The Flyers have landed at Sandhills Community College, and the buzz about the new name is ready to take off.

The school officially unveiled Flyers as its new team name and mascot this week. The school also unveiled new logos and school colors.

The mascot is described by some as an "angry looking Red Baron." The colors are maroon and graphite, or dark gray.

Aaron Denton, school athletic director and head basketball coach, explained the reason for shying away from green and blue -- popular colors with local high schools and other state colleges and universities like Duke and North Carolina.

"Something that was important was the other teams in the league," Denton said. "Blue is really popular, and several other teams chose green. We wanted something that would look sharp and make a strong statement for the college."

Choosing a mascot was more difficult, Denton said.

"We wanted something that related to the community," Denton said. "We tried hard to come up with something related to golf but it just didn't happen."

Moore County and the Sandhills is world-renowned for its championship golf courses. There are more than 40 courses in the area.

Flyers is also a logical mascot choice considering the college's main campus is located on Airport Road in Southern Pines and is just minutes from the Moore County Airport.

When asked about when merchandise featuring the new logo would be available to the public, Denton said it would be available "in time for the fall semester."

This is the second time the school has had intercollegiate athletics. SCC had intercollegiate athletics for a 10-year period ending in the early 1980s. In 1989 an attempt to restart the sports programs failed.

Spartans, the school's name back in the 1980s, was a popular choice among those who submitted names in a naming constest earlier this year. Those submissions were narrowed to a group of finalists. SCC administrators considered that list before selecting Flyers.

SCC is a two-year community college that doesn't offer athletic scholarships. It will compete in the North Carolina Community College League. It is in Region X and will compete against teams from two-year colleges in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

SCC's Board of Trustees approved adding athletics earlier this year. The college is phasing in several sports over the next few years. The first to begin play will be men's basketball in the winter and women's volleyball in the fall.

Funding to support the programs will come from student fees and private donations.

Contact Tom Embrey at 693-2477 or by e-mail at tembrey @thepilot.com.