From the Erie BayHawks Web site:

The NBA Development League’s Erie franchise will be called the BayHawks; it was announced today by team President Ron Sertz at a
news conference at the Erie Maritime Museum in front of the U. S. Brig
Niagara.

The BayHawks logo was also unveiled at the event.

“We wanted a name and logo that connected strongly to our hometown,” said Sertz. “The image of the hawk soaring over Erie’s bayfront really hit our target and was the type of powerful image we wanted to create with our fans. I’m very proud of the logo and it’s the first step in establishing our brand in the region.”

“This team is going to be something special for the citizens of Erie,” said Steve Demetriou, the team’s majority owner. “We’re going
to deliver great family entertainment and a high level of competitive
basketball, and we now have a great name and logo to go along with
that.”

The BayHawks will begin their inaugural 2008-09 season in November. They will join a professional sports scene in Erie that also includes the SeaWolves (baseball), Otters (hockey) and RiverRats (indoor football).