The Magazine of Lenoir-Rhyne College
Spring 1999

by Michael MacEachern

The Athletic Department at Lenoir-Rhyne has a new look for the millenium.

School officials unveiled the new athletic department logo at a press conference in early August. It is the first time the logo has been changed in 17 years.

The new logo features a growling bear coming out of the interlocking LRC logo. Bradford Communications in Hickory created the new logo. Bradford Communications, owned by Eddie Bradford ’67, also developed the popular logo for the Hickory Crawdads, the Class A affiliate for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

"We believe the new athletic logo will generate increased excitement and enthusiasm for our athletic teams," said Athletic Director Dr. Jane Jenkins. "The logo will strengthen our identity and give greater exposure to our athletic programs.

"It had been a long time since we last changed the logo," added Jenkins. "We wanted a more unique and contemporary-looking bear. We are very excited in the athletic department with the new logo and would like to thank Eddie for his work on it."

Even though this telegram says Joe Bear IV was in good health, several days after his return, his keeper realized that this bear was not the one that had been kidnapped, but an imposter instead.

The new look for the Bears debuts on August 26^th when Lenoir-Rhyne hosts the University of South Carolina at Aiken in women’s soccer at 4 p.m.

According to former Sports Information Director Rick Strunk, the commercial artist mother of then-football defensive coordinator Jack Patterson designed the previous athletic logo in 1982. "The reason that we updated the logo to a more ferocious look was the coaches didn’t feel good about the teddy bear looking little bear we used to have," said Strunk. "The profile bear logo also worked well for reprints, clothing, etc."

The history of Lenoir-Rhyne being the Bears date back to 1924, according to the book What’s in a Name?, a collection of information about college mascots. Strunk submitted the L-R logo history to be included in the publication.

According to an oft-repeated story, it came about after a sports writer made a comment in the local paper. It was the 1924 baseball season and Lenoir-Rhyne was playing Wake Forest. "The Lenoir-Rhyne players were finally turning in their tracks and growling like the bears that are said to infest their native highlands," the reported penned. Apparently, that reference made an impression. The Hickory Daily Record, The Lenoir-Rhynean, and the Hacawa contained references to Lenoir-Rhyne as the Bears in the coverage of the 1924 team.

A live bear mascot made its initial appearance at Lenoir-Rhyne in the form of Joe Bear I in 1927. Joe I was reputedly old and gentle and he met an untimely demise when students trying to put a collar on him accidentally broke his neck a few year later.

Three more live bears followed. Joe Bear IV was obtained in 1961 and stayed at the Hickory Community Center Zoo. However, he was stolen by some Western Carolina students and died in the process of the theft.

The incident created quite a controversy. Because of the increasing problem of upkeep and safety made it difficult to keep a live bear of campus, the Lenoir-Rhyne student body decided to elect an official Joe Bear from the student body.

According to Jenkins, the Student Government Association voted to add a female bear mascot named Josie this fall. SGA also bought new costumes for both Joe and Josie Bear for the upcoming year.

Back to PROFILE

This page updated 09/15/04 by webmaster@lrc.edu.   ©1999-2004, Lenoir-Rhyne College.