FSCJ Announces New Mascot to Represent College

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ) is excited to announce the new official mascot is the Manta Ray. The Manta Ray, one of the top three finalists that received the most votes, was first announced with a video during the annual Commencement Ceremony. The news was met with much celebration from the attending graduates, families, friends, faculty and staff, and graduates received FSCJ Manta Ray rally towels after accepting their diplomas.

Beginning in October 2023, the public was invited to vote on their favorite mascots from a list of 25. Close to 9,000 votes and 864 write-in names were received, helping to narrow the options down to the top three: Kraken, Manta Ray and Sea Dragon. The public voting window was open to select the winner between the finalists from January 17 to February 23, 2024, garnering nearly 20,000 votes.

“This has been an exciting process, and we cannot thank the community enough for their involvement,” said College President Dr. John Avendano. “We often say FSCJ is ‘the community’s college’ so we wanted to be sure we selected a mascot that everyone would connect with and help us build on that energy. The Manta Ray was a perfect choice for us, and we cannot wait to see the symbol on shirts, hats, uniforms, signage and more.”

Following extensive research, design and two public voting phases, the College is beginning to incorporate the Manta Ray across FSCJ, FSCJ Athletics and the full College community. Merchandise is being ordered and will be available for purchase through campus bookstores and online. Uniforms for the College’s athletics teams and a mascot costume are in development and will be in use for the 2024-25 season. A name for it will be discussed in the near future, following public rollout.

View the mascot announcement video here.