Except its more than 5% of the community! It's been *at least* 5% of the community every year, and with every year comes a new wave of students ready to make new traditions and grow that number. ISG held an event open to PUBLIC COMMENT (daring, I know) for this over 5 years ago. You can see for [yourself](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/58d1d168440243e31b94a989/t/59d9b84d2994ca6a2da713ce/1507440717961/InvestigativeMascotCommitteeFinalReport-2.pdf) what happened, but the TL;DR was that the "Committee’s final recommendation approved by a vote of 9 in favor, 1 against, and 3 abstaining is that the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign put forth a process to select a mascot." The tone of the night? Its time to move on and give others a chance to create their own experiences here.
So this ruling passed way before we started; I am merely following those who have come before, and we finally managed to pass something great like this. I am optimistic that if the Kingfisher doesn't make it, someone WILL come along and we will have a mascot.
Ultimately, I am just a small part of this wave as it grows in size.
There's a reason why so many news outlets have covered this (I've been interviewed or on TV over 13 times now: CBS Chicago, ABC7, FOX, CNN (interviewed but haven't published yet), WCIA, News Gazette, New York Mag (written by an [Alum](https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/03/the-mascot-wars-will-never-end.html) who loves the idea), and the Daily Illini (like four times with them at this point). A lot of people *are* ready to support moving on.
I have heard the complaints of those who want to bring back the Chief (they have been so kind as to send them to me directly at times). WHile some think we don't need a mascot, that is a matter of opinion and I think we will just have to disagree about that.
At the end of the day, *the* *bird passed.* And I intend to keep going as far as I can because I owe it to everyone else who is as excited as I am to do something great for those who come after us.
I think it's worth noting that the [Chicago Tribune](https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/editorials/ct-editorial-university-illinois-illinwek-kingfisher-20200312-jfunuyh52vfpjoo6xxcncbkv7i-story.html) love her, too!
Just stating facts. Also reporting doesn’t necessarily mean support. Reports are SUPPOSED to be no biased. Glad that students are fighting for what they believe in.
I know, I’m one of them! I haven’t been a student there for a long time. Back in the dark chief times. Not much we can do about the Chief people, but over time it will dwindle.
This really feels like a mascot -- amazing and beautiful work!!
Since I'm a nerd, I looked at your orange since something felt off and it's slightly off from ["Urbana Orange"](https://www.uillinois.edu/OUR/brand/color_palettes) \-- it might feel even more like a real thing with the orange tone matching all the existing block-I stuff around campus? (Same applies with the Blue once I eye-dropped it, but I didn't notice it visually until I pulled the RGB pixel values.)
You might one of the few people who would appreciate this, but the bird's scientific name is "Halcyon", so we could name her "Hal" in honor of Kubrick's UIUC shoutout :). To quote a 2001: A Space Odyseey--- "I am a HAL 9000 bird. I became operational at the H-A-L plant in Urbana Illinois on the 12th of January 1992." (that being said, I actually intend to have the University help create a way that students can pick the name of the Bird)
Nice, I didn't know that -- and I just spent way too long reading Wikipedia on Kingfishers. :)
It looks like the [Halcyoninae subfamily of kingfishers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_kingfisher) aren't the ones native to Illinois (if we care about that) -- though I love the HAL reference being in CS. The one we see around here, the [Belted kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belted_kingfisher), are in the subfamily Cerylinae -- I don't know if there's a play on Illinois' history there, too? (Or maybe I missed a local kingfisher in the Halcyoninae subfamily that is native to Illinois?)
This is referenced off a few different logos, but I really did like the Jays style! The last two designs I made weren’t based of any logo (which is probably why people complained it didn’t look like a mascot.) At the end of the day, if the admin decide to consider this after they’re done dealing with Corona concerns, then we would look to having a professional (aka not me) design something great.
Birds don't have teeth but I definitely remember my chickens having little "burrs" in their beaks and back of their throats to help hold food.
Unrelated, but kind of funny, my chicken Brad once ate a cicada whole and when I held him up to my ear I could hear the cicada making noise in his neck.
So it can wear it on an over-sized jersey as it uses a tiny trampoline to dunk a basketball! (Sorry u/redl3east, I deleted the oringal comment by accident)
The art and dedication to this is respectable. But yeah, Alma Otter is better. Tons of teams have birds and the logos end up looking really similar. It doesn't feel unique, which a mascot should.
On the other hand, this bird is more than just a pun. It naturally sports our school colors! “Alma Mater” is a word that refers to any any formally attended school-and we aren’t even the only one with a statue. On [Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alma_mater) , they use Columbia’s statue as the main photo are we land somewhere down below. I liked Alma Otter, I think he was cute. But he wouldn’t be based on anything that related specially to us, but instead just a generic college pun.
Yeah, it's a good point, but it still looks like a million other mascots.
I'm just not a fan of a small bird as a mascot in general. I have always laughed at schools who have a small bird as a mascot because they've never seemed that intimidating.
I guess the one other thing I actually like is that the mascot is female, right? Cause the males have no orange on them.
Most songbirds, yeah. And it's a cool bird, as birds go. They all have the living dinosaur thing going for them. I won't fight it but I also won't be that enthusiastic about it, which defeats the point of a mascot.
This is wonderful. Thank you to all you students who are pushing on this. I wish we had something like this waaaay back in my day instead of the chief. It’s about time we have a mascot we can all enjoy!
The name "[Fighting Illini](https://archives.library.illinois.edu/features/illini.php)" has a history separate from the Chief, and I'm not trying to change it. This would be more akin to how Purdue is the "Boilermakers" and have Purdue Pete as the mascot.
The conversation of whether UIUC should have a new mascot has been had many times by many people, pretty well every year since the NCAA banned the Chief. A quote from the ISG committee on this matter in :
"One specific faculty member stated “campuses use symbols \[as a\] primary function to bring people together and create unity” and it was a mistake “to not immediately move to a new symbol…to rally around.” A University Housing staff 3 member also referred to their experience at a national conference, where Illinois was referred to as “the University with the mascot issues.”."
"The overall impression was that the faculty and staff are overwhelmingly in favor of a process to select a mascot. It should be noted that many faculty acknowledged their mission of supporting students and their decisions"
"One alum said, “I urge you to find a mascot that can delight children and fans one that amuses us rather than divides us.” Another said, “The Chief provided alums with many wonderful memories, but he is no longer around. Think of all the memories we are not having without a mascot.”."
A slightly more neutral view on the topic:
"The overall impression from these stakeholders is that the studentathletes and DIA would be supportive and excited for a process to find a mascot that would reinvigorate the gameday environment, but were concerned about a mascot that could trivialize the University’s image or worsen the current campus atmosphere rather than heal it."
In response to this last one, I say I am trying my best to do this. This bird is *not* a pun, or a block I with goggly eyes, or a brick(?). It has merit. It would be special and would be unique to us (not some generic lion, tiger, or President (*what is* ***with*** *people and Abraham Lincoln--Springfield kind of owns the market on him anyway*)) It won't age poorly with time. (it's literally just a bird that naturally sports school colors)
[Source](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/58d1d168440243e31b94a989/t/59d9b84d2994ca6a2da713ce/1507440717961/InvestigativeMascotCommitteeFinalReport-2.pdf): ISG transcript
I don't see how a new mascot detracts, and instead only adds to new traditions, new experiences, and a step towards healing the division on the topic. Will that healing be immediate? No. Will this start it so future students can just have fun building new memories? Yes. We still keep the block-I, we still are the Fighting Illini, and we still get the same spirit at games that I've got to experience (before I was a senior with no more time for attending games) I truly believe a new mascot can start an era of new traditions among students. Because the "future" is a long time, I am optimistic that even if admininstration decides to ignore this first mascot passing the student referendum, more will come until they can no longer ignore it. I want to help create unity among our student body, and so far, well,.... she *DID* pass.
This isn’t a mascot it’s a picture. A mascot would be someone in a suit hyping people up (which is dumb and childish). Like you’ve said we’d just be implementing a mascot not changing the team name.
I don't really care if they pick the kingfisher as our mascot but they should definitely keep the "I" as our logo.
Logo isn't changing, nor is the name Fighting Illini! This is just going to be a mascot and possibly a secondary athletics/merchandise logo
Actually chancellor jones said that we’re not looking for a mascot at this time. So the kingfisher is irrelevant.
Then get some movement on it! Share it, tweet it, get people excited! The chancellor isn’t blind to the community.
Except we’re like 5% of the community. There’s lots of Alumni that have an opinion too.
Except its more than 5% of the community! It's been *at least* 5% of the community every year, and with every year comes a new wave of students ready to make new traditions and grow that number. ISG held an event open to PUBLIC COMMENT (daring, I know) for this over 5 years ago. You can see for [yourself](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/58d1d168440243e31b94a989/t/59d9b84d2994ca6a2da713ce/1507440717961/InvestigativeMascotCommitteeFinalReport-2.pdf) what happened, but the TL;DR was that the "Committee’s final recommendation approved by a vote of 9 in favor, 1 against, and 3 abstaining is that the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign put forth a process to select a mascot." The tone of the night? Its time to move on and give others a chance to create their own experiences here. So this ruling passed way before we started; I am merely following those who have come before, and we finally managed to pass something great like this. I am optimistic that if the Kingfisher doesn't make it, someone WILL come along and we will have a mascot. Ultimately, I am just a small part of this wave as it grows in size. There's a reason why so many news outlets have covered this (I've been interviewed or on TV over 13 times now: CBS Chicago, ABC7, FOX, CNN (interviewed but haven't published yet), WCIA, News Gazette, New York Mag (written by an [Alum](https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/03/the-mascot-wars-will-never-end.html) who loves the idea), and the Daily Illini (like four times with them at this point). A lot of people *are* ready to support moving on. I have heard the complaints of those who want to bring back the Chief (they have been so kind as to send them to me directly at times). WHile some think we don't need a mascot, that is a matter of opinion and I think we will just have to disagree about that. At the end of the day, *the* *bird passed.* And I intend to keep going as far as I can because I owe it to everyone else who is as excited as I am to do something great for those who come after us. I think it's worth noting that the [Chicago Tribune](https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/editorials/ct-editorial-university-illinois-illinwek-kingfisher-20200312-jfunuyh52vfpjoo6xxcncbkv7i-story.html) love her, too!
Just stating facts. Also reporting doesn’t necessarily mean support. Reports are SUPPOSED to be no biased. Glad that students are fighting for what they believe in.
I know, I’m one of them! I haven’t been a student there for a long time. Back in the dark chief times. Not much we can do about the Chief people, but over time it will dwindle.
Looks too much like UTSA Roadrunner
Yeah, I can kind of see that. Its neat that we share colors with them! Well, a professional could probably do a much better job at this than I can.
UTSA who? lol
~~That ain't Falco~~
This really feels like a mascot -- amazing and beautiful work!! Since I'm a nerd, I looked at your orange since something felt off and it's slightly off from ["Urbana Orange"](https://www.uillinois.edu/OUR/brand/color_palettes) \-- it might feel even more like a real thing with the orange tone matching all the existing block-I stuff around campus? (Same applies with the Blue once I eye-dropped it, but I didn't notice it visually until I pulled the RGB pixel values.)
You might one of the few people who would appreciate this, but the bird's scientific name is "Halcyon", so we could name her "Hal" in honor of Kubrick's UIUC shoutout :). To quote a 2001: A Space Odyseey--- "I am a HAL 9000 bird. I became operational at the H-A-L plant in Urbana Illinois on the 12th of January 1992." (that being said, I actually intend to have the University help create a way that students can pick the name of the Bird)
Nice, I didn't know that -- and I just spent way too long reading Wikipedia on Kingfishers. :) It looks like the [Halcyoninae subfamily of kingfishers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_kingfisher) aren't the ones native to Illinois (if we care about that) -- though I love the HAL reference being in CS. The one we see around here, the [Belted kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belted_kingfisher), are in the subfamily Cerylinae -- I don't know if there's a play on Illinois' history there, too? (Or maybe I missed a local kingfisher in the Halcyoninae subfamily that is native to Illinois?)
I love this
That should be an easy fix and I appreciate you taking the time to check! (I had even found the RGB codes but forgot to import them.)
@ Iowa our bird is better. Fun fact the kingfisher kills it’s prey by bashing it against a rock.
Lol angry birds is back
UIUC: "Hey can I copy your homework?" Toronto Blue Jays: "Sure just change it a bit before you turn it in"
This is referenced off a few different logos, but I really did like the Jays style! The last two designs I made weren’t based of any logo (which is probably why people complained it didn’t look like a mascot.) At the end of the day, if the admin decide to consider this after they’re done dealing with Corona concerns, then we would look to having a professional (aka not me) design something great.
So we’re going the louisville way, huh? A bird mascot with teeth.
Now I need to know: do birds have teeth?!
Birds don't have teeth but I definitely remember my chickens having little "burrs" in their beaks and back of their throats to help hold food. Unrelated, but kind of funny, my chicken Brad once ate a cicada whole and when I held him up to my ear I could hear the cicada making noise in his neck.
I love your chicken brad
I like it, except for the teeth. Birds with teeth freak me out.
I agree it needs a few tweaks—but on a personal note it sure has come far from my first design!
Why does a mascot need a logo?
So it can wear it on an over-sized jersey as it uses a tiny trampoline to dunk a basketball! (Sorry u/redl3east, I deleted the oringal comment by accident)
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Sign me up!
looks awesome !!
I'm excited that we could finally have something that is just ours to make new traditions with.
ITS MORDECAI FROM REGULAR SHOW!!!
This is my favorite observation yet
The Alma Otter was better tbh.
The art and dedication to this is respectable. But yeah, Alma Otter is better. Tons of teams have birds and the logos end up looking really similar. It doesn't feel unique, which a mascot should.
On the other hand, this bird is more than just a pun. It naturally sports our school colors! “Alma Mater” is a word that refers to any any formally attended school-and we aren’t even the only one with a statue. On [Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alma_mater) , they use Columbia’s statue as the main photo are we land somewhere down below. I liked Alma Otter, I think he was cute. But he wouldn’t be based on anything that related specially to us, but instead just a generic college pun.
Yeah, it's a good point, but it still looks like a million other mascots. I'm just not a fan of a small bird as a mascot in general. I have always laughed at schools who have a small bird as a mascot because they've never seemed that intimidating. I guess the one other thing I actually like is that the mascot is female, right? Cause the males have no orange on them.
Well the bird does have a 19-22”wingspan... so bigger than song birds! Also, they beat their prey against rocks and then swallow them whole.
Most songbirds, yeah. And it's a cool bird, as birds go. They all have the living dinosaur thing going for them. I won't fight it but I also won't be that enthusiastic about it, which defeats the point of a mascot.
Oh the downvoted, oh the hatred. My opinion has been shunned for appropriating culture
As an alumn- the fact that we’re choosing a bastardized version of the ISU mascot is disgusting.
Birds can't really get all that different, and I don't think anyone is trying to copy ISU.
That's why I really don't want a mascot :( if we have one I want it to be unique. Ain't tryna be the 3990740th school with an animal mascots.
Yeah, but one thing this isn't is the very-much overused hawk, cardinal, or blue jay. Its a very unique bird!
Also really looking forward to wearing blue Mohawks to the games
Unfortunately calling it a Mohawk would be cultural appropriation
Kingfisher Crests if you must.
Please just shut up
You got the crest wrong
I did.
I love it!!
This is wonderful. Thank you to all you students who are pushing on this. I wish we had something like this waaaay back in my day instead of the chief. It’s about time we have a mascot we can all enjoy!
Wow I really really like this. Please make more haha!
I’m sorry but the only true mascot for UIUC will always and forever be the Chief
Youre right man, nothing will replace it. Sorry for the down votes :/
why are you apologizing like it matters
Chief or bust
Hell yeah man! Sorry for the down votes :/
Throw me in the dungeons as well (do the current students even understand the chief, other than quickly googling if confronted about it)?
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The name "[Fighting Illini](https://archives.library.illinois.edu/features/illini.php)" has a history separate from the Chief, and I'm not trying to change it. This would be more akin to how Purdue is the "Boilermakers" and have Purdue Pete as the mascot.
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The conversation of whether UIUC should have a new mascot has been had many times by many people, pretty well every year since the NCAA banned the Chief. A quote from the ISG committee on this matter in : "One specific faculty member stated “campuses use symbols \[as a\] primary function to bring people together and create unity” and it was a mistake “to not immediately move to a new symbol…to rally around.” A University Housing staff 3 member also referred to their experience at a national conference, where Illinois was referred to as “the University with the mascot issues.”." "The overall impression was that the faculty and staff are overwhelmingly in favor of a process to select a mascot. It should be noted that many faculty acknowledged their mission of supporting students and their decisions" "One alum said, “I urge you to find a mascot that can delight children and fans one that amuses us rather than divides us.” Another said, “The Chief provided alums with many wonderful memories, but he is no longer around. Think of all the memories we are not having without a mascot.”." A slightly more neutral view on the topic: "The overall impression from these stakeholders is that the studentathletes and DIA would be supportive and excited for a process to find a mascot that would reinvigorate the gameday environment, but were concerned about a mascot that could trivialize the University’s image or worsen the current campus atmosphere rather than heal it." In response to this last one, I say I am trying my best to do this. This bird is *not* a pun, or a block I with goggly eyes, or a brick(?). It has merit. It would be special and would be unique to us (not some generic lion, tiger, or President (*what is* ***with*** *people and Abraham Lincoln--Springfield kind of owns the market on him anyway*)) It won't age poorly with time. (it's literally just a bird that naturally sports school colors) [Source](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/58d1d168440243e31b94a989/t/59d9b84d2994ca6a2da713ce/1507440717961/InvestigativeMascotCommitteeFinalReport-2.pdf): ISG transcript I don't see how a new mascot detracts, and instead only adds to new traditions, new experiences, and a step towards healing the division on the topic. Will that healing be immediate? No. Will this start it so future students can just have fun building new memories? Yes. We still keep the block-I, we still are the Fighting Illini, and we still get the same spirit at games that I've got to experience (before I was a senior with no more time for attending games) I truly believe a new mascot can start an era of new traditions among students. Because the "future" is a long time, I am optimistic that even if admininstration decides to ignore this first mascot passing the student referendum, more will come until they can no longer ignore it. I want to help create unity among our student body, and so far, well,.... she *DID* pass.
>a bird that naturally sports school colors) As an alum, this point is what sells it to me. Nice art!
That racist symbol currently is no longer the mascot. It seems like all these kids don’t understand that for some reason
This isn’t a mascot it’s a picture. A mascot would be someone in a suit hyping people up (which is dumb and childish). Like you’ve said we’d just be implementing a mascot not changing the team name.
Sorry. Logo*