Quincy Hawks is the athletic identity of Quincy University, a private Franciscan university in Quincy, Illinois. The university’s teams compete in NCAA Division II and have been members of the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) for most sports since the 1995-96 school year.[1] The athletic nickname is the Hawks, and the mascot is Victor E. Hawk.[2]
Design and History
The university’s official colors are brown, white, and gold.[2] The hawk was chosen as the university mascot for two documented reasons. First, the hawk is an animal that in many cultures is a symbol of visionary leadership.[3] Second, the brown wings and white head of a hawk represent the university’s colors, which in turn reflect the brown Franciscan habit and the white cord worn around the waist by the Franciscan order that founded the institution.[4]
The athletic department has used hawk imagery beyond the primary logo. In 2015, the university upgraded its tennis facility with wind screens printed with Quincy University logos and “hawk eyes and wings” that had become synonymous with QU athletic facilities.[5] This indicates that the hawk eye and wing motifs functioned as secondary athletic marks during that period.
Meaning and Symbolism
The university’s own materials explain the symbolism of the hawk mascot directly. The hawk represents visionary leadership, a meaning the university explicitly embraces in its leadership messaging.[3] The brown and white coloring of the hawk is tied to the Franciscan tradition: brown references the Franciscan habit and white the cord around the waist.[4]
No official documentation was found identifying the designer or agency responsible for the current Quincy Hawks athletic logo, nor was a documented date for a specific logo redesign located in available sources.
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