Red Jacket adopts new nickname. Here’s what was decided

SHORTSVILLE, NY — The new era of the Red Jacket Cardinals has begun.

At the Manchester-Shortsville Board of Education meeting July 2, school district officials announced the approval of its new nickname and mascot, Cardinals, replacing Indians. Cardinals, which received 515 suggestions from students, staff, alumni and community members surveyed, beat out two other options, Rail Hawks and Bears, which received 484 and 146 suggestions, respectively.

A nearly three-minute reveal video showcases appearances from current and former staff and alumni, including Red Jacket graduate Phil Bredesen, a former governor of Tennessee.

"We would like to thank the Board of Education, the Rebranding Committee, and, most of all, our entire community for their continued support throughout this process," Superintendent Christopher Barnard said in a statement Wednesday. "As we honor our past, we are excited to move forward into a new era as the Red Jacket Cardinals."

With the Cardinals nickname in place, the district will be working toward having a new logo. In the interim, the district will continue to use the current "RJ" logo with plans to unveil the completed Cardinal-themed logo by the end of the 2024-25 school year.

The district was required to change its longtime nickname, as well as its logo, after the state Board of Regents last April prohibited the use of Native American names, mascots and logos. Canandaigua, which also surveyed the community for help in determining its new Gray Wolves nickname, switched from the longstanding Braves nickname and Friendship belt logo because of the state mandate.

The district's schools were allowed to keep the Red Jacket name. Seneca Chief Sagoyewatha took the name Red Jacket because of the red coats he wore during the American Revolution. The Indians nickname had been in use since the 1950s.

For more information on the process of changing the Red Jacket nickname, visit www.redjacket.org/district/rebranding-information.

Mike Murphy covers Canandaigua and other communities in Ontario County and writes the Eat, Drink and Be Murphy food and drink column. Follow him on X at @MPN_MikeMurphy.