WestConn's farewell to the "Colonials"

As the Mascot Advisory Committee deliberates on the new direction for WCSU's mascot, this site attempts to give a look back at how the University has presented itself in nicknames and with mascots in the past. 

The Mascot Advisory Committee is not simply charged with replacing Chuck - the mascot, but also to move away from Colonials in order to find an image that better represents this 117-year-old institution.

There is also a chapter in this exhibit on some of the themes that define WestConn's home town and region.

First - some definitions.

Nickname:

OED- A (usually familiar or humorous) name which is given to a person, place, etc., as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.

A college or a team's nickname is usually a contrivance to identify a school or that school's teams.  For example, Buckeyes is the official nickname used by Ohio State.  WestConn is an unofficial nickname for WCSU.  Colonials was the official nickname of WCSU's athletic teams.

Logo:

OED- (short for logogriph) A symbol or character used, alone or in combination, as the graphic representation of a whole word as a single letter.

A logo is used as branding and marketing image.  Colleges can have many logos and in the digital age, graphic imagery is easier to generate for one-off events and publications.  To continue with the Ohio State analogy: these are official and unofficial logos of Ohio State, some of which incorporate imagery of buckeyes.

Mascot:

OED- A person or thing that is supposed to bring good luck; (now) esp. something carried or displayed for this purpose. Also: a thing (often an animal or personified character) used by an organization, esp. a sports team, as a symbol or for good luck; an emblem.

WestConn has used Chuck the Colonial as the mascot - a personification of a person from the Colonial era.  The mascot is usually a manifestation of an institution's nickname.  Again, in comparison to Ohio State, their mascot is Brutus Buckeye - a personified buckeye.

While the name "Colonial" could be applied to people, things, and attitudes in the Colonial era, WestConn decided to use the image of a Revolutionary War-era rebel militiaman.