New Valpo Team Name Ideas

[bbtds]

Go Beamin' Beacons!!!!!

[VALPO LI]

I keep seeing a chess piece.

Farleigh Dickinson University -esque

A cross between the queen on a chess board and the Eye of Mordor searching for the ring bearer.

[IrishDawg]

Why not change the color scheme too?  I know yellow and brown is unique, but with the lighthouse logo it just looks awful.  The "V" with the flame isn't bad, but if you're going to make changes, I would have started with getting rid of the brown and then moved onto the mascot.

[valpo64]

So now we live with this stupid nickname.  It is a disgrace  IMO.  Of course what can you expect when the decision was made by a committee, who for the most part, the members were unqualified, should not have been chosen to serve on it in the first place.   The committee  then compiles a final list of very poor options and what do you get, a very poor final choice.

The artwork/logo shown on the t-shirt looks like a YMCA summer day-camp shirt.  I would be embarrassed to wear it.  Of course that will never happen.  Even though my wife and I are proud graduates of Valpo, this choice is a disgrace in our opinion.  You will never hear me say I am a proud Beacon!

It is unconceivable to me that the name chosen is also the name of our yearbook and a dorm...unbelievable.

[VU75]

There are two other schools with the Beacon nickname.  Bushnell, a NAIA school in Eugene  Oregon uses a torch laid over a B.  U Mass Boston a D3 also uses a lighthouse which for some reason shows light beaming out both sides like a cartoon mustache.

[valpo64]

WOW!  We are in great company!

[nkvu]

So now we live with this stupid nickname.  It is a disgrace  IMO.  Of course what can you expect when the decision was made by a committee, who for the most part, the members were unqualified, should not have been chosen to serve on it in the first place.   The committee  then compiles a final list of very poor options and what do you get, a very poor final choice.

The artwork/logo shown on the t-shirt looks like a YMCA summer day-camp shirt.  I would be embarrassed to wear it.  Of course that will never happen.  Even though my wife and I are proud graduates of Valpo, this choice is a disgrace in our opinion.  You will never hear me say I am a proud

It is unconceivable to me that the name chosen is also the name of our yearbook and a dorm...unbelievable.

I don't know.  The "Alpo Bacon" might be very appealing to my dog, if I had a dog, which I don't at the moment. 🐶🥓

[Pgmado]

So now we live with this stupid nickname.  It is a disgrace  IMO.  Of course what can you expect when the decision was made by a committee, who for the most part, the members were unqualified, should not have been chosen to serve on it in the first place.   The committee  then compiles a final list of very poor options and what do you get, a very poor final choice.

The artwork/logo shown on the t-shirt looks like a YMCA summer day-camp shirt.  I would be embarrassed to wear it.  Of course that will never happen.  Even though my wife and I are proud graduates of Valpo, this choice is a disgrace in our opinion.  You will never hear me say I am a proud Beacon!

It is unconceivable to me that the name chosen is also the name of our yearbook and a dorm...unbelievable.

The nickname before Crusaders was the Uhlan, the same name at the time as the...yearbook.

[valpotx]

I agree with Chris Sparks' general sentiment.  For any athlete, when you find out that your mascot is the Beacons, your first reaction will be something akin to, 'what the f..?'  Watch out everyone, here come the mighty Beacons!  You better be careful, otherwise we will have to shine our light of character on you!  Fans chanting, 'shine our light on thee,' as we need that crucial basket.  Holy crap, I can just imagine opposing fans and the taunts that our teams will receive.  I would have taken Gold over Beacons, and I hated Gold.  At least Dune Hawks sounded somewhat cool, and somewhat mighty. 

[VALPO LI]

Now comes the interesting part for Valpo.  Does the university fully invest into this new image and plaster the lighthouse all over campus.  Do we start to see the lighthouse on banners, sweatshirts and the center of the ARC floor?  Does ESPN use the logo on its website and on TV?  How invested will the university be with this new image of the Beacon.  Or does Valpo continue to promote and invest in the shield as the current university logo seen throughout campus. Will the shield still be centerstage like the I at the University of Illinois, the B at Bradley, and the crest at Harvard.  Will the university be called the Beacons with an image of Valpo and the shield or will the shield be taken over by the Beacon?  Remember the shield is Valpo's logo, the Beacon is just a nickname.....or is it.....

[usc4valpo]

I have seen better logos for beer league softball teams. Surely they can do better than this!

[vu72]

I agree with Chris Sparks' general sentiment.  For any athlete, when you find out that your mascot is the Beacons, your first reaction will be something akin to, 'what the f..?'  Watch out everyone, here come the mighty Beacons!  You better be careful, otherwise we will have to shine our light of character on you!  Fans chanting, 'shine our light on thee,' as we need that crucial basket.  Holy crap, I can just imagine opposing fans and the taunts that our teams will receive.  I would have taken Gold over Beacons, and I hated Gold.  At least Dune Hawks sounded somewhat cool, and somewhat mighty. 

Oh come on!  If this were true imagine how kids feel about the mascot being a nut!(Ohio State)  Or how about just a color?(The Crimson of Harvard)  It's a mascot!  You can pick all sorts of issues with LOTS of mascots unless you put them where they belong. Just a name, not intended to offend or amuse, or scare or intimidate, or anything else.  Everybody just relax.  Too much time on our hands. Sports start again in less than a month.  It can't come soon enough. Sorry for the rant tx!!

[covufan]

The name is fine - Go Beamin' Beacons!

Anyways, the logo makes me sad.

Won't that be confusing if we play Wake Forest?

Freakin Beacon Deacon meetin on the hardwood


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[valpo64]

Let's see....the fight song:  "Hail Beacons.......You should have seen the ridiculous reply I received form the University after I replied to the notice from Pres. Padilla.  It was so sweet and flowery that it almost made me cry. 

[vufan75]

Let's see....the fight song:  "Hail Beacons.......You should have seen the ridiculous reply I received form the University after I replied to the notice from Pres. Padilla.  It was so sweet and flowery that it almost made me cry. 

What notice from President Padilla? I must have been removed from the ValpoU email list? Interesting.

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

[valpo64]

Maybe it was an Alumni mailing with his message.  The reply to my words was very moving, in fact I headed to the bathroom after I read it.

[mp91]

The Beacons name is kinda lame. But I like the idea of the lighthouse logo (although it can be cleaned up a bit aesthetically). I was hoping for a different name but it's not the worst.

At least my name isn't going to be offensive to others. That's the most important thing.

Plus, let's be honest, there are a lot of terrible college nicknames out there. Sycamores is a terrible name. Boilermakers is a terrible name, we are just so used to it because of the history of the program but I know several friends from other states who consider it among the worst in sports. Other schools are called the banana slugs, the okra, camels, Penguins, shockers, and retrievers. So, it could be worse. In three months, no one is even going to care. It's going to be about basketball, not the nickname.

[Vinny]

At first glance, the lighthouse looks like a salt shaker. Looking at it closer, why is the lighthouse in wastewater? Can there be lighthouses on land? Will the university build a lighthouse on campus?

Nicknames are for athletics. As long as the school continues to think of athletics as a necessary evil, we're just wasting key strokes.

[Chairback]

Valpo's Long John Silvers has a Beacon on top of it.  So we do have one in town. 

[mp91]

At first glance, the lighthouse looks like a salt shaker. Looking at it closer, why is the lighthouse in wastewater? Can there be lighthouses on land? Will the university build a lighthouse on campus?

Nicknames are for athletics. As long as the school continues to think of athletics as a necessary evil, we're just wasting key strokes.

The latter part of your statement is 1000% correct. The concept for the nickname was flawed because some people in the administration (like the AD) wanted the nickname to make some larger statement about the University's religious history, etc.... I don't understand why they were so focused on the religious history in the first place, that's what got us entangled in the Crusader drama. The nickname should have been solely based on what sounds cool in an athletic setting.

You are also correct on the University's poor history of supporting athletic programs. I have heard that Padilla may be different because of his propensity as a sports fan. Let's hope so. The fact that we have not been able to build a new basketball stadium is disgraceful. I think the AD is also partially to blame. He cut soccer, which was one of our most successful sports and also a sport that brought in students from across the globe. That was a very poor decision. I understand budget constraints forced some tough decisions, but there were other programs that were better choices to be cut than soccer, especially since it was one of the few programs where we actually beat top 25 ranked schools and given the fact that soccer is one of the fastest growing sports in the country (and very popular in NWI). Similarly, if you go to any mall within 15 miles, you hardly ever see Valpo gear, but you see Northern Illinois, Western Michigan, Indiana state, and several other programs. This is also due to a lack of sports branding by the University. Let's hope Padilla and the athletic department are more forward thinking in the future.

[78crusader]

given the fact that soccer is one of the fastest growing sports in the country

I've been hearing that ever since 1965 when I was in the 5th grade.  Soccer is a niche sport in the American landscape, nothing more. 

Paul

[humbleopinion]

Let's see....the fight song:  "Hail Beacons.......You should have seen the ridiculous reply I received form the University after I replied to the notice from Pres. Padilla.  It was so sweet and flowery that it almost made me cry. 

"Hail Crusaders" can easily be replaced with"Valparaiso"  -- the accents are the same.

[mp91]

given the fact that soccer is one of the fastest growing sports in the country

I've been hearing that ever since 1965 when I was in the 5th grade.  Soccer is a niche sport in the American landscape, nothing more. 

Paul

Depends on what you consider a niche sport. Do you consider hockey a niche?

MLS interest grew 27% between 2012 and 2019 (and likely more since). MLS team evaluations are skyrocketing. Soccer is the third most played team sport in America. Some recent polling showed 7% of Americans answered soccer as their favorite sport, baseball was 9%. Sure, it's not as popular as football and basketball and probably never will be. Soccer tends to be more popular with younger generations, so to some it may not seem as popular as it is. But, do some research and you'll see just how much the sport has grown.(Also, pretty sure the sport has grown every decade since 1965, so maybe all those people telling you that were right).

[vu72]

I think the AD is also partially to blame. He cut soccer, which was one of our most successful sports and also a sport that brought in students from across the globe.

I think you are incorrect on being successful.  We won one conference title (2011) in the Horizon.  Before that you would have to go back to 1998.  You are correct on bringing in students from across the globe.  I think there were players from 10 different countries at the end.  That was the good news and the bad news.  Do you think they just showed up or do you think we had to chase them all over the globe.  That was expensive but necessary to even compete.  Either Mike wasn't a very good coach (I think he was a very good coach) or we needed to search even further to get players to win.  Heck, we had a Indiana Mr. Soccer on the roster and he didn't even start.

There is a reason why only five of the ten basketball teams play soccer.  It's expensive.  It needed to be cut.

https://cdn.streamlinehosting.net/valpoathletics/510D1445-66EB-411D-A157-7D295308AB2C/MSO_AllTimeResults_Final.pdf

[bbtds]

If they had done this, this would have been a solid, smooth layup finish (not quite a slam dunk).

There is nothing wrong with a layup. It would be interesting to look at the shooting percentages of both layups and slam dunks.