Story by Grace Potts and videography by Leah Wilkinson
Bobby B, Clank, Knightro, Rusty and Valor are the final five in the competition to name the Bellarmine knight mascot.
Bellarmine students can vote for which of the final options they like best until 11:45 p.m. on Feb. 11 and the winner will be announced at the homecoming basketball game on Feb. 15.
According to Associate Director of Student Activities Bryan Hamann, there were 654 names initially submitted.
“A committee of students, student-athletes, alumni and university employees reviewed all of the entries and reached a consensus of which were their top five,” Hamann said.
For students wondering why their submissions were not chosen, one reason may be that names referencing a specific person were not options, according to Hamann. However, this rule did not exclude Bobby B. because of the name’s affiliation with Bellarmine’s namesake, Robert Bellarmine.
Some of the top five options are already mascot names at other universities. According to the school’s website, Farleigh Dickson University’s mascot is named Nitro, sometimes spelled Knightro. According to the University of Central Florida website, they too already have a mascot named Knightro.
As for Bobby B, there is already a mascot named Bobby at Northwest Missouri State, according to their website.