Why is NIC’s Mascot a Cardinal?

Everywhere on campus images of Cecil, NIC’s cardinal mascot, can be found on banners, signs, posters, mouse pads and everything in between. But the question remains: Why is NIC’s mascot a cardinal when cardinals don’t even live in North Idaho?  

This is an early version of the school’s cardinal logo from 1959 as it appears in an early version of the college paper.

It all started back in 1939, when the school’s name was changed from Coeur d’Alene Junior College to North Idaho Junior College. This change created the need for a new mascot. As a result, the school held a competition to decide on a mascot. A first-year student named Glen Nogle suggested the name “Cardinals” after his favorite major-league baseball team, the St. Louis Cardinals. People were fond of Nogle’s suggestion and the name stuck.  

In this version of the logo from 1971, the letters NIJC for “North Idaho Junior College” are incorporated into the cardinal’s shape.

Throughout the decades since the mascot’s birth, it’s appearance has evolved, morphing from a rather realistic-looking bird to the character-filled cardinal that we know today.  

In 1984, the college introduced a logo with mountains, trees and water to represent NIC, and the cardinal is now a spirit mark for athletes at the college. 

This Brightly colored logo from 1979 is clearly beginning to take a sleek and stylized shape similar to the look of Cecil today.

Two years later, in 1986, the mascot was named Cecil after Idaho’s governor at the time: Cecil Andrus, who passed in August of 2017.    

Although there are no Cardinals native to North Idaho, Cecil will always be a large part of the Coeur d’Alene community.