“He’s gone through a lot to do this,” Zoe said.

One can measure time, like rings on a tree, by how often Justin, a sophomore in high school, needs a new outfit. Some are saved, others passed down to younger fans. By the family’s estimation, he has worn eight or nine, and only one — the initial edition, as depicted in the photo with the bulldog — was not handmade. Told at the university bookstore that it would discontinue selling the costumes, Zoe took up the cause.

Every two years or so, or when it gets too tight in the shoulders, Zoe, with the help of a neighbor, stitches a new costume with the help of what she called a heavy-duty sewing machine. It is a two-week process. She calls a fabric store in Greeley — where, Justin said, they are known as “the people with the suit” — and orders the caramel-shaded poly fur, always buying extra for emergencies. For the current suit, she needed five yards.

Until Justin was about 10, he did not wear a jersey over the outfit. Then he decided he wanted to be more like Cam, the Rams’ official mascot, who adapts his clothing to the season. Justin, a broad-shouldered 5 feet 5 inches, has full jerseys for basketball and football, his modest tail tucked beneath the shorts or pants, but only a uniform top for volleyball.

“Those little shiny shorts?” Justin said. “No, those do not look good on fur.”

Depending on the sporting calendar, he might wear the costume as often as five times in a week. During an interview at the Rams’ hotel here Friday, the university’s athletic director, Jack Graham, walked by and asked him, “Have you washed that thing lately?”