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College of Western Idaho selects otter mascot as an ode to former governor

After the committee voted 'Sparkles' down, the board turned to the remaining three mascots: the bighorns, the horned owls and the otters.

NAMPA, Idaho — If you thought the Shelley Russets or the Orofino Maniacs were odd names for school mascots, The College of Western Idaho just went odder, literally.

The school's board of trustees decided on the 'otters' in a 4-1 vote on Tuesday morning.

So why the water-loving creature, one that isn't native to the Gem State?

In November, the committee said they wanted a mascot that would represent western Idaho.

The student body had unofficially adopted 'Sparkles the Unicorn' back in 2008, when the college took over Boise State University's Nampa campus.

Idaho Life: CWI's mythical mascot 'Sparkles the Unicorn'

Associate professor of history, Reggie Jayne, says there were a lot of Bronco logos left behind.

"And our vice president, Victor Watson, jokingly remarked, 'I'm going to get a bunch of horn stickers and put them on the Broncos and we'll be the Broncocorns,'" recalls Jayne.

After the committee voted 'Sparkles' down, the board turned to the remaining three mascots: the bighorns, the horned owls and the otters.

Ultimately, the committee favored the 'otters,' an ode to former Gov. Butch Otter, who helped fund the college in 2007. He actually took a welding class there in 2012.

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