http://johnsoncitypress.com/article/1110...all-around
This is the part that pertains more to ETSU:
If a new logo can play a role in ETSU finding 3,000 new students, why not consider a complete reboot of the brand and discuss a new nickname? Many students have mentioned it, and many more former students have scoffed at a Buccaneers nickname for a school 360 miles from the ocean and 1,600 feet above sea level.
Many schools had to change nicknames out of respect for native Americans, and the folks at Alabama, Arkansas and, most recently, Wake Forest would tell you Louisiana-Monroe has adapted fairly well.
Why not a nickname with something to do with area wildlife, culture or geography? Maybe Bears or Copperheads. Shoot, goats would be better. A goat used to be the mascot – Captain Billy the Kidd. Former ETSU player/goat farmer Big Tom Buchanan could get involved.
Mountaineers is spoken for, but moonshiners’ current popularity makes White Lightning enticing. Political correctness wouldn’t stand for that one, obviously, but something with local flavor would pack more punch in terms of regional pride.
No disrespect to those who were or are Bucs, but a nickname related to mountains, rivers or Appalachia – bluegrass music, perhaps – would be worth considering in this pivotal period.
A campaign considering nicknames, including those who wanted to stay with Buccaneers, would generate some buzz among the students. And this community might just very well be buzz-proof without the students being the bell cow.
That being said, a diverse range of folks have been complimentary of football coach Carl Torbush’s reach-out. His personality is resonating with people who, basically, haven’t devoted any serious thought to ETSU in years if not decades.
Of course, if the Bucs could land a few signees like McGue and Elizabethton’s Ethan Thomas in the early classes, it would not only spur interest, but help the Bucs/White Lightning make tailgating on Saturdays fun, too.