Elon College used to have one of the most original mascots in college athletics: the Fighting Christian. Shown here in images at a football game from 1998 and congratulating a homecoming queen in 1985, the Fighting Christian didn’t look especially combative or overtly religious. The choice of mascot may have been inspired by the proximity to nearby Demon Deacons and Blue Devils. In 2000, when Elon’s athletic programs joined a higher division in the NCAA, the mascot was officially changed to the Phoenix, in recognition of the school’s recovery from a 1923 fire.

These images are from the Phi Psi Cli, the Elon University student yearbook. Ninety-four volumes of the yearbook, from 1913-2009, are available online as part of the North Carolina College and University Yearbooks project.