Survey shows people narrowly prefer Phantoms to Bison for new PHS mascot

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI/KIDK) - The Pocatello community appears to want either ghosts or buffalo for their new school mascot.

School District 25 is in the process of selecting the new mascot for Pocatello High School, after retiring the Pocatello Indians mascot in September. A survey was recently conducted to find the community's favorite mascot choice.

The finalist for the new Pocatello mascot are the Bison, Thunder (with a bison or a thunder mascot), Mountain Lions, and Phantoms.

The survey, taken mostly by alumni of PHS and community members with no affiliation to the school, shows a close race between the Pocatello Phantoms and the Pocatello Bison. Of those who took the survey, 28.6% prefer the Phantoms, whereas 26% prefer the Bison. The least favorite option is the Pocatello Thunder with a thunder mascot.

You can review the survey's findings here.

The survey asked people to evaluate criteria of each mascot option, including gear that could be worn, crowd cheers and ideas for the school's dance team name.

Unlike the Bison mascot, who have ties to Native American history, the Phantoms have no connection to the previous Indians mascot. However, the Phantoms harken to the school's haunted reputation.

The survey offers the ideas for the "Phantomesses" to replace the Indianettes dance team name. The Phantoms mascot could allow for the crowds to yell "Boo," wiggle fingers and sway back and forth at school spirit events, the survey suggest. The survey also suggests possible gear options, like white hoods and sheets to look like ghosts or Grim Reaper-like hoods.

You can view the survey questions here.

While Phantoms may have been the leading favorite, there were concerns among survey takers that they did not have for the Bison mascot. People predominantly felt the Phantoms did not meet the criteria of promoting school pride, honoring school heritage, or emulating positive characteristics of the school.

During a Work Session on Tuesday, the D25 Board will review the findings of the survey. and then will be asked to consider voting on a new mascot at the Dec. 15, regular meeting.