Catholic University retires the centaur as its mascot

ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A Catholic university has retired the centaur as its mascot, saying the mythical man-horse no longer fits the school's image.

Allentown College of St. Francis de Sales will be renamed De Sales University on Jan. 1. Officials shed the school's 30-year-old mascot as well and are striving for a replacement with a less ribald and barbaric reputation.

"The centaur was a wild, lawless type of creature," said athletics director Scott Coval. "It doesn't really fit."

In one Greek myth, centaurs at a wedding feast get drunk and try to kidnap the women guests.

"It is, in fact, offensive to many of the women students," said college spokeswoman Lina Barbieri.