Denver Comes to Summit League in Search of a Mascot

The Summit League already has Jackrabbits, Coyotes, Bison, Mavericks, Leathernecks, Mastodons, and Jaguars, but what about its newest member?

The University of Denver will join the Summit League this season with a nickname (Pioneers), but no mascot.

The school is phasing out its current Daniel Boone mascot because the DU chancellor Robert Coombe believes Boone:

...did not reflect the growing diversity of the DU community.

In Daniel's place will be either an elk, jackalope, or mountaineer.

The school has gone to great lengths to pick its next face - there's a mascot steering committee which is using the recommendations of no less than 45 different focus groups to make this crucial decision.

The student body will have the ultimate say in balloting later this summer.

The mascot will be the only change.  The Denver teams will continues to use the  Pioneers name and crimson and gold colors, as well as the arch "Denver" and interlocking DU logo.