(Above) Hobey Baker winner Matt Carle is "Pro-Boone"From: The Clarion (DU Student Newspaper)
By Kenna Gair
April 17, 2007
So what does a red-tailed hawk have to do with the DU Pioneers?
In 1999 the university changed its mascot from a coonskin-capped mountaineer named Denver Boone to a Ruckus, whose red cape supposedly looks like the feather of a red-tailed hawk that used to make its home on the prairie and the in the foothills during the pioneer era.
Denver Boone, the official DU mascot since 1968, was unceremoniously retired. At that time the reasons for dropping Denver Boone ranged from his obvious lack of sophistication to his portrayal of the Western stereotype of a guy. After all Denver Boone was a male pioneer and that could be awkward for the women's lacrosse team.
But Denver Boone had some pretty special antecedents. Walt Disney drew him and this cute, smiling guy in a lopsided coonskin cap had adorned everything from DU bulletin boards to hockey memorabilia.
He did not fit in with the sophisticated branding DU was about to undertake. The same company that designed the logos for Denver Avalanche and Nuggets teams also designed the DU logo featuring the hawk.
In a Sept. 17, 1984 Clarion article by Rachelle Scott, the then Director of University Relations Harry Spetnagel raised both the un-sophistication and the gender problem of Denver Boone.
"This is, after all an urban and sophisticated city and the people at this campus are sophisticated young people. I can't imagine they would think the little Boon character would represent them," said Spetnagel.
He also went on to say that the school would prefer a mascot that did not have a gender, like a bird (although there are male and female birds).
Others thought the mascot should be changed because little, coon-capped Boone was not "manly" enough. In an Oct. 1, 1985 Clarion column, writer Steven Liebman noted that new mascots that the students were polled on by the administration were more aggressive male.
"All of the choices were rough tough ragged men. All had muscles, weapons, but no personality," said Liebman.
In 1999 Boone was dispatched to the archives in the basement of Penrose Library and Ruckus, the red-tailed hawk, was presented by the Department of Athletics at a rally near the Schwayder Art Building. Former Athletic Director M. Dianne Murphy said in a Sept. 9, 1999 story in the Denver Post by Mike Chambers that the red-tailed hawk had more of the traits DU wanted in a mascot.
"We also believe that when the settlers came west, red-tailed hawks [frequented] this area," said Murphy.
Should DU dust-off the coonskin cap and bring Denver Boone Back? Send an e-mail to duclarion@du.edu
In 1999 the university changed its mascot from a coonskin-capped mountaineer named Denver Boone to a Ruckus, whose red cape supposedly looks like the feather of a red-tailed hawk that used to make its home on the prairie and the in the foothills during the pioneer era.
Denver Boone, the official DU mascot since 1968, was unceremoniously retired. At that time the reasons for dropping Denver Boone ranged from his obvious lack of sophistication to his portrayal of the Western stereotype of a guy. After all Denver Boone was a male pioneer and that could be awkward for the women's lacrosse team.
But Denver Boone had some pretty special antecedents. Walt Disney drew him and this cute, smiling guy in a lopsided coonskin cap had adorned everything from DU bulletin boards to hockey memorabilia.
He did not fit in with the sophisticated branding DU was about to undertake. The same company that designed the logos for Denver Avalanche and Nuggets teams also designed the DU logo featuring the hawk.
In a Sept. 17, 1984 Clarion article by Rachelle Scott, the then Director of University Relations Harry Spetnagel raised both the un-sophistication and the gender problem of Denver Boone.
"This is, after all an urban and sophisticated city and the people at this campus are sophisticated young people. I can't imagine they would think the little Boon character would represent them," said Spetnagel.
He also went on to say that the school would prefer a mascot that did not have a gender, like a bird (although there are male and female birds).
Others thought the mascot should be changed because little, coon-capped Boone was not "manly" enough. In an Oct. 1, 1985 Clarion column, writer Steven Liebman noted that new mascots that the students were polled on by the administration were more aggressive male.
"All of the choices were rough tough ragged men. All had muscles, weapons, but no personality," said Liebman.
In 1999 Boone was dispatched to the archives in the basement of Penrose Library and Ruckus, the red-tailed hawk, was presented by the Department of Athletics at a rally near the Schwayder Art Building. Former Athletic Director M. Dianne Murphy said in a Sept. 9, 1999 story in the Denver Post by Mike Chambers that the red-tailed hawk had more of the traits DU wanted in a mascot.
"We also believe that when the settlers came west, red-tailed hawks [frequented] this area," said Murphy.
Should DU dust-off the coonskin cap and bring Denver Boone Back? Send an e-mail to duclarion@du.edu
5 comments:
So that is a retail hawk that is on the front of the DU uniforms? I always wondered what that was.
Retail...Red Tail no diference. Either way it was a stupid idea.
I like the Boone thing better too.
Sorry I had just woke up and I have trouble spelling when I am awake.
I think DU should change it to a bottle of Coors Light. How fitting:)
Pie-n-ears is sort of an amorphous name that doesn't lend itself easily to mascotification. There's no doubt the primary symbol associated with the pioneers of old would be the covered wagon. Not exactly an appropriate symbol for sports teams.
The jelly donut is definitely weak and the cartoon Boone is worse. Students at DU probably could have come up with something better than some detatched PR/Ad firm.
To lose the laughing stock status DU has a couple of choices. Get an entirely new logo or change the name from Pie-n-ears to something else.
All the other good geographic names (nuggets, rockies, avalanche) aren't available though and finding something that makes unisex sense could be difficult. In terms of animals that relate to the area you've got only a couple of choices in my mind. Black Bears (which should be CC's name) and Otters. But lets face it changing the nickname isn't going to happen.
So how to redesign the logo? Just use a person of indeterminate sex. Something that you can't tell if it is a man or a woman (as opposed to Boone's "gayness") and isn't some silly cartoon. If we do a blogswap next season perhaps I'll expand on this theme.
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