2012 Post Season Media Guide - Antelope Valley College

MARAUDER MEN’S BASKETBALL 2011-12
WHAT IS A MARAUDER? -- And other Frequently Asked Questions
WHAT IS A MARAUDER?
A marauder is one who marauds (I know, the Language Arts folks
are rightly peeved by now, read on). The term has been attached to
several peoples over the years, but especially the Marauding Hordes
and Bedouin Marauders. Both
groups attacked from the north and
looted and pillaged (a good definition
of maraud) whatever civilization
they might run into. Since the
Marauding Hordes came from
the northern Asian areas and the
Bedouin Marauders were the dwellers
of the northern African deserts,
AVC has decided to honor those of
the desert nature, while Compton
College (Tartars) decided to identify
themselves with those of the Asian
group.
WHY IS IT ANTELOPE VALLEY COLLEGE’S
MASCOT?
The Marauder was selected as the mascot for Antelope Valley College
some time during the 1938-39 academic year. However, the exact
origins of the mascot and its development over the years have apparently
been lost beneath the dust of the years.
“I’ll be damned if I can understand now or remember how we came
up with the name,” says Walt Primmer, a former athlete from AVC’s
class of 1940. Other college graduates from that time were equally at a
loss as to the origins of the name.
The earliest written mention of Marauders that can be located
by researchers is from the 1939 Antelope Valley High School Yucca
yearbook. The yearbook, which included a special section for what was
then known as Antelope Valley Junior College, made reference to the
“Maroon Marauders.” Previously, college students who shared facilities
with the high school were simply referred to as “JCs” in the Yucca
yearbooks.
One thing for certain is that the Marauder image certainly fit in well
with their namesakes - the marauding desert dwellers of Africa and Asia
from earlier times. Some of the students from the early days of Antelope
Valley College must have felt like marauders as they left their homes in
distant reaches of the region to live in dorms at the college.
At the time the name “Maroon Marauders” surfaced, so did a
“Maroon Marauders” emblem that appeared on some sweaters ordered
by the mother of student Jack Reynolds, according to Primmer. The
emblem consisted of a large circle with a scimitar - a curved saber used
mostly by Turks and Arabs - running through the center of the circle.
The college’s initials of “A.V.J.C.” appeared on the scimitar.
The Marauder name quite possibly served as motivation for a play
written and produced by the college students in 1940. The play, “A
Knight in Baghdad,” also known as “Harem Scarem” was described as
an original musical comedy. Photos from the play show one performer
in Middle Eastern dress and carrying a scimitar. Another performer was
dressed in armor, thus the play actually had a “knight, to fit in with the
title.
WHAT ARE THE SCHOOL’S COLORS? HOW DID
AVC COME BY THEM?
Maroon and Silver. As discussed above, the Marauders were once
known as “Maroon Marauders,” though through the years, “maroon” was
dropped from “marauders.” Maroon remains one of the school’s colors,
along with silver. Over the years gold has been added to the color
scheme, but that has been phased out over the last 10 years. White and
black are now used to help accent the maroon and silver.
OK, IF THE MARAUDER AT AVC IS FROM THE
DESERT, WHY DOES THE MARAUDER MASCOT
THAT DANCES WITH THE CHEERLEADERS LOOK
LIKE JACK SPARROW?
A mascot was eventually developed. What is believed to be the
original official Marauder was depicted as a chubby-cheeked, comic
character with a handlebar moustache and goatee. The character was
dressed in baggy pants and pointed-toe shoes, like one would envision a
genie. The Marauder also had a turban with a scimitar running through
it, in the same way an old cowboy would wear a hat with an arrow running
through it.
Attempts had been made to upgrade and toughen the Marauder
mascot image for more than 10 years before 1990. At least one student
contest was held to develop a new mascot and various artists have left
their mark in coming up with new Marauders. However, some have lost
sight of the original desert dweller in favor of a swashbuckling high seas
marauding pirate. Because of that, AVC’s mascot was represented first
as a duck, then a parrot and now -- the popular Jack Sparrow.
WHAT IS THIS “NEW” LOGO?
It’s not a logo at all. Athletic departments require different looks for
different purposes. The circular trademarked logo developed 15 years
ago (top left on this page) reamins the Marauder logo. But like most
athletic departments, AVC
has another “identifier” -- in
this case AVC being crossed
by a simitar -- which is used
to represent the department
when the logo does not make
graphic sense.
ARE THE WOMEN’S TEAMS CALLED
“LADY MARAUDERS?”
No. Marauder Athletics chooses to differentiate only by sport, not
by sex. Therefore, Marauder Athletics uses the nomenclature “Marauder”
before any of their sports (i.e. Marauder Football, Marauder Soccer, Marauder
Women’s Basketball). If Marauder Athletics hosts the same sport
for both sexes, the correct use is to use the genderal description before the
sport (i.e. Marauder Men’s Track, Marauder Women’s Track). If only one
sex is offered participation in a sport, the genderal description is dropped
(i.e. Marauder Volleyball, Marauder Soccer, Marauder Baseball). AVC’s
logo image is unique in that it is a silhouette, thus it can be identified with
either men or women athletic teams. The old Marauder was strictly seen
as a male figure, which was acceptable 40 years ago when there were no
women athletic teams at the college.
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