Mascot

The hawk has been the official mascot for the university since 1951 when the student body voted in favor of the hawk, symbolizing "the spirit of New Paltz courage, good will and good sportsmanship." The first mascot was "Gus," a tame goshawk in the care of Dr. Heinz Meng of the Biology department, and first appeared as a painting by Dr. Meng on the side of the College bus in 1954. In 1997 the Institutional Image Group began work on development of a formalized athletics symbol, which was drawn by Dr. Meng, an internationally-known naturalist and expert in ornithology, who pioneered in-captivity experimental breeding of peregrine falcons.

The goshawk is the largest in the family of Accipiters. It is a short-winged (rounded tip), longtailed hawk - ferocious and maneuverable.

The mascot is incorporated in the shield, athletics logo, and caricature.

The Hawk

• The hawk is used in the athletics wordmark, the New Paltz and athletics shields and other applications.
• It may be flopped to face the other direction.
• It should be reproduced only in black, blue, gray, or orange (see ¡°colors¡± for approved blue and orange)
• It is not a logo for New Paltz.

The Athletics Wordmark

The Hawk Logo (thin circle)

The thin circle logo may be reproduced in blue or black.
The two-color version has an orange circle with blue hawk.

New Paltz Shield

The shield incorporates the New Paltz mascot with the round logo and the SUNY motto. It was approved by the cabinet in September of 1999. It does not replace the logo. The preferred version has State University of New York spelled out.

The version with the SUNY acronym is acceptable when the shield is reproduced at a small size and the larger type is necessary for legibility.

Athletics Shield

Athletics shield with black type

Athletics shield with reverse type

Athletics shield with reverse type and screen.
The two-color version of this shield has an orange background with blue circle and hawk.

Caricature

The caricature of the mascot, Gussie, was created in 1999 by Stephanie Goos, a graphic design student responding to a campus-wide invitation for drawings. It was refined by a professional cartoonist, alumnus Charles Barnett III, and approved in the spring of 2000.

Gussie
There is a full color version of Gussie and a flat color version, as well as this black and white version.

Gussie as adapted for an Ice Hawks banner for McCann Arena in Poughkeepsie.