -- to reality in 1987.

Since its unveiling 26 years ago, True Grit's nose is now a shiny gold from all the students who think that rubbing it brings luck -- especially on exams. What are your UMBC traditions?

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