College Basketball

Holy Cross drops knight image despite keeping Crusaders name

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 11:45 p.m. ET

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) The College of the Holy Cross says it will stop using the image of a knight as a logo and mascot even though trustees last month decided to keep the nickname Crusaders for its athletic teams.

The president of the Worcester (WUS'-tur), Massachusetts, Jesuit college, the Rev. Philip Boroughs, wrote in a letter to students, alumni and staff Wednesday the depiction of a knight with the moniker Crusader is an inevitable reminder of the religious wars and violence that marked the Crusades.

Boroughs says such imagery ''stands in contrast'' to the college's stated values'' but notes the word ''crusader,'' in its modern sense, means someone who stands for positive principles.

In place of a knight, Holy Cross will use an interlocking HC on a purple shield as its primary logo.