Rodney the Raven is the official mascot

Mascot

The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...

s of the Anderson University

Anderson University (Indiana)

Anderson University is an accredited private Christian liberal arts university in Anderson, Indiana. The college is affiliated with the Church of God . Anderson University is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, and the society. In 2010, U.S...

. Rodney, normally portrayed by a costumed character

Costumed character

right|200px|thumb|Millie, once costumed character mascot of the [[Brampton, Ontario|City of Brampton]] in [[Ontario]], [[Canada]], is now the [[Brampton Arts Council]]'s representative.A costumed character wears a costume that covers the performer's face...

, is usually represented as a stylized raven

Raven

Raven is the common name given to several larger-bodied members of the genus Corvus—but in Europe and North America the Common Raven is normally implied...

 with black feathers, yellow legs, and an orange beak. Rodney reflects the tradition of referring to Anderson students as "Ravens."

Tradition

Rodney the Raven is the face of AU athletics

Anderson University Ravens

The Ravens is the name used for all of the men's intercollegiate athletic teams that play for Anderson University in Anderson, Indiana. The female intercollegiate teams are known as the Lady Ravens....

and has been increasingly used to raise school spirit on AU's campus.

History

As a result of a contest sponsored by the university to determine a new basketball team mascot, the Raven was chosen among over 130 names. The committee of three administrative persons chose the "Raven" for (3) reasons: a raven, being black, agreed with the school's colors of black and orange; the raven has biblical history as Elijah was apparently fed by ravens; and the raven is considered aggressive like what the university wanted its sports teams to be.

Formerly the Tigers, AU's mascot was changed to a Raven in 1937.