Buffalo, Huskies or Rams? South Bend Saint Joseph High School narrows new nickname search

SOUTH BEND — Buffalo, Huskies and Rams, oh my!

After several months of research and deliberation, South Bend Saint Joseph High School has narrowed its new nickname search to three finalists. The selection committee overseeing the process will collect more input from the Saint Joe community in the coming weeks, with the hope of settling on a new nickname by the end of February.

“We’ve had a pretty robust process that has involved multiple surveys to students, parents, alumni, as well as faculty and staff,” Saint Joseph principal John Kennedy said Wednesday. “We’ve complied all that input, which included suggestions, rationale for suggestions, what kind of characteristics we’re looking for in a mascot, all of that stuff.”

From May: 'Indians' no more. South Bend Saint Joseph High to retire nickname at semester's end

It’s been a year-long journey to get to this point. It started last January when a committee was formed to consider retiring the school’s ‘Indians’ nickname. After three months of discussions, the decision was made to drop the moniker, leaving the school without a nickname for the 2023-24 school year.

More: How does the Pokagon Band of the Potawatomi feel about Saint Joseph's 'Indians' nickname?

The search for a new nickname began in October with a committee comprised of current students, alumni and community members overseeing the process. They had a list of 21 semifinalists selected in December, which was trimmed down to the three finalists of Buffalo, Huskies and Rams last week.

Kennedy noted no actions toward finding a new nickname were taken over the summer due to students being out of school.

“You can’t have much of a collaborative process in a school when the students aren’t here,” Kennedy said. “We wanted it to be collaborative, so you kind of have to take away those months we weren’t really active with it.”

More: Where is Saint Joseph ranked in this week's South Bend area boys basketball power rankings?

Kennedy, who’s been with Saint Joseph since 2018, has been pleased with the reception from the community during the entire search.

“It’s been eye-opening to hear so many thoughts, input and feedback from the Saint Joe community,” Kennedy said. “What stands out to me is a lot of people have a lot of pride in Saint Joseph High School, and there’s a lot of strong feelings in that they really do believe in this school. This means a lot to people.”

The plan is to keep the school colors of Columbia blue and white the same, although Kennedy noted a third accent color could become part of the scheme if it fits with the new name. Once a nickname is chosen, the process to design the new logos and mascot will begin.

“The many things that make Saint Joe great are going to remain, and I feel like adding a new nickname and mascot will just add to what’s good about this school,” Kennedy said. “It’s something that can increase school spirit, something that the students can rally around and something that creates a little bit more fun and excitement to our school.”

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend Saint Joseph High School narrows new nickname search