After years of controversy over its portrayal of the Aztec warrior, San Diego State University on Thursday unveiled a trio of new images that school leaders hope are a better representation of the culture behind the school’s moniker.
SDSU removed the use of the native warrior’s likeness as a mascot in 2018 but maintained the Aztec name for its student body and college teams. The move to create new iconography for the school’s branding is part of the university’s plan to honor the Aztec history while maintaining the sense of community that developed around the epithet, SDSU said.
Leaders hope the three “glyphs,” as they call them, will connect the school to the Aztec culture while representing the school for years to come.
“Glyphs are symbols that are embedded with meaning,” Dr. Ramona Pérez said. The Anthropology Professor and chair of the Aztec Culture and Education Committee played a key role in the process to create the new iconography.
“The intention behind them was for us to be able to reach into the past to our almost 500 thousand alumni and have something for them, representative of what the Aztec moniker has meant to them over time, as well as going into the future,” Pérez said.
The committee worked with anthropologists and Mexican artists to understand the important symbolism in Aztec imagery, particularly the Aztec Sun Stone. The committee then selected three images from the more than 200 depicted on the sun stone to represent the student population—a jaguar to represent health, a wind symbol representing education, and a house to depict community, SDSU said.
From left to right: The Ehecatl (wind) represents education based off Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent, god of intelligence and self-reflection. Calli, the house, represents Tepeyollotl, god of animals, caves, echoes, and earthquakes. Symbolizes rest, family, and community. The Ocelotl, or jaguar, represents Tezcatlipoca, god of the night sky, memory, and time and is associated with power, valor, and brave warriors and linked to health, grit, and perseverance, SDSU said.
The announcement makes it clear there is no turning back to the old representations of Monty Montezuma or Aztec warrior, which have been at the heart of controversy between traditionalists and those who say it’s no longer culturally acceptable to have human beings as mascots.
“This is who we are, this is our DNA and now we have the opportunity to show that in a new way,” said Athletic Director JD Wicker. “I realize it’s new, sometimes it takes people a little longer to embrace what’s new, but you’re embracing the Aztecs and this again just allows us to further lean into it.
“We’re the Aztecs and we’re going to be the Aztecs.”
Wicker said the school has already begun to roll out the images to its athletic teams and in Aztec shops for use on jerseys, practice gear and fan apparel.
