New Mascot Reveal

After nearly two years of working group discussions, archival research, and planning, Wooster unveiled a new Fighting Scots mascot at a pep rally March 30, 2023, for the campus community led by students and staff and several alumni.

No human mascot can represent all the diverse identities of our campus community and many human mascots raise serious concerns about racism, xenophobia, and are otherwise problematic. The introduction in recent years of the Washington Commanders and Cleveland Guardians are two examples of professional sports teams who recognized the harm caused by human mascots. There are many more examples at the collegiate level, including Kenyon College, who changed from Lords and Ladies to Owls, and Capital University, who changed from Crusaders to Comets.  

At Wooster, numerous informal discussions have been held over the years about the mascot. We even held a First-Year Seminar class in Fall 2019 on the Fighting Scots as a historical concept and asked students to think critically about what it meant to have the Highlander with shield and sword as our mascot. The Scottish Highlander no longer represents the current and future Wooster. The time has come to re-embrace an old friend whom all of our constituencies can identify with and with whom we have a rich and storied past.

In 2021, we introduced new institutional and athletic logos that removed the Highlander from the W and replaced it with a custom W that was designed to pull from the deconstructed pattern of the MacLeod plaid. 

While we prepared to introduce these new logos, a special working group of staff in athletics and marketing was meeting to consider options for moving beyond the Highlander that was introduced to campus in 1969 and again in the spring of 1973. The group’s work centered on addressing concerns raised by students and others about the lack of inclusivity of the Highlander, while creating a mascot that stayed true to the Wooster brand and the College’s history. 

Research was conducted to learn more about the history of mascots and nicknames at the College, and students were surveyed about their thoughts regarding the mascot and the qualities and characteristics that come to mind when they think of Wooster Fighting Scots.

Historically, we’ve had few mascots but many nicknames. As we paged through old athletic programs and the archives, a few things were abundantly clear: Our unwavering affinity for the black & gold, loud MacLeod plaid, and Scottish Terriers.

We came across a lot of Scottish terriers during our review—real-life dogs posing for yearbook photos and wearing MacLeod sweaters, larger than life dogs on Homecoming floats and on the lawns of residence halls, dog illustrations that were on the front pages of athletic programs in the early 80s (a decade after the introduction of the warrior mascot), and dog mascot costumes that are worn during home contests up through today. It wasn’t until 2013-14, that we see broader adoption of the Highlander in College branding and throughout the Scot Center. 

Results from a survey conducted in Fall 2021 showed a majority of student respondents do not relate to the Highlander mascot. The reasons they provided include: “he looks white,” “he looks like a man,” “doesn’t represent the values of the college,” “needs to be more inclusive,” “represents violence,” “represents colonialism,” and “needs to be more inclusive.”

The updated mascot provides a new and refreshed take on a very dear friend to the campus, the Scottie dog, and includes locks of black and gold fur, a popped eye, fierce snarl, and Tartan kerchief.

During the event students, faculty, staff and retirees took photos with life-sized cardboard cutouts of the new mascot, collected Fighting Scots cookies and Wooster branded pennants that included characteristics and qualities they feel best represent the Fighting Scots, and offered suggestions for what to name the new mascot.

A special mascot mobile adorned with an inflatable Scottie dog head, tail, and fur drove across campus to deliver a variety of swag items with the new mascot logo to students, faculty, and staff.

Custom-made Scottie dog costumes arrive on campus this summer in time to recruit and train a new roster of student mascot performers who will work to entertain crowds at home games, admissions and alumni events, and engagements across the local community. The costumes will include MacLeod plaid kerchiefs and matching kilts, along with a black belt and sporran, which is a traditional part of the Wooster Pipe Band’s uniforms.