It’s Wooftastic! Meet The Mules and Jennies Canine Athletic Staff

Did you know the University of Central Missouri baseball and softball teams have a canine on their coaching staff?

If you've headed out to cheer on the Mules or Jennies baseball or softball teams you probably do. For those of us who haven't gone to a game yet, they do. And these two canine "coaches" are making some national headlines.

Their stories are on ESPN.com complete with the pooches getting their day in the sun for their contribution to the UCM Athletics!

According to the ESPN article, the OG canine coach for UCM is Lebowski Backhaus,  listed as Crane Stadium Head of Security on the Mules Baseball Web Page under the support staff tab. According to the good boy's bio on the webpage, Lebowski is in his fourth season as the Crane Stadium Perimeter Protector for the Mules baseball program. He enjoys chasing scooters, skateboarders, bikers, and playing Frisbee.

Meanwhile, the Jennies softball coaching staff has two canines on staff. Bhara Eilert as designated puppy and Rookie Anderson as base running coach.  Sadly, there is no bio information for Bhara or Rookie on the Jennies softball coaching bios. According to ESPN, Bhara's job for Jennie's softball is a ball shagger, while Rookie got her title because she loves to run the bases and run them fast. If she sees a cat or deer she'll go into Zoomy mode.

To learn more about Lebowski, Bhara, and Rookie you can check out the UCM Athletics pages here, and you can check out the ESPN article for more information.

The Jennies have a 20-20 record, and are 9-10 in conference play this season, while the Mules are 34-4 and 22-2 in conference play and are ranked second. The Mules lead all NCAA Division II schools in batting average, fielding percentage, homers, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and runs.