Monty high fives a local elementary school fan.
The beloved Eastern Oregon University mascot, Monty the Mountaineer, tried a different cap on for the holiday season.
Monty threw on a beard and a Santa hat and headed to local elementary schools last Friday with the help of a few EOU basketball players. Mountaineer men's basketball player Jordan Gregg and women's basketball player Whitney Hughes joined Monty to spread holiday cheer.
The players took time out of their busy schedules on a gameday to help promote the "Celebrate the Holidays with EOU Basketball" weekend. Area students and school staff members were invited to come to either doubleheader between Eastern and Southern Oregon or Oregon Tech.
The elementary school kids were very excited to see Monty Claus and shared high fives and even some hugs with the mascot. Some students were a little stand-offish from the larger than life character. One student even shouted, "It's the evil Santa!" But overall the reaction was positive!
"It was a lot of fun to be a part of this," Gregg said. "I'm not sure if they even noticed us they were so happy to see Monty!" 
Gregg and Hughes had the tough task of passing out candy canes to all the students. Some of the teachers were pretty happy to see the children with sugar during school hours I'm sure.
"They loved the candy canes," Hughes said. "We were lucky to give out most of the candy after lunch. But it was nice to surprise some of the kids in their classrooms."
Monty continued his good will at both doubleheaders. He threw out wrapped presents, basketballs, and more candy to the Friday and Saturday night crowds. The biggest gift of all may have been Eastern Oregon going 4-0 on the weekend.