Nevada State College has a new mascot — Sting the scorpion

Nevada State College has a new mascot — a fierce-looking scorpion named Sting.

The Henderson school unveiled its gender-neutral mascot this month, it said in a Monday news release.

Sting replaces the college’s first mascot, Scotty — also a scorpion — who’ll live on while representing Nevada State’s Early Childhood Education Center.

More than 100 name suggestions for a new mascot came in from students, employees and alumni, according to the college. A mascot committee reviewed the top three and selected a winner.

Six students and one alumnus suggested the name Sting.

“Our Nevada State Scorpions deserved a new mascot that represents their fighting spirit,” Vice President of Student Affairs Stefanie Coleman said in the news release. “We’re excited to have Sting on campus! They’re bold, great, and make the perfect addition to Nevada State.”

Last year, the college developed its first spirit mark “in anticipation for future sports teams,” it said in the release. “With that new spirit mark, the campus community expressed excitement and desire for a fierce and strong mascot.”

The college, which opened in 2002 and has more than 7,200 students, presented a proposal earlier this month to the Board of Regents seeking a name change to “Nevada State University.”

Regents voted unanimously to postpone a decision until December, citing concerns about the potential impact in areas such as accreditation, employee salaries, admissions standards and student tuition.

Contact Julie Wootton-Greener at jgreener@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton on Twitter.