LIVONIA, Mich. - - Madonna
University Athletics has announced tonight that they will no longer be known
as the Crusaders beginning in 2010-11. The University has had the nickname
since the inception of its athletic program in 1987 but has decided it is
time for a change.The
process for making the change will begin with a school-year long contest to
select the new moniker. Submissions will be accepted beginning the week of
September 15. A link on MadonnaCrusaders.com will provide an avenue for
contest submissions.
The new mascot will be selected
by a university committee with an announcement expected on or about April
22, 2009.
The 2009-10 academic year will
serve as the transition year and will be the last time Madonna athletic
teams will be called Crusaders. The new mascot will be rolled out in July
2010.
Madonna University has decided
that now is the time to unleash the creativity and come up with a new
mascot, that does not offend members of the diverse University community,
(some groups associated Crusaders with the crusades of the eleventh to the
thirteenth centuries), but rather draws from our history, location, or some
other unique aspect of our locale, in order to connect to the school and
community.
In conjunction with our
University-wide contest to name a new mascot, we also will freshen-up our
university logo to not-only build on our Catholic Franciscan heritage and
traditions, but also carry us into the future.
