Chief Illiniwek mascot dropped [View All]

[B Calm]

I personally don't understand why people thought the Brave Chief Illiniek was an insult.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- On a fall day in 1926, University of Illinois student Lester Leutwiler danced onto a football field in Philadelphia at halftime of an Illini football game.

Wearing a homemade American Indian costume, Leutwiler was the first Chief Illiniwek and began an 81-year-old tradition of performances by the mascot at football and basketball games.
Under pressure from the NCAA, activists and some students and faculty, the university announced Friday chief Dan Maloney's performance at Wednesday's basketball game against Michigan will be the chief's last dance.

The decision follows two decades of votes, studies and committee meetings aimed at easing campus division over the mascot, which some American Indians and others view as an insult and some alumni and students see as a cherished tradition.

The NCAA ended up forcing the university's hand.

Friday's decision ends NCAA sanctions that had prevented Illinois from hosting postseason sports since 2005.

Illinois still will be able to use the name Illini because it's short for Illinois and the school can use the term Fighting Illini, because it's a reference to the team's competitive spirit, school officials said.
Athletic director Ron Guenther said he was disappointed but that the sanctions hurt athletes and coaches.

"Personally, as an alumnus and former athlete, I am disappointed," he said, "however, as an administrator, I understand the decision that had to be made."

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070217/SPORTS/702170445/1004/SPORTS