If there is one thing students at SUNY Old Westbury share, it’s their Panther Pride. However, students have quickly noticed that the panther mascot has been missing this semester. Early reports of the missing mascot came after the SUNY OW homecoming 2019 shirt distribution. The panther did not appear on the logo, leaving many to wonder: where is the panther?
Well, no need to panic panther fans, the beloved mascot is not only returning but is also getting revamped. For the first time in years, the panther mascot is going to get a brand new design. The mascot, known as “OWWIN” [Old Westbury- WIN], was first introduced to the campus on October 14, 2008 during the opening ceremony for the inaugural Panther Pride Week, according to oldwestburypanthers.com. Director of athletics at SUNY OW Lenore J. Walsh believes it was about time for a change.
“If you look around campus there are a lot of different panthers, we want to use [just] one,” Walsh said.
Rather than going with a student driven design, the new mascot design will be handled by some of Walsh’s staff members. This is to prevent an issue where so much input is given and nothing comes out, something that Walsh says has happened in previous years, describing it as “too many cooks in the kitchen.”
Instead Walsh elected the equipment manager, Jeff Labiento, who is heavily involved in merchandise design, and the sports information director, Nicole Sasu-Twum, who utilizes social media to promote panther sports, to be in charge of overseeing the new design. Walsh says that they will be partnering with an outside company which will submit multiple panther designs. Walsh believes that student input is still very valuable, so upon completion students will be able to vote for the design they like best.
“We will select the top three designs and post them for the students to vote on,” said Walsh.
Pretty soon, students attending SUNY OW and future students to come will have a new mascot to celebrate. This new panther will be used on all the schools social media platforms, on athletic uniforms and of course merchandise that students can purchase to show off their Panther Pride.
