The “Whoosh! Cecil” ice cream flavor isn’t disappearing off the shelves, but will find its place alongside Bronco’s Cocoa Bean, LaVell’s Vanilla and other classic names.
At every basketball game there’s an opening prayer, a national anthem and an infamous “Whoosh! Cecil” chant when a BYU player sinks a free-throw shot.
BYU basketball fans introduced the “Cecil” part to their “Whoosh!” chant after noticing that former president Cecil O. Samuelson wasn’t showing enough emotion during the games. The chant became a habit, then a tradition for the students in the ROC section. Cecil returned every “Whoosh!” with a thumbs up to the student section.
Kevin J. Worthen is now the president of BYU, which leaves many wondering: What is going to happen to the “Whoosh! Cecil” chant?
Basketball fans may not know what to shout when BYU players step up to the free throw line, but ice cream lovers don’t need to worry anymore. The chocolate-flavored ice cream, laced with salted caramel and cashews, is not going anywhere.
“It’s not been around very long. It’s only been about a year,” said Jerry Pingel, dairy production manager for BYU.
Pingel said other BYU greats still have an ice cream flavor dedicated to them, even though they are no longer around. One flavor that remains a favorite at the Creamery is Earnestly Chocolate, an ice cream created to celebrate the rededication of the Ernest L. Wilkinson Student Center in 1999.
“We still have it, and Ernest Wilkinson is long gone,” Pingel said.
Other crowd-pleasers named after famous BYU faculty include LaVell’s Vanilla Bean, Bronco’s Cocoa Bean and Cosmo’s Peanut Butter Crunch.
Creamery producers focus on using the best possible ingredients in their products.
“Our vanilla is Madagascar vanilla extract. Madagascar had a hurricane that wiped out their vanilla crop, and vanilla extract went from $60 a gallon to $350 a gallon. We never changed. We kept buying it because that’s BYU ice cream. We buy flavors, candies and nuts that are the best,” Pingel claimed.
Creating an ice cream for President Worthen has been discussed, although for now it is only talk.
“I would say that it would take a while for the tradition to bring up a new ice cream for the new president, but it’s a possibility,” said Jared Hessing, a supervisor at the BYU Creamery on Ninth.
