The Valparaiso University Crusader has been shown the door.
The school is dropping the sports mascot, logos, and the team name.
In a video statement, the school’s interim president says the Crusaders mascot projects an image of “aggressive religious oppression and violence” contrary to the university’s principles.
Colette Irwin-Knott cited use of “crusader” imagery in recent hate speech and by the Ku Klux Klan. She did not indicate when a new mascot would be selected.
Valpo plays in the Missouri Valley Conference, the same conference as the University of Evansville and Indiana State University.
