A Mascot for William & Mary

Here’s a quick breakdown of the 11,183 individuals who completed the Mascot Search feedback survey:

• 31.0% were current students
• 49.7% were alumni
• 3.8% were parents
• 1.1% were faculty
• 1.6% were staff or administrators
• 12.8% were friends of the Tribe (i.e., not one of the above categories)

- Susan T. Evans

Thank you to the 11,183 individuals who completed the Tribe Mascot Search feedback survey.

We appreciate your support and look forward to reading through ALL of your comments and impressions about the Griffin, the King and Queen, the Phoenix, the Pug and the Wren.

Go Tribe!

- Susan T. Evans

The members of William & Mary’s Wesley Foundation decided to get in on the fun and come up with a mascot of their own. The Wesley Foundation is the United Methodist campus ministry at the College.

In a move that parallels the W&M Mascot search, the Wesley Foundation’s mascot search is underway and they recently unveiled their own “final five.”

1. the United Methodist cross and flame with REAL FIRE
2. a dragon
3. a Wesley Foundation couch
4. John Wesley (bobble head, of course)
5. Mr. Lemonade

Students, alumni, faculty and staff in the Wesley Foundation community can find more info about the Wesley Mascot Search on their website.

- Susan T. Evans

When you unveil drawings of five mascot finalists after months of waiting, it’s difficult to get people to read the text that surrounds the images you present. One item of importance is that the sketches of the five finalists represent concepts for five mascot possibilities.

I’ve been carefully reading all of the comments, ideas and suggestions popping up on our blog and Facebook pages. We want to know what you think about the ideas; but feedback about whether or not you like the sketches is not as useful to the committee. We hope you’ll keep in mind that:

• we want your impressions about the concept that each sketch offers
• the final mascot will evolve from the initial sketch you are seeing now

Here are three drawings that show the typical evolution of a mascot from an initial sketch to a final costume.

Thousands of you are showing your Tribe pride by completing our survey and posting comments in online communities. Thanks, we appreciate your feedback.

- Susan T. Evans

Speaking of . . .

. . . Griffins, did you know its bald eagle head hearkens back to W&M as Alma Mater of a Nation?

. . . Kings and Queens, did you know W&M has a royal charter?

. . . the Phoenix, did you know this mythical bird was on the seal George Wythe designed for the College?

. . . Pugs, did you know Swem has the 2nd largest rare dog book collection (11,000 volumes dating back to 1500) in the U.S.?

. . . the Wren, did you know this is the oldest academic building in the United States?

Just sayin,
- Susan T. Evans

We’re excited about the unveiling of five mascot concepts. Visit the Mascot Search home page for a presentation of the five finalists and a chance to tell us what you think.

The deadline for completing the feedback survey is 5:00PM on Thursday, January 7, 2010.

http://www.wm.edu/mascot

Hope you like them,
- Susan T. Evans

The W&M Mascot Committee will unveil 5 mascot finalists tomorrow morning about 9AM at http://www.wm.edu/mascot.

Terry Driscoll, W&M Athletics Director and chair of the Mascot Committee, will be appearing on The Tide radio (92.3 FM) shortly after the announcement to discuss the five finalist concepts. Tune in to that interview which will be streamed live at http://tideradio.com/streaming.htm

Can’t wait to show you,
- Susan T. Evans

So what will you see when you finally see the five mascot finalists?

Sketches.

Torch Creative is finishing up the creation of black and white sketches for each of the five mascot concepts. The main focus in each drawing will be “the head.” The “bodies” of each mascot idea will be represented in the sketches but they will not be as fully developed as the “heads.”

Keep in mind, you will be seeing concept drawings. Here is a sketch, created by Eric Pesola of the Alumni Association, of President Taylor Reveley. This black and white sketch will give you an idea of what you’ll see when you see.

More soon,
- Susan T. Evans

Soon, the five Tribe mascot finalists will be unveiled. We are anxious to get your feedback on the options because you, yes you!, can help us create a great Tribe mascot.

I followed the Roanoke College mascot search and this page describes how “public feedback was used to improve the initial concept.” Likewise, Tribe – your thoughts will contribute to the success of the final mascot!

We are finishing up a survey that shows images of each of the five drawings and asks you to respond to a few questions about each of the five. The survey will look something like this:

Mascot Idea #1 – Name Here
Description will be here. More of the description. Even more of the description.

I get it! It’s easy to see the connection between this mascot idea and the unique history and traditions of William & Mary.

• Strongly agree
• Agree
• Somewhat agree
• Disagree
• Somewhat disagree
• Strongly disagree

Stay tuned!

- Susan T. Evans

William & Mary’s mascot emeritus spoke out recently about the Tribe mascot search.

Read Ebirt’s blog post.

Enjoy,
- Susan T. Evans