Mascot for University of Illinois?

[FiveStar]

I don't know how the idea of 'Captain Illini' has not been brought forward but I think its a no brainer. Model it after Captain America...we already have the ready made shield with the new logo It would associate well with history of Troops and also the name Fighting Illini, while not being offensive or having weapons...I imagine a shield would not cause any issues with NCAA etc. I think its an option that would be embraced by the fanbase and especially younger fans. It would also help cement the and make the brand and fighting Illini more recognizable nationally. What better time than now with the new era for basketball and football?

I am not a photshop/graphic wizard but is there anyone out who could make a first attempt at this?

That is a GREAT idea.

 

[Dan]

"I've been around this campus a long time. I have a pretty strong understanding of the sensitivity around this issue. I've talked to a lot of people on all sides of this particular conversation," he said.

"To me, the question should be, 'How do we bring people together in a showing of pride for the University of Illinois?'"

"It very well could be that a mascot is part of that plan, but I don't think that a mascot is the plan. I think it needs to be framed in a larger context of a bigger goal, which is unification.

"I have told the chancellor, there are probably more 'important' issues, but I don't know that there's a more sensitive or a more delicate issue, or has over time been more divisive on this campus," Whitman said. "I join all of you who want to see a more unified community here. I absolutely do. I continue to believe that athletics can be a participant in that process."

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2017-05-02/whitman-gets-tough-questions-full-ui-senate.html

 

[SublimeBeast]

Professor Teresa Barnes told Whitman he might sell more seats "if the racist music stops."

"I will not go to a football game where they're playing tomahawk music," Barnes said. "When that is over, I will buy a seat."

Wow...

Professor Jay Rosenstein and UI senior Alex Villanueva urged Whitman to move ahead with a student committee's 2016 recommendation to create a new UI mascot. The plan, endorsed by former interim Chancellor Barbara Wilson, was put on hold by Chancellor Robert Jones as he dealt with the state's budget crisis and other issues.

Jones said again Monday he wants to see a broader conversation about the underlying controversy rooted in the elimination of Chief Illiniwek 10 years ago, which "hasn't been dealt with effectively." He called it "a work in progress."

"I recognize that a new mascot is not going to solve the problems of racism with respect to Native Americans at this institution," Rosenstein said. "However, we won't solve the problem without a new mascot."

 

[peace davids]

Wow...

I think the sad thing is, these people likely would not go to football games anyway, but use the platform as a way to make a PC point. I get it, but when will it end? The imagery is gone. The Chief is gone. Now, the "Tomahawk" music? Illinois doesn't chop like the Atlanta Braves, FSU Seminoles, or KC Chiefs. We clap over our heads. Can we not clap?

If the music goes, then it will be the name "Fighting Illini", then it will be the colors and their previous association with the imagery, and so on, and so on.

This is not where we are losing ticket sales. We are losing ticket sales because we are not winning enough.

 

[zpfled]

I'm glad we got rid of the chief, but this tomahawk music thing strikes me as silliness.

 

[zpfled]

Let's just get a damn squirrel mascot and be done with it. I'm sure it'll be cute.

 

[itsJUPITER]

The Red Power Grangers

 

[GForce]

So what is it about the environment at our games that some find unwelcoming? Haven't been back to campus in years, so don't know they're talking about.

 

[redwingillini11]

Seriously, let's not kid ourselves that this professor would start going to games if they stopped playing the music.

 

[EJ33]

"I've been around this campus a long time. I have a pretty strong understanding of the sensitivity around this issue. I've talked to a lot of people on all sides of this particular conversation," he said.

"To me, the question should be, 'How do we bring people together in a showing of pride for the University of Illinois?'"

"It very well could be that a mascot is part of that plan, but I don't think that a mascot is the plan. I think it needs to be framed in a larger context of a bigger goal, which is unification.

"I have told the chancellor, there are probably more 'important' issues, but I don't know that there's a more sensitive or a more delicate issue, or has over time been more divisive on this campus," Whitman said. "I join all of you who want to see a more unified community here. I absolutely do. I continue to believe that athletics can be a participant in that process."

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/loc...ui-senate.html

Whitman continues to impress. It's good to (finally) here a voice of reason on the mascot issue.

 

[icengineer]

The Red Power Grangers

Really dude?!?! ORANGE Power Grangers!!

 

[peace davids]

Whitman continues to impress. It's good to (finally) here a voice of reason on the mascot issue.

Mike Thomas would have absolutely put a mascot in place without larger context. I would be surprised if Illie wasn't part of MTs plan.

 

[Illiini]

So if we can't have Indians (and I still like Winged Hussars, because we can recycle the feathers), how about the Cavalry. It would pay respect to our military, it wouldn't be appropriation of anyone's culture, and it could be multicultural as well, as there were, for example, the famous Buffalo Soldiers. All we would have to do with the uniform is change the neckerchief (ha, we get to keep the "chief"!) and bloodstripe on the pants to Orange, and we don't even have to change school colors. Who could possibly object?



https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3045/2818779984_e7cf5ef16c_b.jpg




Again, no Indians, no problem.

 

[Illiini]

Or these guys:

http://www.cavhooah.com/info/images/uploads/DSCN2046.JPG

 

[itsJUPITER]

Chambana Bananas like the minor league team

 

[Davo2787]

Fighting Illini Falcons or Hawks or some sort of bird of prey.

 

[mattcoldagelli]

I don't think that's just a snowflake thing.

Mascots in America sure do include warriors from various cultures and the like, but mascots representing US soldiers in any capacity besides Minutemen or Patriots are pretty rare, if they exist at all.

How dare you shortchange the Blue Jackets that way

 

[Illiini]

If we want to discuss mascots, we can look to other schools for their experiences. To wit: Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. Yes, there is such a place, a regional university of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. Their team name is The Rock--formerly the Rockets, with Rocketman as the mascot. Rockets really didn't have anything to do with rocks, hence the name change. But then, no mascot.

There's a story about how it happened, but one student took it upon himself, with his mother's help, to dress up as a rock, and thus Rocky was born. He (it?) looked more like a California raisin than a rock, but, well, it worked. Until someone decided that it didn't, and they replaced Rocky with a lion, and named the lion Rocky. The first mascot was too scary, however. Little children would take one look and run away. So The Rock is now represented by a cartoon lion that's not only inoffensive but ineffective and illogical.

All that said, perhaps our new mascot can represent the local geology like Slippery Rock's original Rocky did. And that, of course, would be that rich prairie loam. What would we call him/it? Why, Dirty, of course.

http://www.sru.edu/Images/news/2016/oct/100616a_inline-1.jpg

The original Rocky and Rocky the (too scary for children) Lion I.

 

[kenjk88]

Mascot for University of Illinois

Any idea of a mascot would be an insult to the legacy of Chief Illiniwek. The Chief was a proud tradition for many, many years. PC police have nixed this, but traditions do live in the hearts of those who held them sacred.

 

[FiveStar]

Any idea of a mascot would be an insult to the legacy of Chief Illiniwek. The Chief was a proud tradition for many, many years. PC police have nixed this, but traditions do live in the hearts of those who held them sacred.

We can either move forward with something or move forward with nothing. As long as its good, and unites/rallies Illini fans, we should find something to move forward with. Life is not lived in the past, its lived in the present for the future.

 

[IlliniWood]

The thing is, very little of this is about a new physical mascot. You could put a caricature of anything on the sidelines and most wouldn't give a damn. Some Chief supporters might boo, most will just ignore it. The anti-Chief side will declare victory but won't support the University or its athletic teams any more than they did before, because they'll still see most fans enjoying events as they always have, which will create the dialogue for more "necessary" or "drastic" changes.

This is the starting point in building up momentum for the thought police at the University. The next moves are to eliminate the nickname and the music in the hopes of achieving the ultimate goal of changing supporters' thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. None on the anti-Chief side care if Chief supporters would leave the University. That's what they want!

Most people realize that this is the opening round, which is why the support and opposition is so vocal for what seems like a pretty trivial matter.

 

[Illiniwek66]

The thing is, very little of this is about a new physical mascot. You could put a caricature of anything on the sidelines and most wouldn't give a damn. Some Chief supporters might boo, most will just ignore it. The anti-Chief side will declare victory but won't support the University or its athletic teams any more than they did before, because they'll still see most fans enjoying events as they always have, which will create the dialogue for more "necessary" or "drastic" changes.

This is the starting point in building up momentum for the thought police at the University. The next moves are to eliminate the nickname and the music in the hopes of achieving the ultimate goal of changing supporters' thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. None on the anti-Chief side care if Chief supporters would leave the University. That's what they want!

Most people realize that this is the opening round, which is why the support and opposition is so vocal for what seems like a pretty trivial matter.

You nailed it with the thought police comment. The folks like Ms. Barnes don't want you thinking about the Chief, because if you do, you're clearly a racist.

What I believe is that if you hear the War Chant and YOU think about tomahawks, then YOU are the racist. Not me.

Tradition is about comfort in repetition and being a part of something bigger than yourself. It's part of what binds us together. Having it all erased so that one kook isn't thinking about hatchets seems quite ludicrous.

Probably better if you're always thinking about tomahawks that you just stay in your safe space on game days anyway. The whole ordeal could be quite frightening. I think sometimes people even YELL at games, for heaven's sake.

 

[Deleted member 3875]

UC Santa Cruz Banana Slug. Best mascot in the NCAA. Surely there's a newt or salamander native to Central IL.

View attachment 3009

 

[BananaShampoo]

UC Santa Cruz Banana Slug. Best mascot in the NCAA. Surely there's a newt or salamander native to Central IL.

View attachment 3009

I don't know...I think the Rhode Island School of Design might have them beat.

 

[Oskee67]

I don't know how the idea of 'Captain Illini' has not been brought forward but I think its a no brainer. Model it after Captain America...we already have the ready made shield with the new logo It would associate well with history of Troops and also the name Fighting Illini, while not being offensive or having weapons...I imagine a shield would not cause any issues with NCAA etc. I think its an option that would be embraced by the fanbase and especially younger fans. It would also help cement the and make the brand and fighting Illini more recognizable nationally. What better time than now with the new era for basketball and football?

I am not a photshop/graphic wizard but is there anyone out who could make a first attempt at this?

You may be on to something! Change the chief imagery with the doughboy

, and bring the image to life with a Captain America-esque mascot. Even the stripes on his uniform can be switched out for the stripes on the front of the new football jerseys (but more pronounced, like the Red Grange era jerseys).