Florida State College at Jacksonville introduced the manta ray mascot costume Sept. 17. Faculty, staff and students gathered at the FSCJ South Campus gymnasium, now known as “The Reef,” for the first look at the mascot.
In October 2023, the college presented a list of 25 possible mascots to the public for voting. The list was narrowed to three finalists in January and when voting ended Feb. 23, the manta ray was the winner among more than 20,000 votes.
FSCJ announced the manta ray as the college’s new mascot during the 2024 commencement ceremony.
“The initial search for our new mascot reached viral proportions on campus and throughout the community through the voting process. We knew this was going to be big, but we didn’t anticipate it would become this huge,” college President John Avendano said in a news release. “We hope to keep this momentum going as we look to name our new friend.”
The college is collecting name nominations for its new mascot through Sept. 27. From there, the list will be narrowed down for public voting, with plans to announce the final name by Dec. 31.
Names can be submitted at fscj.edu/mascot.
