There is a difference between being upset about the change (albeit its been 6+ years now. Get over it) and not supporting the program because of the change. (Which is a not so small portion of folks sadly)
I agree with @vu72 regarding getting over it, but I totally disagree with on changing the name to Crusader from a German Knight. Seriously, it was WW2 at the time, they had no choice but to change just to keep the university afloat!
bring in a dancing light tower like the Stanford tree and get rid of the stupid dogs!
There is a difference between being upset about the change (albeit its been 6+ years now. Get over it) and not supporting the program because of the change. (Which is a not so small portion of folks sadly)
My friends or family in town and I reached a compromise long ago. We continue to root for victory, but never utter the word "Beacons" in conversation: the team is called "Valpo" or "VU." All of us have a full collection of hats and sweatshirts, but they are either the old Crusader attire still filling our closets or newer clothing that only shows a shield.
Offers : Lincoln University, Graceland, Southwest Baptist, Olivet Nazarene
Recruiting Roster:
QB: Brunner, Ehrlich (TR)
RB: Rose, Foster, Gibson (TR), Tye, Kokosioulis
WR: Vetickal, Longley, Harms, Tran (TR), Brogden (IFS) , Wilson(IFS), White (TR)
TE: Perry (IFS) , Moody
OL: McCool, Miller, Brubaker, Erkapic, Ortiz
DL: Plowden, Taylor, Totimeh (TR), Hourany (TR), Knezevich (TR), Zinkiewicz, McCormick, Thorp
LB: Bargy, Slifer, Alfano, Jackson
DB: Dunivan, Friday, Ziebell, Glaspie, Harris (TR), Gouty
K: Pimentel (TR)
LS: Smith
Offers : Wabash, Indiana Wesleyan , Black Hills, Cobber, Iowa Central, Benedictine, Lake Forest, Arizona Christian, ALA Ironwood, Montana Tech, Culver Stockton, Beloit, Concordia Wisconsin
Recruiting Roster:
QB: Brunner, Ehrlich (TR)
RB: Rose, Foster, Gibson (TR), Tye, Kokosioulis
WR: Vetickal, Longley, Harms, Tran (TR), Brogden (IFS) , Wilson(IFS), White (TR)
TE: Perry (IFS) , Moody
OL: McCool, Miller, Brubaker, Erkapic, Ortiz
DL: Plowden, Taylor, Totimeh (TR), Hourany (TR), Knezevich (TR), Zinkiewicz, McCormick, Thorp, Barrett
LB: Bargy, Slifer, Alfano, Jackson
DB: Dunivan, Friday, Ziebell, Glaspie, Harris (TR), Gouty
K: Pimentel (TR)
LS: Smith
I agree with @vu72 regarding getting over it, but I totally disagree with on changing the name to Crusader from a German Knight. Seriously, it was WW2 at the time, they had no choice but to change just to keep the university afloat!
bring in a dancing light tower like the Stanford tree and get rid of the stupid dogs!
Don't necessarily disagree about the dogs but I think they would have been better received if some background as to the choice had been better disseminated. There were two campus dogs of note, one in the forties and one in the seventies. Both are buried on old campus with headstones. If you take a walk down to old campus you'll find the graves near the bullpen along the tree line.
The comments that I should "get over" the name change are well meaning and I agree and will endeavor to do so.
One thing I will not get over, however, is having a couple of cartoon dogs as mascots. Like many of us on this forum, I spent a lot of time on campus and not ONCE did I ever hear any mention made of the two campus dogs. None. Even if they were mentioned, no one cared. I suspect this mascot was chosen with the help of several 20-something students who thought the dogs would be "cute." And, in this world of equity over everything, we had to have two dogs - male and female.
We had several people come on this board come up with way better names and drawings of sample mascots. I liked "Dunehawks" and yes, I realize there is no such thing as a Dunehawk unless you drive a Nissan SUV. But it could make for a pretty good logo on merchandise (check out the Hawk on University of Iowa merchandise) and it invokes a fighting spirit unlike a couple of cartoon characters straight out of Scooby-Doo. It's embarrassing.
Paul
The comments that I should "get over" the name change are well meaning and I agree and will endeavor to do so.
One thing I will not get over, however, is having a couple of cartoon dogs as mascots. Like many of us on this forum, I spent a lot of time on campus and not ONCE did I ever hear any mention made of the two campus dogs. None. Even if they were mentioned, no one cared. I suspect this mascot was chosen with the help of several 20-something students who thought the dogs would be "cute." And, in this world of equity over everything, we had to have two dogs - male and female.
We had several people come on this board come up with way better names and drawings of sample mascots. I liked "Dunehawks" and yes, I realize there is no such thing as a Dunehawk unless you drive a Nissan SUV. But it could make for a pretty good logo on merchandise (check out the Hawk on University of Iowa merchandise) and it invokes a fighting spirit unlike a couple of cartoon characters straight out of Scooby-Doo. It's embarrassing.
Paul
I don't think anymore meant you in particular to get over it, moreso that it is a dead horse at this point. No need to beat it. The dogs are meh. Should have been a live Scottish leery or a dune hawk, or a knight or anything other than dogs
Dancing light tower to compete with the Stanford Tree? The dogs are not meh, they suck. This can be changed.
Folks, Notre Dame has what some might consider to be a silly, exaggerated leprechaun as their mascot, and you don't have many Fighting Irish fans claiming embarrassment over that. Something about winning puts mascots in the background.
Frankly, I think that most VU fans won't care what the dogs look like if our football and basketball teams start to compete for championships.
The mascot thing triggered underlying social/political tensions in the same way that the art sale did later, with some correlations in terms of sides people were picking or at least leaning toward.
While it appears that some folks are bound and determined to die holding their Crusader shields or their O'Keeffe prints, I hope that these aren't the kinds of things that President Konkol is being peppered with by alums. Because if they are, then we're letting old grievances undermine the work that must be done to put VU on strong footing.
@david81 👍🏻 spot on.
Hey, Bama has a freakin elephant that represents/equals (?) a red colored, quarter daily change in ocean movement. And….. It’s a wonder that they haven’t changed their nick name cuz “red (i.e., crimson) tide” has been known to cause death to humans due to the toxic components of the algae. And algae is kinda like a fungus. Yuk!
OTOH, Chocolate Labs and Golden Retrievers only kill grass when they pee on it.
About college sports mascots. It’s not what they are, it’s how they entertain and get fans involved. The mascot breakthrough was IIMO the San Diego Chicken. The Padres hired Ted Gianoulis to wear a crazy costume that had nothing to do with the Padres, and he transformed the mascot universe.
Colleges saw that, adopted the concept, and some are really great entertainers. Valpo needs to find a choreographer or mascot consultant to coach our puppies to be crazy and dynamic - actually with two that doubles the opportunities to be dynamic. They need to display more fun gimmicks, stupid and exaggerated stuff to juice people up - not just wander around and wave their arms and only be lovable.
Colleges saw that, adopted the concept, and some are really great entertainers. Valpo needs to find a choreographer or mascot consultant to coach our puppies to be crazy and dynamic - actually with two that doubles the opportunities to be dynamic. They need to display more fun gimmicks, stupid and exaggerated stuff to juice people up - not just wander around and wave their arms and only be lovable.
@vulb62 With a real sports fan as VU's new President, I'm hopeful that there will be genuine enthusiasm from the Central Administration for dialing up the experience of going to VU sporting events.
I think that Valpo needs a big spirit life in general, and that this should include getting more students to attend games. Making the whole thing more fun should be part of it!
@david81 I can’t go to games in the ARC. I, therefore, cannot comment on the atmosphere. But several fanzoners here can. How much fun and excitement is generated around the game and how much is related to the mascots?
Just musing….. In today’s sports world, a spirited and dynamic pep band + fun and exciting mascots + a high powered PA announcer + creative sound, visuals and lighting = an awesome game experience. Oh, and also a winning team. It’s all about figuring out how to develop and produce that intense experience. I guess I am thinking, that these days that is what you have to do to compete against sitting in your dorm room and playing video games.
One think that is being over looked is the student body. When we all were in school there were roughly 4000 undergrads and another 400 or so in the Law School. Today the total student could is about 2200. You can just ask so much of a kid fighting to pass an exam. Add another thousand students and all will be well.
One think that is being over looked is the student body. When we all were in school there were roughly 4000 undergrads and another 400 or so in the Law School. Today the total student could is about 2200. You can just ask so much of a kid fighting to pass an exam. Add another thousand students and all will be well.
That's an important point. Game attendance needs to draw on a bigger student body.
In order to revive enthusiasm for its teams, Valpo needs wins anywhere that can help to build positive momentum after a very difficult stretch -- not only in athletics, but also in enrollment, fundraising, publicity, anything. The most indirect successes can eventually benefit the sports program, and sports success can help the rest of the university.
A culture of scarcity and zero-sum competition over limited resources is toxic for universities (and many other institutions). I think we will see a change in that during 2026.
