by Natalie DeFord, News Writer
There’s a new face, or helmet, of Pacific Lutheran University. The new Lancelute mascot was created to match the goals of athletics and also the school as a whole.
“We wanted something that we could use not only at athletic events but could also be kind of a face of the university,” said Sarah Hebel, the Marketing and Social Media Coordinator for PLU Athletics. “Something we could utilize at athletic events but also at other university events across campus.”
The goal of the new mascot was to strengthen the PLU brand and make him a fan favorite that people would want to see around campus.
“We decided to get a new mascot because our old one was not very approachable or friendly,” Hebel said. “We wanted to create something that would be more fan-friendly and would really engage the crowd or visitors on campus.”
After unveiling the new mascot at one of the basketball games, Hebel said she’s had nothing but positive responses. The mascot’s presence has been requested for Admissions events and anything with the attendance of community members and prospective students.
“I think that it’s been a good run so far of having something that the university can see and identify as kind of the face of PLU,” Hebel said.
The older mascot had pieces of armor, was very dark and carried a shield. The new mascot has typical body armor, which features the PLU logo on the chest, with a yellow cape and a giant helmet.
“It’s nice because it’s subtle but it also stands out in a crowd so you see it walking by and you know you want to give it a high five or say hi or take a picture,” Hebel said.
With the costume comes a weapon prop – a sword – which Hebel said could be effectively used at games when points are scored or as a tool to charge up the crowd.
The shield of the previous mascot was less effective because it was awkward to carry around and the shield reminded people of being on defense rather than charging forward and scoring.
PLU Athletics approached Associated Students of Pacific Lutheran University for funding toward a new mascot last year. Then Athletics matched those funds in order to create the piece together.
Hebel said they then looked at other universities’ knight mascots for inspiration, sketching together the pieces they wanted, and then ordered the mascot costume from Olympus Group.
Pictures of the costume can be found on the PLU Athletics Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Hebel said she hopes there will be a whole webpage dedicated to the mascot after the upcoming re-design of the PLU Athletics website.
“The ultimate goal of the mascot is to be a symbol of PLU school spirit among our student body and our surrounding communities,” Hebel said. “Lancelute’s personality and liveliness represents Lute pride and brings that energy to life at events across campus.”
