New Valpo Team Name Ideas

[78crusader]

I think it will be Storm - a bland pick that meets all ridiculous PC standards. Wheaton College made a similar weather- related choice years ago when they switched from "Crusaders" to "Thunder."

Right now I trust the University - that is, if there is a bad decision to be made, I trust the University will make it.

Paul

[Chairback]

My guess is it will be the Gold.   Very little change needed and less drama with alumni.  You can still incorporate many of our current brand standards with it. 

I assume there has been some forecasting on cost change with this. One wild card is if a donor(s) fronts a significant amount of cash and says you have to choose "this one" and covers the cost.

[valpolaw]

When you google "lightning hawk" all that comes up are things about guns. It doesn't bother me but the PC crowd apparently didn't do their research. Not surprising at all though.

[vu72]

I have no horse in the race.  It's a MASCOT!!!  The figure running around at basketball games doesn't have to have anything to do with the name.  So if we are "The Gold" we could have a person dressed up as a lightning bolt if we wanted to.  Witness Alabama, who are the "Crimson Tide" but have an elephant running around.   

Nobody outside of the alumni base or those is NW Indiana know us as the Crusaders.  We are Valpo.

Just to try to put this all in perspective, consider some examples:

Harvard is "The Crimson" yet their mascot is John Harvard

Stanford is "The Cardinal" yet their mascot is a Tree

Michigan is "The Wolverines" yet they have no mascot.

Tulane is "The Green Wave" but have been fighting over what or who the mascot should be for decades.

North Texas is "The Mean Green" yet their mascot is Scrappy the Eagle.

I rest my brain cells.

[valpopal]

No matter which of the names is selected, I will question the process of a committee that has claimed to listen to its constituency's "over 300 unique new naming suggestions" and yet proposes finalists like "Tempest," "Sparks," and "Lightning Hawks." I am certain these and others on the list were not among the most frequently suggested by Valpo fans.

[vu72]

For those curious about who is on the committee, this from The Torch:

The mascot committee includes the following ten representatives: Chairperson Steve Janowiak, Freshman Franco Raimondi, student athlete Eron Gordon, faculty member Professor Joseph Bognar, staff member Briana Scheffer, alumni Danielle Carter Iddins, Chapel Pastor James Wetzstein, communications department's Nicole Niemi, Chief Diversity Officer Byron Martin, athletic department's Mark LaBarbera and finance and administration's Tamara Gingerich.

[valpo64]

Enough of this committee.  Start over with people who meet these qualifications: intelligence, common sense, some ideas of good PR, among others with an emphasis on INTELLIGENCE and COMMON SENSE!  AND BE SURE THAT ALL MEMBERS REALIZE THAT THEIR CHOICE IS FOR A REGIONAL TO NATIONALLY KNOWN QUALITY UNIVERSITY, not a Little League team or 5th grade summer YMCA team.  I don't know how he feels about the list or what is or are his favorite(s),  but I would be embarrassed and resign from this committee if I was Mark LaB and not be associated with this ridiculous deliberation.

[vu84v2]

I would be very interested to know Eron Gordon's opinion on all of this.

[valpopal]

Although the committee composition was skewed from the beginning with about half its members from the Coalition to Retire the Crusader and one even an administrator of that group, I have been careful not to criticize individuals in my posts and have objected merely to "the process." In fact, among the committee members, I consider a couple friends. I also have served with some on other university committees. Therefore, I know how the process works and how it can be manipulated, which is why I readily acknowledge cynicism. The committee started by establishing a rubric for judging suggestions by those in the community. In my experience, such rubrics are frequently designed to filter out options considered objectionable by some committee members (even though popular among the overall community) without them having to vote against (or even consider) those suggestions. It becomes similar to an employee saying in a disclaimer: "I'm just following company policy." The second step is to selectively choose a "focus group" (were any of us included?) with designed criteria and questions framed to reinforce that policy. This gives the false impression of more widespread support even when there most likely is none (ie. Tempest, Lightning Hawk). You then distribute a "forced-choice poll" (notoriously unreliable) limiting responses to the options chosen by the committee and requiring as an element of participation that respondents reply to all questions whether they have an opinion or not, watering down the impact of the responses. This is almost as bad as the original distorted survey that asked everyone if they considered themselves "a Valpo person" or "a Crusader" but did not permit both choices. For these reasons, as I stated previously, no matter what name is chosen, I will question the process.   

[mj]

From a simple cost perspective, it would make sense to choose a mascot that could still use the old Crusader logo. I'd like to know why the committee appeared to nix any those type of mascots.

[vu72]

From a simple cost perspective, it would make sense to choose a mascot that could still use the old Crusader logo. I'd like to know why the committee appeared to nix any those type of mascots.

I totally agree.  When we switched from the Uhlen (sp?) to the Crusader it was because of concern due to our wars with Germany. We changed the name but still had a character in armour on a horse.  The same could happen again as it is the name, Crusader that is the issue not the armor or shield.  Probably just too logical.

[VUGrad1314]

If we go with Lightning Hawks we could name our mascot Frank or just simply Zappa and then we could have a second one if we want and call him Zappa dos.  The reference possibilities would be endless. (In case you don't get the second one Zapdos is one of the original 150 pokemon I know I dated myself with that reference I assume most of you are familiar with Zappa and no I was not serious with either suggestion.) I don't love a lot of the name choices but at least Lightning Hawks would be unique and Dune Hawks is a nice nod to a prominent natural feature in our era. Beacon is also unique and a good nod to the university and its values. I guess the list isn't as bad as I thought it would be so credit for that.

[valpo64]

The list isn't as bad...no, it is worse.  It is a great list for naming the city of Valpo's YMCA summer league youth teams.

[vu72]

The list isn't as bad...no, it is worse.  It is a great list for naming the city of Valpo's YMCA summer league youth teams.

I missed your suggestion.  Please enlighten us!

[valpopal]

I enjoyed listening to Paul's discussion of the proposed finalists list on Union Street Hoops, but the most obvious and most revealing point seemed to be that during an hour of conversation three avid followers of Valpo sports could not muster much enthusiasm at all for the suggestions. There should have been a ninth option on the list: None of the Above, Go Back to the Drawing Board! It just seems again that by presenting such a lackluster list the university is squandering another opportunity to engender energy and excitement for the athletics program, just as they did in the years following the Sweet Sixteen run and more recently when they joined the MVC. 

[Vinny]

If nothing else, the Mascot Committee has provided a ton of comedy material. The Lightning Hawks? Tempest? I haven't had a laugh that good in awhile.

This is like watching a movie you never want to end. I can only hope they go back to the drawing board for eight more "fresh, inspired, and improved" ideas.

[wh]

I was reading yesterday's NWI Times, and I was shocked to see an ad for this Valpo business:

https://crusaderhomes.com/

Someone needs to woke these people up!

[valpo04]

The shield symbol is already tied and recognizable to Valpo.  Just keep the symbol and dump the nickname.  Save some considerable cash doing this also.

I agree some of them sound like WNBA names or car brands.

It still boggles the mind that the (interim) leader of this university supported this boondoggle during a financial calamity. Just call it children's hour at Valpo U.  BTW, with rare exception women are terrible business leaders - way too emotional and insecure.


A boondoggle is a project that is considered a waste of both time and money, yet is often continued due to extraneous policy or political motivations. Wikipedia

Say what you want about the mascot, the choices, or the process, but cut out the sexism.

Thanks.

[wh]

The shield symbol is already tied and recognizable to Valpo.  Just keep the symbol and dump the nickname.  Save some considerable cash doing this also.

I agree some of them sound like WNBA names or car brands.

It still boggles the mind that the (interim) leader of this university supported this boondoggle during a financial calamity. Just call it children's hour at Valpo U.  BTW, with rare exception women are terrible business leaders - way too emotional and insecure.


A boondoggle is a project that is considered a waste of both time and money, yet is often continued due to extraneous policy or political motivations. Wikipedia

Say what you want about the mascot, the choices, or the process, but cut out the sexism.

Thanks.

It isn't sexist; it's a fact. Read some Jordan Peterson and educate yourself. Let me guess. Someone threatened you, didn't they? I'll play the game, so you don't get your board "cancelled."

[valpo95]

My prediction is that it will be either the Beacons or the Dunehawks. The former is bland and inoffensive, yet it would be fairly easy to keep the V-shield logo. In addition, it ties well to the university motto and has been used for the yearbook title since 1941.

Dunehawks is unique and does have some ties to the region. However, it would be a very different logo and have no ties to the university.

If I had to guess, the team name will be the Beacons; the mascot might be the fictional dunehawk, carrying the shield. This would be like the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Big Al elephant mascot. 

[VUSERF]

I actually quite like the beacons as a name with an image of the dunehawk carrying the shield (see one of Paul Oren's retweets for a great design mock up). The only thing I would add to that mockup would be rays of light streaming from behind the hawk and shield, hence tying it to a beacon.

The mascot name could be Beaky the Beacon.

[nkvu]

I have no horse in the race.  It's a MASCOT!!!  The figure running around at basketball games doesn't have to have anything to do with the name.  So if we are "The Gold" we could have a person dressed up as a lightning bolt if we wanted to.  Witness Alabama, who are the "Crimson Tide" but have an elephant running around.   

Nobody outside of the alumni base or those is NW Indiana know us as the Crusaders.  We are Valpo.

Just to try to put this all in perspective, consider some examples:

Harvard is "The Crimson" yet their mascot is John Harvard

Stanford is "The Cardinal" yet their mascot is a Tree

Michigan is "The Wolverines" yet they have no mascot.

Tulane is "The Green Wave" but have been fighting over what or who the mascot should be for decades.

North Texas is "The Mean Green" yet their mascot is Scrappy the Eagle.

I rest my brain cells.

Xavier University has two mascots. The musketeer (obvious), and a fuzzy blue blob. I call the blue blob "Cugot".  Get it?  "Xavier Cugot".   (Rimshot). Ok I guess you have to be over a certain age to know who he was. I'll be here all week.

[vuny98]

I actually quite like the beacons as a name with an image of the dunehawk carrying the shield (see one of Paul Oren's retweets for a great design mock up). The only thing I would add to that mockup would be rays of light streaming from behind the hawk and shield, hence tying it to a beacon. The mascot name could be Beaky the Beacon.

I really really hate the name Beacons... I mean, I get that it fits with the Universities desired image, but for Athletics, just not powerful or something I feel teams can rally around.

I know I have stated my like for the name Gold before (partly because I think I was the first to suggest it many months ago, so obviously biased here). And someone said above they hope the University doesn't take the easy way out with Gold. But I think the easy way out is the best of all solutions presented. I don't want to be a made up bird, a weather related name, or a lame feel good name. Gold is a "strong" name, not offensive (not yet atleast), keeps with school tradition/history and still has the ability to use whatever mascot you want to go along with it. Sure it may be the easy way out and not super flashy and innovative. It's simple, that's why its good.

[usc4valpo]

What actually is a Dune Hawk?

[VALPO LI]

What actually is a Dune Hawk?

Same family as the Lightning Hawk!!!