OCC Owls
Introducing OCC's New Mascot
We asked, you answered: OCC’s new mascot is the Owls! Thank you to the thousands of OCC students and employees who voted for OCC’s new mascot.
Talon the Owl Lands at OCC
OCC Graphic design student Hailey Martin will leave her mark on OCC. She illustrated and conceptualized OCC’s new mascot. Out of numerous design concepts, her graphic style and character proved to be the perfect fit to represent OCC’s next generation.
Read Hailey’s story and how she designed OCC’s new mascot.
Goodbye Raiders, Hello Owls
OCC is hard at work preparing for Talon the Owl to take flight in Fall 2024. You may still see Rudy the Raider, our retired mascot, occasionally on campus as Talon prepares to rule the roost this Fall.
Here’s what you can expect to see:
- New student ID cards
- Renamed bookstores
- Rebranded athletics uniforms and facilities
- New merchandise
- Talon popping up at student events
- … and more!
Why did OCC change our mascot?
When the College opened in 1965, the OCC Raiders identity was launched shortly after. At that time, the Oakland Raiders were a professional football team that played in Oakland, California. The national football team created the now-familiar emblem of a pirate (or "Raider") wearing a football helmet. Because OCC carried the same “Oakland” name, the College selected a Raider/Pirate for its mascot.
In 2022, OCC launched an inclusive effort to create a new mascot to replace the “Raiders” and better represent who we are: our College values, our students, employees and community. The two-year process incorporated hundreds of student mascot suggestions, thousands of student and employee votes. Finally, in 2024, OCC unveiled our new mascot: Talon the Owl.