Cheatham Middle School in Ashland City, Tennessee on Monday announced its students are now “The Musketeers” following a survey conducted after the University of Cincinnati (UC) ordered the school to drop its previous “Bearcats” mascot the Ohio university claimed too closely resembled its own.
Cheatham County Schools Athletic Director Jeff Hobbs confirmed the mascot change to The Tennessee Star on Monday, when he explained the rivalry between the Xavier University Musketeers and the UC Bearcats prompted serious consideration after it was suggested on the social media platform X.
“If you look back at how this thing unfolded, through X and social media, there was a contingency out there – the sports rivalry runs deep – and they suggested that mascot to us,” said Hobbs.
“When we really started looking into the spirit of the Musketeer, the cliché, ‘All for one, one for all,’ what it really means and what it stands for. It was not a stretch to see how that hits home here,” Hobbs explained, describing the episode as “a kickstart and a boost to get us reinvigorated in school pride.”
The athletic director told The Star, “It was right there in front of our face. What better message could you give a group of 9-13 year olds than fighting alongside your brother together, being stronger when you work as one unit. A musketeer is a good friend, a good buddy. These are things we want our students to be, we want them to be a friend to everybody.”
Still, with the demand to change their mascot coming from a university located nearly 300 miles away from the middle school, Hobbs acknowledged the opportunity to take part in the rivalry made the option even more attractive.
“The idea, when this was first presented, as a sports guy and a sports fan, I loved the rivalry part of it. It just made your heart feel good, just going, ‘Yes, this is what sports is all about,'” he said.
The athletic director said more than 850 names were suggested by community members and noted that a significant number of locals wanted the middle school to adopt the “Cubs” mascot used by Cheatham County Central High School.
Hobbs said the idea was tempting but suggested it would put high school students in the same position the middle school students found themselves in after the school received the UC cease and desist letter.
“The more we thought about it, and we thought, why are we in this position? We kept hearing the University of Cincinnati is taking these kids’ identity,” said Hobbs. “We heard that a lot, taking their identity.”
A photo posted to the Cheatham Middle School Parent Teacher Organization on Facebook showed students and teachers as they learned their new name, while the school posted more images, showing students wearing red and black for the unveiling.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Cheatham Middle School Musketeers” by Cheatham Middle School PTO.Â
I’m guessing this name will be dropped at some point. A musketeer was a soldier who fought with a musket, which is a firearm. We can’t have that!