The finalists for the new Elgin High School Maroons team mascot are a fox, a lion and watchmen, the latter a nod in part to the city’s history as the longtime home to the Elgin National Watch Co.
“We are working on the final survey form and plan to send it out this week,” Principal Avelira Rodriguez Gonzalez said.
The school has released images to help voters choose their favorite, but Rodriguez Gonzalez also issued the reminder to “please remember that these are not the final images, just a visual aid for them to vote.”
Information on how to find the final vote form will be posted on the school’s website and social media. Voting is open to students, staff, alumni and community members.
Founded in 1869, Elgin High School has had only one mascot in its 157-year history. Chief Mighty Maroon, chosen from suggestions submitted to the student council and newspaper, was in place from 1982 to 2002. It was retired after being deemed an offensive image to Native Americans, which had no connection to a real tribe or the school.
There was an effort find a new mascot in 2014, which narrowed the finalist field to a fox and a lion, but ultimately stalled when the group overseeing the selection process failed to choose either image.
This school year, a committee was again put together to find a new mascot as a way to increase school spirit. Eleven options were chosen and ultimately the field was narrowed to the three finalists through an online vote.
The mascot selection will have no impact on the team’s Maroons name, which was only made official in 1899 when the Elgin High School Athletic Association’s Board of Control formally adopted it and deemed the team colors would be maroon and white.
School officials and historians say the Maroons name was chosen as a homage to the University of Chicago, which had multiple years of championship football teams and went by the same moniker and colors.
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
