Claire Lee Chennault
An online poll, available to students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors and the public, yielded three semifinalists: "Warhawks," "Bayou Gators" and "Bayou Hawks." The school's mascot committee passed a single recommendation to the university president, who made the final decision. Warhawks was announced as ULM's new mascot on April 5, 2006 and implemented on June 26, 2006. The new nickname honors Maj. Gen. Claire Lee Chennault, an LSU alumnus, and his Air Force unit from World War II, which utilized the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk in battle, although the logos primarily use bird imagery.