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From Raiders to Redhawks: The Story of How Reggie the Redhawk Came to Life

Anyone familiar with the Roberts Wesleyan College community will most likely instantly recognize our mascot, Reggie the Redhawk.  However, many people may not be aware of how the development of the concept of Reggie came into existence. To shed some light on this topic, I reached out to former Roberts Librarian and Historian, Charley Canon ’70 to gain some insight regarding the history of the Athletics Department, nicknames, logos, and mascots at Roberts Wesleyan College.

Canon began by discussing the historical timeline of student athletics at Roberts, starting with the introduction of intramural sports in the 1920s, back when Roberts was a High School and Junior College. Intramurals were the primary way the College did athletics in the 1950s.  Men’s and Women’s teams included: Flag Football, Basketball, Softball, Tennis, and even a Debate Team. Teams competed in intramurals as the “Red” and the “Black” teams. Roberts did not have any official team names or mascot during this era. In the late 1940s, the athletics scene at Roberts began to change with Men’s Basketball being the first intercollegiate sport to exist in Roberts’ history. This is also when Roberts began competing under the name “Raiders,” an allusion to the Israelites who conquered the Promised Land in the Bible.

In the early 1950s, Roberts added sports such as Track and Field, Cross-Country, Soccer, and Baseball for male students. It wasn’t until the late 1950s and early ‘60s that Roberts introduced a logo (a Raider with a Native American Headdress). The images of this Raider were revealed in the Roberts yearbook, the Chesboronian.  A mural of the image was painted in a snack shop called the R-Room, located in the basement of Cox Hall. This type of Native American imagery was very common for colleges and universities at that time.  This image was eventually discontinued by Roberts in the 1970s.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Roberts added Intercollegiate Women’s sports to the roster, competing as the “Lady Raiders.” Women’s Basketball was the first to be added, followed by Softball, Volleyball, Soccer, Cross-Country, and Track and Field. At this time, both Men’s and Women’s teams belonged to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and competed under the name Raiders. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Roberts began competing in the National Christian College Athletics Association (NCCAA). When Dr. William Crothers became president of Roberts Wesleyan in 1981, he had a desire to increase the interest in athletics. So, he brought in a new athletic director who established a new logo consisting of a Raider on horseback.

The new Raiders logo quickly became the identity for Roberts Wesleyan College, eventually appearing as the center design for the basketball court of the Life Fitness Center (now known as Voller Athletic Center). In the late 1980s, this logo was brought to life by student Jon Strong ‘90 who began wearing black boots, a “Three Musketeers” style hat, a red cape accompanied by a sabre. Until his graduation, Strong appeared as this mascot at a variety of sporting events on campus and even a few away games at rival Houghton College. The name Raiders and logo were still used with the Raiders Club sports boosters and the Athletic 

Toward the end of the first decade in the 2000s (circa 2009-10), The Roberts Athletic Department began to discuss a transition from the Raiders image. The Raiders image was ultimately viewed to be too militaristic and violent and was no longer an image with which Roberts desired to be associated. When the College decided to move from NAIA to the NCCAA Division II, it seemed like a natural opportunity to make a change.

Roberts considered a few different logo designs in this re-imaging process (a Bobcat, a re-designed Raider logo based on a patriot theme, and the Redhawk design). Students and alumni were given the opportunity to vote for their favorite logo which would become the new face of Roberts Athletics.  The winner was the Redhawk which led to the athletic logo we enjoy today. The designs for the logo selection are below.

The new logo was introduced in 2012-13, around the same time Roberts made the transition from the NAIA to NCAA Division II. Although this transition was exciting for many of the members of the Roberts community, there were also alumni athletes who were disappointed about the transition, as they competed under the name Raiders. The disappointment of the transition from the Raiders logo soon faded as images of the current mascot, Reggie the Redhawk began to circulate around campus.

Reggie the Redhawk had been completely brought to life in a full mascot costume. The first to be Reggie were students Charles Canon '13 (son of Charley Canon) and Rachel Varner Lee '15. Reggie is a giant red hawk with yellow legs, wearing a white Roberts sports jersey with the number 99 on it. This change of imagery has been exciting for the Roberts community, bringing a new energy to not only sporting events, but the Roberts campus as a whole.

Written by, Nick Vazquez ‘21 (Communication)

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