School mascots are not just for prancing around on the football field, or dancing with the cheerleaders at halftime during a basketball game, they are much more than that. Mascots symbolize the core ideals of schools and universities and are a beacon of school pride and identity. With this in mind, it is one of the reason’s why our SF State Gator has gotten a facelift.
On August 25th the new Gator was revealed, and since the Athletics Department is going through various other changes, (such as adding three new coaches to the program and giving the gym an udpate), the new Athletic Director, Charles Guthrie thought it was time to update SF State’s mascot was well, according to an SF State news article by Jonathan Morales. The idea for the mascot first came to play in 1931, when the student run newspaper devised a contest to choose a mascot for the University. One of the contestants encouraged the use of the “Gater”, because it was seen as a strong, steadfast and well-built animal; a good symbol and motivation for teams to convey that strength. Of course, the deliberate misspelling of the word was a way to reference San Francisco’s prominent landmark, the Golden Gate Bridge. Thus, the idea was the winner of the contest; however, “Gater” eventually returned to its usual spelling of “Gator”. Fast forward to 2014, and the Gator features a new streamlined look with gold and purple. “The new mascot mark has a modern look and will give us consistency across campus in representing the Gator”, said Guthrie in the same article by Morales.
As previously mentioned, the change of the mascot came on the heels of other changes for the Athletics Department. The gymnasium also got revamped, getting fresh gym floors and bleachers, and renovated the women’s and men’s locker rooms. Additionally, three new coaches were appointed. Matt Barnes – head coach for Men’s Soccer, Dennis Cox – head coach for Women’s Basketball, and Kendra Reimer – head coach for Gator track. All coaches having had experience coaching in the NCAA or NSCAA, makes for a promising year for SF State Athletics. So to get you in the Gator spirit mood, here is the schedule for upcoming Gator Athletic events, were you can cheer on your fellow Gators, and embrace the new and fierce mascot we have.
Friday, September 5th: Women’s Volleyball vs. Holy Names – 2:00pm Belmont, Ca.
Women’s Volleyball @ Notre Dame De Namur – 7:00pm Belmont, Ca.
Saturday, September 6th: Women’s Volleyball vs. Cal Baptist – 2:00pm Hayward, Ca.
Women’s Volleyball @ Cal State East Bay – 7:00pm Hayward, Ca.
Sunday, September 7th: Women’s Soccer vs. Academy of Art University – 2:00pm San Francisco, Ca.