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On October 19, 1996 the Boilermaker Special VI, a.k.a., the X-tra Special, made its debut. For the uninformed, it is the smaller version of the Boilermaker Special on a golf cart chassis that not only leads the football team onto the field at games, but it can make appearances at basketball games as well. The X-tra Special has been a long-serving member of the Reamer Club for 21 years now, but this fall it will have a makeover:
In honor of National Mascot Day, we are OFFICIALLY announcing that the Xtra Special VIII will be presented THIS FOOTBALL SEASON! #BoilerUp! pic.twitter.com/3DK9ke0oig
— Boilermaker Special (@BMSVII) June 16, 2017
So I worked my contacts, and long-time friend of the blog Paul Branham (a former pilot of BMS V and BMSVII) had this to say:
It's long overdue, that's all I really know. I think they had already secured the chassis when I "retired" from the club. If not, it was shortly thereafter when they got it.
So that is what I know. The BMS VII debuted in August 2011 as a makeover of the previous BMS V. It has taken awhile for the X-tra Special to get its makeover, but it looks like that will be coming this fall.