Butler Mascots Featured in Netflix Series
(photo courtesy of Butler University)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowAn episode of the upcoming second season of the Netflix original series “Dogs” will feature a couple of dogs very familiar to Hoosiers. The show will spotlight Butler University’s live mascot program as it transitioned from Butler Blue III to Butler Blue IV more than a year ago.
Michael Kaltenmark, director of external relations for Butler and former mascot handler, says the university’s participation in the show stemmed from a tweet by the show’s producer looking for stories.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Kaltenmark said the experience came at a pivotal point for the live mascot program.
“We were being followed with cameras at the time that we announced Blue III’s retirement and his last season and then during our search for Butler Blue IV and our debut of Blue IV and of course my transition from being mascot handler…so there was a lot going on during this, essentially, a basketball season when they followed us,” said Kaltenmark.
The cameras also followed Kaltenmark as he was receiving a kidney transplant during that time.
Kaltenmark says he hopes the show puts Butler on full display for a new audience.
“I hope that when they watch it, they feel really good not only our bulldogs, but about the people who make up Butler University and that by watching this, more people know about our university and if more people know about it, then maybe more people will apply and eventually become Butler Bulldogs one day,” he said.
Kaltenmark took over as mascot handler in 2004 with Butler Blue II. He says not many people outside of the Butler campus knew who Blue was and it wasn’t until the university’s back-to-back appearances in the Final Four that the Butler live mascot program gained national notoriety.
“What we strive for is when you think about live mascots, then you think about Butler Blue,” he said. “So, I’m really proud of what we’ve done and I think this Netflix series is just another feather in our cap and I hope just catapults us even further into this national landscape.”
Season 2 of “Dogs” premieres July 7 on Netflix. You can catch a glimpse of Butler Blue in the trailer for the show below:
Kaltenmark says the experience came at a pivotal point for the live mascot program.