On October 18, 2017 the Board of Trustees of Carroll Community College voted unanimously to approve the introduction of intercollegiate athletics at the college. This decision prompted the beginning of several processes to prepare the college for its first intercollegiate competitions to take place in fall 2019. The college had to apply to join an athletic conference, meeting various eligibility criteria. It had to identify and prepare athletic fields and an athletic training room. It had to hire coaches and an athletic trainer. An athletic director was appointed to oversee all these efforts. An athletics kick-off meeting was held November 13, 2017.

The teams also needed a name, team colors, a mascot, and a graphic identity. College President Dr. James D. Ball appointed a Mascot Selection Committee to coordinate these tasks. During November students, faculty, staff, and the public were invited to submit suggestions for the team name. A total of 339 different ideas were received, some fanciful, some preposterous, some backed up by long essays arguing persuasively for their adoption. Using previously-developed criteria, the Selection Committee identified 61 initial candidates from this pool, and through a series of public and campus votes produced a final vote between Condors and Lynx. This final vote was limited to students and staff, and Lynx received 1,064 or 59.5 percent of the 1,788 votes cast.

The next task was to develop a logo and graphic identity for Lynx Athletics. The Marketing and Creative Services team, working with vendor Rickabaugh Graphics, developed the athletic brand identity which was unveiled to the college community on September 25, 2018. The costumed mascot character is scheduled to be introduced prior to the Penguin Random House Book Fair in March 2019.

Back to top