Oh no, we have to write about the mascot thing again.<\/p>\n
We don\u2019t want to. We\u2019re tired of it. Long Beach State is tired of it. The athletic department is tired of it. Their media people are tired of it. Their coaches are SUPER tired of it. And guess what? We really, truly are tired of it, too. We get a lot more enjoyment out of a day spent writing about an athlete with a great story than we do making fun of our alma mater.<\/p>\n
But that\u2019s the thing with cleaning your house: if you don\u2019t do it, the house stays dirty no matter how tired you are of having to step over trash on your way to the bathroom.<\/p>\n
Over the last few years, the university has phased out \u201c49ers\u201d as a nickname and Prospector Pete as a mascot. Last spring, the students voted to adopt \u201cSharks\u201d as an informal representative for the school, but the athletic department stated firmly that they wouldn\u2019t be using Sharks as a team nickname. The athletic department also re-affirmed that the school\u2019s baseball team will, thankfully, remain the Dirtbags.<\/p>\n
Prior to this year\u2019s basketball season, the athletic department made it official, removing \u201c49ers\u201d as their nickname with the NCAA and adding on \u201cthe Beach.\u201d Because that info was included in the run-up coverage to Long Beach State basketball\u2019s season opener at UCLA, the larger college sports media landscape learned of that for the first time.<\/p>\n
\nAn interesting note heading into UCLA's season opener: Long Beach State has officially changed the nickname for all sports other than baseball to the Beach with the NCAA. No more 49ers.<\/p>\n
— Ben Bolch (@latbbolch) November 4, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n