The Elgin High School Maroons new mascot will be a lion.
Principal Avelira Rodriguez Gonzalez revealed the selection committee’s decision in an email Thursday. The deadline to cast a vote was Tuesday, and all community members were invited to participate.
“Our goal was to select a mascot that embodies Maroon Pride, honors our legacy, memorializes our history, is resilient and symbolizes integrity,” Rodriguez Gonzalez’s email said. “We are Strong, We are Proud, We are United!”
The lion beat out two other options — a fox and watchmen — and represents loyalty to the school, pride and resilience, she said. The fox was a nod to the Fox River, which runs through Elgin, and the watchmen a link to the now-defunct Elgin National Watch Co., which was once one of the largest watch manufacturers in the country.
No vote count was available Thursday.
“The selection took months, included all voices and provided an opportunity to build a representation of what we stand for. Last night, the committee reviewed and vetted the results,” Rodriguez Gonzalez’s email said. “The mascot selected through voting that will be the visual representation of the Elgin Maroons is the lion. Once a Maroon, Always a Maroon … now with the heart of a lion.”
While she was unavailable for an interview Thursday, Rodriguez Gonzalez said the next step will be to come up with a mascot design.
Elgin High School teams and students have almost always been known as the Maroons but there’s only one mascot since the school’s founding in 1869. From 1982 to 2002, teams were represented by Chief Mighty Maroon, a symbol that was retired 24 years ago after being deemed offensive to Native Americans and a fictional character with no connection to an actual tribe or the school.
The chief existed before 1982, according to published reports. It dates back to the 1970s, when a prominent school athlete was injured and the character created by a school principal to keep him involved in school activities.
A committee was formed this year to choose a new mascot as a way to increase school spirit. It came up with 11 choices, which the public initially narrowed to three before the final vote was held.
Interestingly, the fox and lion were the two finalists in a 2014 effort choose a new mascot. Ultimately the selection committee could not decide between the two so neither was chosen.
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
