NAMPA, Idaho — The College of Western Idaho Board of Trustees announced during its regular monthly meeting Tuesday that the official mascot will be an otter.
Vice Chairperson Mark Dunham put forth the recommendation for a vote on the mascot to Chairperson “Skip” Smyser as well as the rest of the board -- and the resolution passed.
Dunham made the recommendation following work completed by the College’s mascot committee which incorporated input from both CWI stakeholders and the community.
We reported last month that CWI has had an unofficial mascot -- a sparkly, mythical, galloping unicorn –- for more than ten years. The trustees said it was time to entertain “a real mascot that somewhere down the road will mean so much more.”
“Central Oregon Community College in Bend has a mascot. They don’t do intercollegiate athletics; they do club and they do intramural stuff. Seattle Central, part of the Seattle Community College district, has a mascot; they don't have intercollegiate athletics,” said CWI spokesman Mark Browning. “So there are examples around the country where it just gives a sense of belonging, a sense of ‘This is something that is ours.’”
In addition to the otter, the trustees also considered mascots of a bighorn sheep and a great horned owl.
Creative development of the otter mascot will be forthcoming as the College integrates the new mascot into its brand.
School officials do not yet have a target date when the otter design and logo will be unveiled.
