DePaul nickname change almost happened in 1998
Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2015 2:28 pmChicago Tribune
It's Demonic! Depaul Can Have Its Marketing--and Tradition Too
September 30, 1998|By Michael Rosenberg, Tribune Staff Writer.
Put down the placards. Quit picketing. Stop with the screams.
The DePaul Blue Demons are still the DePaul Blue Demons. Not the Blues or the Wildcats or the Fighting Hyenas. The Blue Demons. Period.
A month after announcing that the university might change its nickname, DePaul's administration did an about-face Tuesday after Blue Demons old and young expressed outrage at the proposed change.
"I asked for input and it was clear that both students and alumni of several generations found common ground in the Blue Demons," the Rev. John P. Minogue, DePaul's president, said in a statement.
DePaul conducted various on-line polls and determined that at least 80 percent of those responding wanted to keep the Blue Demons name. The concern about having a demon as a mascot for a Catholic university apparently was assuaged by the fact that the nickname came from the days when DePaul's athletes wore letter sweaters and were called D-men.
So the nickname--and school colors--will stay. The logo, however, is probably history.
Jim Doyle, DePaul's vice president for student affairs, will lead the effort to find a new logo and mascot. By doing so, DePaul may accomplish two goals.
First, it can appease the people who remain loyal to the nickname. Second, it will accomplish the goal behind wanting the nickname changed: to increase licensing revenue. With the right logo and mascot, and maybe a few more victories from its basketball team, DePaul merchandise sales would increase.
To that end, Doyle will search for a new logo for the Blue Demons.
"Fans took ownership of the Blue Demons and said it was their team," he said. "We are in an enviable position."
It's Demonic! Depaul Can Have Its Marketing--and Tradition Too
September 30, 1998|By Michael Rosenberg, Tribune Staff Writer.
Put down the placards. Quit picketing. Stop with the screams.
The DePaul Blue Demons are still the DePaul Blue Demons. Not the Blues or the Wildcats or the Fighting Hyenas. The Blue Demons. Period.
A month after announcing that the university might change its nickname, DePaul's administration did an about-face Tuesday after Blue Demons old and young expressed outrage at the proposed change.
"I asked for input and it was clear that both students and alumni of several generations found common ground in the Blue Demons," the Rev. John P. Minogue, DePaul's president, said in a statement.
DePaul conducted various on-line polls and determined that at least 80 percent of those responding wanted to keep the Blue Demons name. The concern about having a demon as a mascot for a Catholic university apparently was assuaged by the fact that the nickname came from the days when DePaul's athletes wore letter sweaters and were called D-men.
So the nickname--and school colors--will stay. The logo, however, is probably history.
Jim Doyle, DePaul's vice president for student affairs, will lead the effort to find a new logo and mascot. By doing so, DePaul may accomplish two goals.
First, it can appease the people who remain loyal to the nickname. Second, it will accomplish the goal behind wanting the nickname changed: to increase licensing revenue. With the right logo and mascot, and maybe a few more victories from its basketball team, DePaul merchandise sales would increase.
To that end, Doyle will search for a new logo for the Blue Demons.
"Fans took ownership of the Blue Demons and said it was their team," he said. "We are in an enviable position."
