Dixie State College of Utah announced Thursday the fourth set of three concept finalists during the penultimate week of nominations for the institution's "Dixie Idol" campaign to come up with the institution's new nickname and mascot. Through the first four weeks of the nomination process, nearly 3,000 total concept submissions have been entered on DSC's "Dixie Idol" website for consideration, including over 500 concept entries over the last week.
The fifth and final week of nominating began at midnight early Thursday morning to come up with three more unique nickname concepts. All nominations from the previous week will not be considered in determining the next three concept finalists. For more information on "Dixie Idol" and to nominate a concept, please visit www.dixie.edu/mascot.
"I have been very impressed by the number of submissions that we've received since the process started," said Brock Bybee, DSC 2008-09 Studentbody President and Naming Committee Chairman. "I hope that the excitement generated will snowball as we begin the voting process. This is a positive turning point in Dixie State's history and the my hope is that the campaign continues to gain momentum and carry us through to the final announcement during D-Week in April."
The fourth week's nickname finalists are "Blazers," "Red Devils," and "Roadrunners," each of which were nominated multiple times by a number of submitters. Individual entrants who submitted each of the three concepts were drawn from a hat to come up with the $100 prizewinners. All three of the weekly are from the St. George area, including Phillip McLeod (Blazers); Cathy Johnson (Roadrunners); and Cassandra Nielson (Red Devils), who will each be awarded $100 for participating in the nomination process.
Each submission up for consideration is judged and reviewed based on its appropriateness in conjunction with the traditions, values and virtues of the Dixie State College community. A second criteria for consideration is based on the overall number of times a concept has been nominated.
Through the first three weeks of nominating, a total of 11 concept finalists have been identified, including the submissions of "Pioneers" and "Scorpions" from week one, along with "Reds," "Coyotes" and "Heat" from week two, and "Diamondbacks," "Red Hawks," and "Suns" from week three. One other submission from week one, "Red Bulls," was removed from consideration after DSC officials learned that the makers of the "Red Bull" energy drink owned all possible trademark and licensing variations with the brand name.
DSC officials are inviting all alumni, current students, faculty and staff, fans and community members to get involved in what should be a fun and exciting process. The initial five-week nomination portion of the campaign began August 19th, and will run through Wednesday, Sept. 24, giving all DSC stakeholders an opportunity to have a say in what the College's new nickname and mascot will be.
Last year, the Dixie State College Board of Trustees voted to retire the use of the "Rebel" nickname and the "Confederate" identity, which was adopted in the 1950s. The hope of the DSC naming committee, headed by DSC's 2008-09 studentbody president Brock Bybee, is to come up with a new school identity that reflects the true pioneer heritage, traditions, values and work ethic of the region. The committee is made up of DSC student-body, athletic, faculty and staff, and alumni representatives.
Each week during the five-week initial nomination process, three lucky nickname submitters will be awarded $100 and their submission will be one of
14 finalists. At the conclusion of the initial nomination process, Dixie State will announce the 14 nickname finalists, along with at least 10 wildcard entries, during DSC's Homecoming festivities, which is slated for the week of Oct. 5-11.
Following that announcement, a new round of online voting will take place through Friday, Oct. 31, to narrow the field down to 10 entries. DSC officials will then introduce the top-10 and a new round of voting will commence from Friday, Nov. 14, through the last day of the 2008 fall semester, which ends Friday, Dec. 12.
Those votes will be tabulated and the field will be whittled down to three final entries. The three remaining entries, complete with costumes designed during the Christmas Holiday break, will be announced in January.
"Dixie Idol" will really get interesting as the contest moves into the "Shootout" stage, as each mascot finalist will perform during a DSC's men's basketball home game (Jan. 17/Jan. 31/Feb. 12), and will all perform as an ensemble during DSC's final home game of the year on Thursday, Feb. 20.
Then beginning Friday, Feb. 21, through Thursday, March 5, everyone can vote for the their favorite finalist online. The outcome of the final vote will be reported to Dixie State's administration and Board of Trustees for approval. Following that process, the winner and new DSC nickname and mascot to be unveiled at the conclusion of the Great Race during "D" Week Friday, April 3, at the Encampment Mall.
