ST. LOUIS – The University of Missouri-St. Louis athletics department unveiled a new Louie logo at a pep rally on Thursday afternoon prior to the women's and men's basketball doubleheader against Drury.

The new logo, created by Design Consultant/Illustrator W. Scott Matthews, becomes the new primary athletic logo.

"A hellbender newt is a great character to begin with," Matthews said. "It was my goal to help make the logo version of Louie as cool as any mascot in college sports."

"We are thrilled to unveil our new mascot graphic, a bold and dynamic representation of the pride, passion, and energy that defines our athletics program," UMSL Executive Director of Athletics Dr. Holly Sheilley said. "Wanting more is what continues to move us as we continue to build a culture of excellence and unity within our campus and community."

Louie is a hellbender which is the largest species of salamander native to North America and is considered a living fossil, as they have been in Missouri waterways basically unchanged for tens of thousands of years. Hellbenders spend their entire lives in fast flowing and heavily oxygenated streams with plenty of rocks to hide under and hunt between.

There are two subspecies of hellbender, the eastern and the Ozark. Missouri is the only state where both occur.

Hellbenders are indicators of healthy, clean water. If they are present in a river system, we know there is good overall health, which has huge implications for communities living alongside these rivers.

Be the first to own new Louie gear from our Athletic Online store - shipped straight to your house.  On sale now until March 13 at https://bsnteamsports.com/shop/DfQAemqvBC.