The start of the 2016-17 school year marks an exciting time at St. Pius X High School. Carmen Garrett Armistead begins her first year as head of school, the dreams of the St. Pius X community come to life with the opening of The Raye G. and Edward P. White Family Center for the Sciences and Media, the school celebrates its 60th Jubilee with 'A Year of Gratitude,' and SPX's new Panther mascot is formally unveiled.
Change is in the air and the newly-designed mascot embodies the spirit of our Panther pride and carries forward the future of St. Pius X High School.
"We are excited to present the newest incarnation of our panther mascot, Beppo," Armistead said. "We're confident this new look, along with the new White Family Center for the Sciences and Media will generate a spirit of new life and energy as we thankfully celebrate the 60th Jubilee of our great school."
Beppo the Panther has evolved over the years. The first panther mascot was created in the fall of 1958 in paper mache form. Pope Pius X's nickname "Beppo" was chosen as the name of the school's mascot. A fiberglass statue of Beppo was purchased in the fall of 1959. Since then, Beppo the Panther has evolved into many different shapes and forms. The last Panther mascot redesign was completed over 10 years ago.
Designed by Bullpen Marketing, an experienced marketing agency specializing in academic marketing for private schools, the new Panther mascot presents a clean, refreshed design with a sleek, modern look and feel that can be used cohesively throughout our school community. The school's primary colors (black, white, gray and orange) are reflected in the mascot.
The Houston-based agency has been developing brands for over 19 years for top private schools and corporations.
The newly designed Panther mascot presented on Thursday, comes from more than a year of research and design. A survey about the previous mascot was sent to the entire school community in the spring of 2015. All feedback and ideas were taken into consideration and once it was determined a new look was necessary, a focus group was formed that included SPX alumni, students, faculty, staff and athletic administrators. The logo reflects recommendations made by this group to Bullpen, which included presenting a mascot that was in profile view, aesthetically simple, modern and timeless, with a fierce, yet stoic disposition. Additional recommendations were to incorporate the SPX brand colors in a design that is unique to SPX and could be used universally throughout the school.
"We are proud to have worked with St. Pius X to create a distinctive new mascot for the Panthers," said Bullpen President and CMO Colin Hageney. "The newly imagined Beppo is bold and modern and reflects the spirit and determination of the SPX community!"
There is renewed excitement across campus about the mascot and over the course of the school year it will become integrated throughout SPX, including athletic uniforms, spirit items and merchandise.
To ensure consistent use of the new mascot and other St. Pius X marks across the school community, SPX has published a brand standards manual that can be found at www.stpiusx.org/brand.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
"We are extremely excited about the launch of our new Beppo Panther. The new mascot has a clean, modern and collegiate look to it. The athletic department was very fortunate to have such a talented group as Bullpen Marketing overseeing this new branding. They listened to our community and have produced a mascot that will stand out among our peer institutions." – Jason Kimball, Athletic Director
"As an alumna and former student athlete, I have a never-ending connection to the St. Pius X panther mascot, Beppo. I absolutely love Beppo's new sleek and stylish look! The revamped mascot truly reflects the exciting changes and growth happening at St. Pius X. It really works to advance the legacy of the school and to move Beppo into the 21st Century and beyond." – Marisa Cruz Hurd '94
"I am very excited about our new mascot! I think our St. Pius X community will also be excited and rally behind the new design. The new Beppo is modern with a very clean look. I can't wait to get new apparel with our new mascot on it. Go Panthers!" – Stephen Hill, Head Football Coach
"I'm excited to see the continual growth of the Panther mascot from my time as a student until now. The new Panther is a modern take on a staple icon of our school that has been around since the beginning. I can't wait to see how Beppo's newest incarnation grows with our school community." – Katie Anderson '08, current faculty member
"I haven't seen this much excitement around Beppo since I've been here. As a student, I can relate to the new look and all the exciting changes taking place on campus. The mascot is a perfect fit for SPX." – Parker Johnson '17, Student Body President