Rodney Padilla knew that change was coming, so he got the ball rolling.
The Hinkley High School athletic director anticipated that the school would need to make the move to change its mascot — originally Thunderbirds, a mythical bird found in a variety of Native American legends and folklore — due to the bill passed by Colorado lawmakers in 2021 that banned Native American mascots across the state (see story, here).
Hinkley — Aurora’s second-oldest high school that opened its doors in 1963 — was able to use the mascot through the end of the school year that ended in May, but going forward faces potential fines if use continues.
So because mascots play a most prominent role when it comes to athletics at a school, Padilla — who also serves as the school’s boys wrestling coach — and others set about going through the campus with a fine-toothed comb to find any references to the old mascot, from big ones to small ones.
That meant removing or covering things like stickers or banners in many places all over the hallways as well as replacing t-shirts and apparel worn by staff.
Fortunately, the new mascot, Thunder — which was the winner in an online survey voted on by community members last December by Aurora Public Schools (besting bluejays, heroes, pilots, and talon (the name of an Air Force jet) — required a minimal amount of change.
The school could still keep its color scheme of cadet blue and silver and no image was needed given that Thunder is a sound and not a thing, so it mostly required a new logo.
But it did also call for some physical changes to the school’s athletic facilities.
A large, striking mural of a Thunderbird and lightning bolt that adorned the wall on the south end of the school’s gymnasium had to be painted over and now is home to one of two new digital scoreboards — something Padilla is very much looking forward to using in the upcoming athletic year — as well as a number of banners that highlight some of the school’s athletic accomplishments of the past.
Some pay tribute to state championship teams — Hinkley is the lone Aurora high school to boast state championships in football, boys basketball and baseball — while others recognize talents such as Joel Steed (a football player who went on to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers) and Brian Fisher (a baseball player who saw time in the Major Leagues).
Those are part of the push Padilla has made in his time as athletic director to reacquaint the community with the prominent place Hinkley had in the local prep sports world for many years until a variety of new schools began to open in the area that began to pull talented athletes to other corners of Aurora.
Additionally, Padilla moved preemptively to keep the mascot off uniforms, so any new ones ordered for the upcoming season just say Hinkley.
Students should notice the changes when class begins in the district Aug. 8.
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
