Illinois Students Vote In Favor Of Belted Kingfisher Mascot

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Illinois Students Vote In Favor Of Belted Kingfisher Mascot

March 10, 2020 - 16:39 PM

Students at the University of Illinois last week voted in favor of adopting the Belted Kingfisher, an orange and blue bird native to the state, as the school’s mascot. The idea originated with senior physics and astronomy student Spencer Hulsey, […]

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[pianoknight 2,991]

Love the idea.

 

Please tell me they'll have a better logo, though.  Execution is horrendous:

 

[Mingjai 1,027]

If their usage is similar to Utah's red-tailed hawk mascot, I doubt we'll see much in terms of kingfisher imagery in the athletic branding. Utah has some red-tailed hawk mascot logos (http://www.sportslogos.net/logos/list_by_team/892/Utah_Utes/), but you rarely see them used. Like with Utah's block U, I assume it will continue to be a lot of block I-related branding.

[Dynasty 2,390]

Yeah, I hope that logo is just a little placeholder or something. It looks aged already.

 

I don't know how prominent the bird is going to be, but at least Illinois has a mascot they can use now.

[officeglenn 2,372]

Worth noting, for those who may not have clicked through to read the story, that this was a non-binding referendum. Also [emphasis mine]:

 

Quote

The results of this year’s vote will be shared with university administrators, including chancellor Robert Jones, who would decide if they want to adopt the Belted Kingfisher as the school’s new mascot. It’s worth noting a new mascot would not replace the Fighting Illini nickname but would act as a replacement to the Chief Illiniwek mascot banned by the NCAA in 2005.

 

[SFGiants58 13,714]

11 minutes ago, officeglenn said:

Also [emphasis mine]:

 

 

That’s a shame.

[the admiral 28,242]

No, the name is fine, functionally speaking it's just a modified form of "Illinoisans." Kinda pseudo-Latin. Just keep people from dressing as the Chief and it's fine.

[CS85 10,487]

So are they now the ... Fightin' Kingfishers? 

 

Logo needs work.  Like, a lotta work.

[IceCap 21,967]

I got excited for a moment, thinking they were going to be the Fisher Kings. 

[DC in Da House w/o a Doubt 3,640]

And for anyone who was originally slightly confused as I was, this wouldn't replace the name Illini as the team name.  It would just be a student in a bird costume

 

Quote

It’s worth noting a new mascot would not replace the Fighting Illini nickname but would act as a replacement to the Chief Illiniwek mascot banned by the NCAA in 2005

 

 

EDIT: ah okay I see other people have cleared that up also. Carry on

[Bonnaroo42 41]

As someone who currently attends, I was pretty shocked with the result. The vibe I was getting around campus was that this would be shot down resoundingly. Anyways, now that this is most likely happening, I guess I'll hold off final judgments until I see a legitimately well-designed version.

 

I'd say that the current saving grace is that we can keep using feathers in designs, if I were coming up with the new logo set, that'd be something I play heavily on since a lot of the local fan shops as well as students have shirts with feathers paying homage to the headdress logo.

[8BW14 1,365]

As a fan, I’m a fan. A Kingfisher is a cool bird and it makes for a unique mascot. As long as those logos above are not official, and I’m guessing they’re not because the “I” is not even close to the real block I, I think it would make for some really nice logos and imagery.

[infrared41 9,113]

6 minutes ago, 8BW14 said:

As a fan, I’m a fan.

 

The classics never die. 

[DDR 3,021]

24 minutes ago, Bonnaroo42 said:

As someone who currently attends, I was pretty shocked with the result. The vibe I was getting around campus was that this would be shot down resoundingly. Anyways, now that this is most likely happening, I guess I'll hold off final judgments until I see a legitimately well-designed version.

 

I-L-L! Class of '05 here.

 

Anyways, I was surprised that the whole "This Will Not Replace The Illini Name" wasn't more forward in communications until recently. I don't hate the idea of having a mascot in the mix. I'll be curious to see how/if any of our teams use it, should it be officially adopted.

[Mingjai 1,027]

46 minutes ago, Bonnaroo42 said:

As someone who currently attends, I was pretty shocked with the result. The vibe I was getting around campus was that this would be shot down resoundingly. Anyways, now that this is most likely happening, I guess I'll hold off final judgments until I see a legitimately well-designed version.

 

I'd say that the current saving grace is that we can keep using feathers in designs, if I were coming up with the new logo set, that'd be something I play heavily on since a lot of the local fan shops as well as students have shirts with feathers paying homage to the headdress logo.

 

20 minutes ago, DDR said:

 

I-L-L! Class of '05 here.

 

Anyways, I was surprised that the whole "This Will Not Replace The Illini Name" wasn't more forward in communications until recently. I don't hate the idea of having a mascot in the mix. I'll be curious to see how/if any of our teams use it, should it be officially adopted.

 

As I was saying, I think the closest analogue will be how the Utah Utes use the red-tailed hawk mascot within its overall athletics identity. Based on that, I imagine Illinois's current branding won't change much, but they will get to have a mascot at sporting events again. Maybe you'll see a kingfisher mascot logo used every once in a while in connection with mascot appearances or one off uniforms.

[the admiral 28,242]

A bird called a "kingfisher" sounds weird for a school that's in an ocean of corn and soybeans, but it's fine enough.

[Rj0498 352]

Sounds like a cool idea. A unique animal mascot and they maintain the Illini name. My only gripe is the logo, it looks kind of awkward 

[DC in Da House w/o a Doubt 3,640]

I guess I’m misremembering but I thought they got rid of the Fighting in Fighting Illini  

[DC in Da House w/o a Doubt 3,640]

Also any Illinois thread is worthy of posting a pic of Dee Brown. 

 

[Bonnaroo42 41]

3 hours ago, DDR said:

 

I-L-L!

I-N-I baby! Huge weekend coming up!

 

Anyways I’ve been pretty happy with the current uniform set. I hope they continue wearing the white cursive script throwbacks. If anything with the kingfisher I wouldn’t mind an alternate like FSU or Oregon with a feather theme down the side or as minor trimmings, would sell like hot cakes.