Cleveland Community College in North Carolina welcomed a new figure to its campus community recently. For the first time, the college has a mascot: the yeti. And along with the mascot comes new sports teams.

For CCC, adding sports makes sense. When President Jason Hurst began his presidency in February, he noticed the campus already had athletics facilities, but no athletics. In March, the college entered into an agreement with the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and student athletes have already been recruited for cross country and softball.

“We know that athletics has a positive effect on our campus,” Hurst said at a recent press conference. Adding sports gives CCC an opportunity to recruit students who may not otherwise choose the college. Sports also provide student athletes with leadership opportunities, promotes student engagement, and can increase retention and completion rates.

At the press conference, Hurst introduced new Athletic Director Chris Nanney. Hurst also unveiled the new Yeti logo and branding. Yeti was voted on by students, staff, faculty and the community, beating out the cougar in the final vote.

Twenty-two companies submitted designs for CCC’s athletic branding. The chosen logo features a sneering blue yeti.

Because it’s a mythical creature, “we decided we would have fun with it,” Hurst said. “We can make this yeti our own.”

“We’re going to make you all proud to be part of the Yeti Nation,” he said.

You can read more about colleges and their mascots here.