Dixie State College of Utah announced Thursday the fifth and final set of three concept finalists during the last week of nominations for the institution's "Dixie Idol" campaign to come up with the institution's new nickname and mascot. Over the past five weeks of the nomination process, nearly 3,500 total concept submissions have been entered on DSC's "Dixie Idol" website for consideration, including nearly 450 concept entries over the final week.
The fifth week's nickname finalists are "Patriots," "Rattler," and "Red Storm," 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 and were awarded a $100 prize for their efforts. Two of the three of winners this week are from the St. George area, including Ezra Irvin (Patriots) and Jimmy Salley (Red Storm), while Dany Stevens of Phoenix, AZ, was awarded a prize for the "Rattlers" concept.
Each submission up for consideration was 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.
Overall, a total of 14 concept finalists have been identified, including the submissions of "Pioneers" and "Scorpions" from week one, along with "Reds," "Coyotes" and "Heat" from week two. The concepts of "Diamondbacks," "Red Hawks," and "Suns" were selected for week three, and "Roadrunners," Red Devils," and "Blazers" were chosen for week four. 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.
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.
The five-week nomination process began August 19th, allowing all DSC alumni, current students, faculty and staff, fans and community members the chance to get involved. Dixie State will formally announce the 14 nickname finalists, along with at least 10 at-large entries, during DSC's Homecoming festivities, which is slated for the week of Oct. 5-11.
Following that announcement, the first round of online voting will take place from Saturday, Oct. 11, through Friday, Oct. 31, to narrow the field down to 10 entries. Voters may vote for up to three concepts during this first initial round of voting. 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. During this round of voting, voters may cast their vote for just one cocept.
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. 26/Jan. 27/Feb. 14), 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 one more 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.
