“In surveys we gathered that the students wanted a fierce knight-something with class that stood for Calvin’s values, not a goofy thing like some other schools. “We took a lot of things into consideration,” said Rispens. The senate executive team worked closely with communications and marketing designer Gary Lepsch, designer of the new Knight logo, as well as college administrators, and the student life and health, physical education, recreation, dance and sport departments for input on the plan. This year we made it one of our biggest goals-to finally get a new mascot.” “In the past, though, they were never able to get past the design stage. “Student senate has had a mandate to get a new mascot for about five years,” said student senate president Jared Rispens. In the fall of 2008 the idea of a new mascot became a serious project for student senate.
In fact, a Calvin Facebook group started in the mid-2000s calling for a real mascot: “Join this group if you’d rather have a cool mascot, like a knight!” The idea garnered some support among the 68-member Facebook group and beyond.
He did not win the hearts of students nor the loyalty of fans. About this time, “Cal” showed up, but as Cal was not a knight-more of a gladiator actually-and not strong in appearance (more like a cartoon character). The project gained some momentum early on but died off without student body support. Then, in the early 2000s, student senate suggested that Calvin earnestly pursue the possibility of a mascot. Rumblings among students and the administration about a mascot have been around for some time. Eight national championships have been won 233 MIAA titles have been attained 305 All-Americans have been named, all under the dubbing of Knight. Now, more than 80 years later, pride and a strong sense of tradition have grown around the nickname. In fact, it is presumed that the “Knight” nickname actually came about through the work of a Grand Rapids Press reporter who misunderstood “Calvin-ites”-a reference to the Calvin team used during the early 1920s due to the lack of any other moniker. The legacy of the Calvin Knight dates back to 1926, but its inception actually has little to do with valor and bravery. The European standard of the knight of the Middle Ages as an elite warrior sworn to uphold the values of faith, loyalty, courage and honor is the essence of any good school mascot picture Sir Lancelot or other Knights of the Round Table.
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