Since former mascot Chief Illiniwek’s retirement in 2007, the University has lacked a mascot. Now, a group of students is offering a new option — the belted kingfisher.
The belted kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) is the only species in the kingfisher (Alcedinidae) family native to Illinois, with their females adorning a naturally occurring orange and blue coloring. They can be found scattered across North America, with fossils dating back to around 600,000 years ago.
University students and members of the “King’s Guard” President Billy Buerk and Social Media Lead Averhy Sanborn spoke about the mission and progress of the Kingfisher movement.
“The Kingfisher is, in fact, a girl, and that’s super interesting because, in nature, it’s really common for the male species to be more colorful and the females to be kind of bland,” said Buerk, senior in Engineering. “However, when it comes to the belted kingfishers, the females have the orange belt that makes them so special.”
The idea originated in 2019, led by alum Spencer Hulsey. The Kingfisher received its first official Illinois Student Government recognition in 2020, and the movement has grown significantly in the five years since its founding.
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“It sort of grew out of a need,” said Sanborn, junior in LAS. “There’s movement behind wanting to have positive representation for the University itself. A lot of this grows out of love and respect for the University as the flagship university of Illinois.”
Within the last year, the group established a 501(c)(3) organization called the Illinois Kingfisher to assist with overwhelming financial support.
“This became super important for us because everywhere we go, people are asking how they can help us with this,” Buerk said. “We want to be handling that money the correct way. We want to make sure people who are donating have those donations be tax deductible.”
The group recently wrapped up its largest fundraiser to date, raising over $8,500 for a new, professionally made costume that will debut soon.
While the Kingfisher has yet to be approved by the University administration, the group has received widespread support from students, alumni and community members.
Various Native American professional organizations, the UIUC Graduate Employees Organization, the Champaign Audubon Society and the Chicago Tribune have also endorsed the Kingfisher.
Buerk and Sanborn said that most of the pushback the Kingfisher has received is from the administration. Its concern is about decreases in alumni donations if it were to announce a new mascot officially that isn’t the Chief.
“We’re in a kind of tough spot in that regard,” Sanborn said. “We have this new idea. We think it’s a good idea and that it brings a new light, a new symbol, a new mascot to the University that works with traditions we still have. We are trying to pave a way forward.”
While the Kingfisher organization continues to work with the administration toward its goals, Buerk said it has received mostly positive feedback from alumni when the Kingfisher goes to Grange Grove for football games.
“People have this idea that the alumni are a monolith stuck in the past, but that’s not true at all,” Buerk said. “There’s certainly still people out there who are still clung to the idea of the Chief, but I don’t feel like that represents the majority of the alumni at this university.”
Getting the Kingfisher out at games has allowed lots of positive interactions, specifically where they can answer questions about their goals, Buerk said.
After an engaging conversation, the alum they spoke with admitted to liking the Chief while agreeing with the need for a new mascot. He then donated a $100 bill in support of the Kingfisher.
“He was asking us a lot of questions, but they were all good,” Sanborn said. “There’s this capacity for change that I like to think is in all of us. I think discounting that is a disservice to our movement and the University.”
Looking forward, the group hopes to have some final, candid conversations with Chancellor Robert Jones before he steps down. The shift in chancellorship creates a potential for more change, and it hopes to work in tandem with the administration during that transition.
“I was born and raised here, and both my parents are alumni,” Sanborn said. “My biggest message to the people of the community is that if they’ve been here long term, they’re ready for something new.”
