Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski Saint Francis University alumni, students, faculty, staff, donors and fans each received a t-shirt following the unveiling of the school's new mascot at DeGol Area in Loretto on Wednesday morning.

LORETTO — Saint Francis University unveiled its new mascot/logo on Wednesday at the Maurice Stokes Fieldhouse inside DeGol Arena before a rather large gathering of current students, faculty, alumni and area fans of the athletic programs.

The school had leaked out tiny bits of information prior to Wednesday’s press conference that seemed at times more like a pep rally — which the Saint Francis Pep Band did perform — about what the big announcement was going to be, and it pretty much turned out to be just that — big.

Using the stage which just about a month ago was in place for graduation, athletic director Jim Brazill and university president Father Malachi Van Tassell delivered the opening remarks to the crowd with the unveiling of the new Red Wolves logo going on behind them that will replace the Red Flash logo, just as that logo once replaced the Frankies logo following the 1971-1972 academic year.

“This is about honoring that legacy while building momentum for the future,” Brazill said to the crowd.

And they do so as NCAA Division III members of the Presidents Athletic Conference with schools like Saint Vincent, Thiel, Grove City and Washington & Jefferson.

Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski Saint Francis University alumni, students, faculty, staff, donors and fans saw the unveiling of the school's new mascot at DeGol Area in Loretto on Wednesday morning.

Luke McConnell, the head men’s basketball coach at SFU and a graduate of the school as well, was passionate in his speech to the crowd about the day’s event.

“That means a lot to see that (logo) taking us into the future,” he said.

Brazill even brought a little levity into the presentation when he pointed out a text he got on his phone while McConnell was speaking.

“I just got a text … You killed Frankie,” he read off his phone.

McConnell talked about not even answering texts from family and friends the past few days asking him about what was going to happen on Wednesday.

“I am not good at lying so I just decided not to answer any of them,” he quipped.

Brian Dumm, a graphic artist/design expert who teaches art at Central Cambria High School, and will add teaching at Saint Francis this fall to his resume, was the man who came up with the mascot/logo design.

“It was daunting but also pretty challenging,” Dumm said. “Challenging is good. Lisa Swope (senior associate athletic director for administration) contacted me and said we have this idea. We met and I got to meet the team and hear their ideas. What was really awesome was that they had the concept for the wolf already planned out.”

The inspiration for Red Wolves comes from the town of Gubbio in Italy, which was terrorized by a wolf. The story goes that Francis approached the wolf not with fear but with compassion and courage. Once a symbol of fear, the wolf became a symbol of peace, community and harmony.

Dumm incorporated into the logo design important concepts of the catholic religion like the Holy Trinity as well as angel wings, and a tribute to Loretto with a black colored background that is a nod to the pine trees.

“My job as a designer was to take the sketches all the way through to the finish,” Dumm said. “I have to give tons of credit to the athletic department. They were outstanding. They were open-minded with my vision.”

Van Tassell gave full credit to the athletic department for their concept of the Red Wolves.

“I was happy that athletics came to me and asked if they could do a redesign because that said to me that athletics was embracing the D-III reclassification,” he said. “So right away I was encouraged. They came up with the wolf Gubbio because that means they knew Franciscan heritage, they knew the story and they thought that would be the perfect mascot.”

In a press release that was given out to members of the local print and electronic media, Saint Francis pointed out that it understands the importance of honoring its past but that it has to embrace a new identity.

“It is in that spirit of reflection and renewal that we embrace the Red Wolves,” the SFU statement read. “This transition is a deliberate decision to prioritize the holistic student-athlete experience while reaffirming our commitment to excellence in academics, athletics, faith and community.”

Two noted alumni had differing opinions on the debut of the Red Wolves logo, Tom Fox, who played basketball at Saint Francis, and Randy Wilson, who is a much-heralded cross country and track and field coach at Central Cambria.

“I think for most of us alums, this is just the cherry on top of what has been an extremely disappointing series of moves by the administration,” said Fox, who was contacted by phone at his home in Blair County. “The true gut punch was leaving D-1 athletics. This is just kind of throwing salt on those wounds. My support for Luke McConnell and the program won’t change because of this either. In the end, they can’t demote or rebrand the memories.”

Wilson shared his comments on stage as one of the speakers alongside McConnell.

“Loyalty, strength and community. The wolf represents that. So does Saint Francis,” he said.

Fox still speaks highly of the University itself.

“The school is still a great place to get an education, with so many great people, this makes it even more unrecognizable to the majority of us,” he said. “The Red Flash/Frankie The Friar moniker and mascot were ingrained in us. What’s more is they were one of a kind.”