Finding a meowniker that hits the spot: Lafayette asks community for help naming leopard mascot

• Lafayette College needs a name for the leopard that represents its sports programs, and it's taken to a vote to make the decision
• Markie de Pard, Paws, Pouncy, Roary and Spotz are the finalists in the contest
• The new name for the leopard will be revealed during Lafayette's Nov. 4 football game against Colgate

EASTON, Pa. — While it’s debatable whether a leopard can change its spots, Lafayette College’s near-century-old mascot can certainly change its name.

Or simply get a name.

Lafayette has had the legendary leopard as its mascot for 99 years, but surprisingly the poor kitty doesn’t have an official name.

Lafayette will change that by going to the public to choose the moniker for the mascot. And you, too, can weigh in on the decision.

“The first reference to [the mascot] was in the October 22, 1924, edition of The Lafayette, which is our student paper, and they were recapping a student council meeting discussing it,” Director of Athletic Communications Philip LaBella said.

"The Leopard is to be the official mascot of the Lafayette football team. This was decided last night at the regular meeting of the Student Council held in Brainerd Hall. A Leopard skin has been ordered and will be worn by a student at the Penn and W. & J. games, and was met with approval," the article read.

A few years later, the student publication noted that there was no real explanation for the use of a leopard as a mascot, outside of the common nature of many teams to use an animal for a nickname.

It was a decided improvement over the previous name for the school’s athletic teams: “The Maroons.”

Name to be revealed

Phoenix Design and Jay Williams, a Class of 1980 alumnus, helped establish a visual identity program for athletics, introduced in the 2004-05 season, including “a full-body leopard and typography treatment as well as secondary elements such as a paw print and leopard head.”

And yet that poor kitty still lacked an official name.

“For a few years now, we have been saying ‘Yes, it would be great if the leopard actually had a name,’ and so we have collaborated with [athletic] communications," Lafayette Director of Athletics Sherryta Freeman said.

"And Phil and his team have developed a process for us to do that in a way that involves our community members in terms of giving us suggested names.

“Then we're taking those suggested names, and now we have a voting process that is ongoing. So we'll see what the feedback is, and we will unveil the name of our leopard at our next football game.”

That game against the Colgate Raiders is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Nov. 4.

Markie de Pard, Paws, Pouncy, Roary or Spotz

Getting the community involved in the naming of the school’s sports representative is but one of multiple tactics to increase engagement overall, Freeman said.

“I think one of the things that we have certainly had as a priority for the college, but also within athletics, is that we want to be engaging with the community as much as possible," Freeman said.

"So that's inviting people to come to the game, having our student athletes do things in the community, making appearances.”

After reviewing more than 500 suggestions for the leopard’s name, the list has been whittled down to Markie de Pard, Paws, Pouncy, Roary, and Spotz.

Voting is under way, so now is the time to throw your two cents so the school’s number one feline friend can have a new meowniker.

“When you're talking about the process to name the mascot, hopefully that brings a smile on the faces, and we can have some fun with it, and we're hoping the community feels the same way about that,” Freeman said.