Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) unveils its new sports team name this week.
The Ryerson Rams are now the TMU Bold.
The Ram mascot, formerly known as Eggy the Ram since 1961, will now be a falcon.
In accordance with the 22 recommendations the school accepted from the Standing Strong Task Force (Mash Koh Wee Kah Pooh Win) in August 2021, TMU pledged to change the name of Ryerson, as well as the name of the sports teams and mascot.
“Falcons are as bold as they come,” said vice-provost Jennifer McMillen. The name Bold and the falcon were chosen to represent what McMillen said reflects school’s community, including students, staff, alumni and the varsity athletes.
A committee was created during the 2022 winter semester to gather information from the community to publish a shortlist of prospective names. An online survey gathered more than 4000 contributions – the shortlist was published in late July. TMU president and vice co-chair Mohamed Lachemi said in June that a new sports team name would be finalized prior to the start of the 2022-2023 school year.
The falcon mascot was chosen 40 times more than other options in the second phase of the shortlist, according to the TMU press release.
The new team name will be used immediately while new team uniforms and a physical mascot, complete with a nickname, character development and costume, will follow in the coming months.
While the TMU Bold logo is in development, TMU’s athletic facilities at the Mattamy Athletic Centre have begun updates to reflect the new name. So far, Coca Cola Court has been rebranded.
During the NCAA-USPORTS showcase this past month, the TMU men’s basketball team used Rams uniforms in the games.
As mentioned in March by provost and co-chair of the Standing Strong Task Force Jennifer Simpson, the gold and blue colours will remain unchanged.
TMU will debut as the Bold on Sept. 4 in a women’s soccer match against the Ottawa Gee-Gees.
The selection of the new sports team name continues TMU’s process of distancing itself from the school’s namesake, Egerton Ryerson – he was a catalyst in Canada’s formation of its residential school system.
Eggy the Ram was nicknamed after Ryerson. A Ram was originally chosen as the mascot because it was Ryerson’s horoscope animal.
More details to come.
Listen to CJRU’s news update here:
