South Bend proposes five names for school mascot after public input
The South Bend School District has brought five prospective new mascot names forward, and now it is time for the public to give their input.
According to Superintendent Jon Tienhaara, the next phase of the mascot selection process for South Bend is now underway.
The district collected input from community members, students, staff, and stakeholders on potential mascot names through August 31, as described in their plan for the change.
That process resulted in numerous ideas that were submitted.
That input was collected and analyzed, and the five mascot names receiving the most support were identified to move forward.
These names include (in alphabetical order):
- Bears
- Riverhawks
- Timbers
- Tsunami
- Warhawks
In June 2021, Riverhawks and Tsunami were both included in proposed names during that process before the district chose to use “South Bend” as the team name in the interim.
The next phase of the process includes generating possible imagery for each of the five name proposals.
All submissions are welcome.
Please forward any ideas to school board director Wendy Manlow at [email protected].
That imagery will be shared with the public to solicit input at athletic events.
In January, a focus group will be formed to review input, and will recommend two possible mascots to the board for the final selection.
A new mascot will be selected prior to March 1, 2023.