Brief overview of Fort Lewis College
logos, mascots, and school colors
| Logo(s) | Mascot | School colors | Year of change to this mascot | Reason for the change | |
| [no image of the Beavers logo has yet been located; please let us know if you can provide it!] |
 (The letter "B".) |
Beavers | green and gold | 1929 | The Student Council selected this nickname because of the animal's `industrious habits.'"1 |
 |
 (The letter "A" with a megaphone or other symbol -- depending on the sport or activity-- through it.) |
Aggies | green and gold | 1934(?) | Fort Lewis became a junior college in 1933 as a branch of Colorado State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. At first in 1933, however, the school was excited about being "Beavers".2 |
 |
 |
Raiders | blue and gold | 1962 | Noted artist Fred Harman assisted in the
development of the Raider logo (see note below), which
was adopted to replace the "A" because Fort Lewis was no longer an Agricultural and Mechanical
school. The image below is a later whimsical version of that logo. |
 |
 |
Raiders | blue and gold | 1962 | |
 |
 |
Skyhawks | blue and gold | 1970s and (Skyhawks) 1994 | The logo with the red C (for Colorado) was unofficial but was used occasionally in about the 1970s. The athletic department introduced the Skyhawks logo soon after the college's switch to that mascot in 1994. |
 |
 |
Skyhawks | blue and gold | 1994 | Some found the cavalry soldier symbol
and the warrior aspects of the word Raider offensive.3
The switch to the new identity system (far left column and lower Skyhawk logo) occurred in 2002. |
 College seal |
In a letter from FLC Bookstore Manager Kenneth J. Giesen to Fred Harman in Albuquerque on Nov. 22, 1968, Giesen wrote, "We have watched with a great deal of interest the progress and acceptance of the Raider image which you helped to create for us. You undoubtedly recall that about three and one-half years ago you sent me the final sketch of this symbol and since then it has been widely accepted and officially sanctioned by the Student Government; in fact, they are using it on their letterhead... and are interested in preventing its indiscriminate and uncontrolled use. ... you will probably recall that we had the basic design in mind at the time I approached you to help in its refinement. ... We...thank you for the significant service you have rendered the College in this matter." |
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1Duane Smith, Sacred Trust:
The Birth and Development of Fort Lewis College (Niwot: University Press of
Colorado, 1991), page 57.
2Duane Smith, personal communication to the Archivist, 2000 Oct.
5.
3Correspondence re:
the mascot, Fort Lewis College Archives, Alumni Association records, Collection
M 001 Series 7.E.4.
Fort Lewis
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Revised November 15, 2005