Eddie the Eagle put a ring on it. North Carolina Central University's longtime mascot married his new bride, Annie the Eagle, during the school's 10:40 Break this week, turning the Durham campus's Greek Bowl into a wedding venue complete with a floral arch, a wedding party, and a crowd of students, alumni, and supporters cheering on the newlyweds.
Annie wore a white wedding dress and Eddie a black tuxedo for the ceremony, according to the Charlotte Observer. NCCU cheerleaders stood alongside the couple, and other costumed mascots showed up to join the celebration. NCCU's Office of Alumni Relations shared photos from the ceremony, writing that “Eddie and Annie officially tied the knot during 10:40 Break, and it was a celebration filled with love, laughter and Eagle pride!”
Among the guests was East Carolina University's PeeDee the Pirate, who joined NCCU cheerleaders and student organizations in the wedding procession, according to a post from the NCCU Office of Alumni Relations. As the mascot couple walked down the aisle, NCCU's Sound Machine Marching Band and dance team performed North Carolina rapper Petey Pablo's 2001 anthem “Raise Up,” per a video shared by The News & Observer.
A Courtship That Started on the Field
The romance moved fast by any standard. The mascot pairing began on September 5, when Annie was unveiled at O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium during NCCU's home opener against Elizabeth City State University, and Eddie proposed on the field with cheerleaders holding signs, according to a video posted by NCCU Athletics on Facebook. Annie accepted, setting up a month-long storyline that culminated in the homecoming wedding.
Eddie has represented NCCU as its primary mascot since 1972, but Annie is new this year, introduced in August as the university's first female eagle mascot. She was named in honor of Annie Day Shepard, the wife of university founder Dr. James Edward Shepard, according to a post from the NCCU Cheerleaders on Facebook. The naming choice ties the lighthearted wedding storyline back to the school's founding more than a century ago.
Why the Greek Bowl and 10:40 Break Mattered
The ceremony's setting carried its own history. The Greek Bowl, formally known as the Library Bowl, is a central campus quad framed by the James E. Shepard Memorial Library, Edmonds Classroom Building, C.T. Willis Commerce Building, and Annie Daye Residence Hall, according to Campus Echo Online. The 10:40 Break tradition itself dates to the 1970s, when Student Affairs administrators designated a biweekly pause every Tuesday and Thursday between 10:40 a.m. and 11:35 a.m. for students to relax, socialize, and build community in the years following the civil rights movement. NCCU describes the tradition as bringing together students and alumni for music, fellowship, and school spirit.
Mascot weddings are something of a regional institution in North Carolina college sports. In February 1981, N.C. State's Mr. Wuf and Ms. Wuf were joined in what the school dubbed “canis matrimonium” during halftime of a basketball game against Wake Forest, officiated by Wake Forest's own Demon Deacon mascot, according to Technician. The novelty extends well beyond North Carolina, too — the University of Miami's Miami Maniac had his wedding broadcast live on ESPN back in March 1985, with Sebastian the Ibis serving as best man, per the UM Sports Hall of Fame.
One Piece of a Packed Homecoming Week
The wedding was just one stop on NCCU's “Ultimate Homecoming Experience 2026,” running October 2 through Friday. The week includes the 79th Annual Founder's Day Convocation, a gospel concert, a step show, an alumni fish fry, and the annual parade down Fayetteville Street, according to Discover Durham. Festivities wrap up Saturday when the Eagles host William & Mary at O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium, with kickoff set for 1 p.m.
The playful wedding also arrives amid a serious stretch of growth for the university. NCCU secured $110.3 million in state budget funding in 2026 under Chancellor Karrie Dixon, part of a push to scale enrollment toward 10,000 students and achieve R2 doctoral research status, Hoodline previously reported on NCCU's funding push. For a campus in the middle of that expansion, a mascot wedding rooted in its own founding history doubled as a reminder of just how long NCCU's traditions have been building toward moments like this one.
