Illiniwek compromise possible, trustees say

Illiniwek compromise possible, trustees say
The Associated Press
May 17, 2006

URBANA, Ill. -- University of Illinois trustees said Tuesday they still believe they can reach a "consensus solution" with the NCAA that would resolve the debate over the Chief Illiniwek athletic mascot.
"The Board and the University community have been engaged in an effort to reach a consensus solution to the issue of the Chief," trustees Chairman Lawrence C. Eppley said in a statement. "We believe that this is an achievable goal."
The NCAA placed Chief Illiniwek on its list of "hostile and abusive" mascots in August, making Illinois ineligible to host postseason athletic tournaments. The NCAA executive committee rejected Illinois' final appeal of the decision April 28, although it can keep its Illini and Fighting Illini nicknames.
Supporters of the mascot, a student dressed in buckskins and headdress who dances at halftime, say it honors the state's heritage; opponents say it perpetuates a racial stereotype that demeans American Indians.
Illinois received a six-page written statement from the NCAA on Monday explaining its decision to reject the university's appeal.
"Illinois had multiple opportunities to present evidence in support of its position," the letter stated. "However, Illinois simply failed to present sufficient information to the staff review committee or the Executive Committee on which to conclude that the 'Chief Illiniwek tradition' should not be subject to the policy."
On Tuesday the NCAA said it added William & Mary to its list of schools subject to restrictions. The school can keep its "Tribe" nickname.
Copyright © 2006, The Associated Press

Shelbyville family with Chief Illinwek heritage decries NCAA ruling as uninformed

Shelbyville family with Chief Illinwek heritage decries NCAA ruling as uninformed
The Herald and Review
By SHARON MOSLEY
SHELBYVILLE - An NCAA ruling against the University of Illinois' Chief Illiniwek symbol has members of one Shelbyville family sad and angry.
Sixty years ago, the late Robert Bitzer of Shelbyville, a student at the University of Illinois, was the eighth Illiniwek. Bitzer loved his role as the symbol of the Fighting Illini so much that went on his own to the 1947 Rose Bowl in Pasadena so he could be with the team.
"They didn't take as many people back in those days," Bitzer's widow, Marilyn, said. "The band didn't go with the team. Bob just got in a car and went."
The devotion to the University of Illinois and the Chief continued. Bob and Marilyn Bitzer attended the university, as did four of their six children.
One son, John, served as Chief Illiniwek from 1970-74, and another son, Don, was an alternate Chief during his college career. Bob Bitzer in later years shared stories of Chief Illiniwek and the American Indian culture with schoolchildren and Boy Scouts around Shelbyville.
"I think the first time was when our daughter Nancy was in third grade," Marilyn said. "Her teacher asked him to talk to the class. He always felt that the Chief was a symbol, not a mascot, and that's what he wanted people to know."
The Bitzers, like many other fans of the Chief, were upset when the executive committee of the NCAA ruled last month that Illiniwek is an image that is "hostile and abusive."
Former Chief John Bitzer, 53, a Collinsville attorney, said the ruling shows how little the NCAA knows about the legacy of Chief Illiniwek.
"The whole intent of Chief Illiniwek is to honor the past," he said. "The tribes of Illinois were warriors, and they were loyal to their tribes. That's what the Chief exemplifies."
John Bitzer said he received a few letters complaining about the Chief during his term as Illiniwek. He said he answered the letters with background information about the history of American Indians in Illinois and why the Chief was chosen to represent the University of Illinois. A member of the "Save the Chief" organization, he fears the Chief will be eliminated.
"I'm afraid the university won't have the stomach to stand up to this nonsense," he said. "There needs to be a judge rule that the NCAA is stepping out of its sphere of authority."
Bitzer said the NCAA's decision to let the Seminole Indian symbol of Florida State University stand while rejecting the Chief is an example of the organization's lack of understanding.
"They said Florida State could have their symbol because the Seminole tribe agreed," he said. "The Illini were a loose confederation of Illinois tribes. There's no one here now to speak about the Chief."
Douglas Cruitt, son of David and Nancy Bitzer Cruitt, is a December 2005 graduate of the University of Illinois and a member of "Students For Chief Illiniwek." He said students who want to save the Chief recognize the values he represents.
"They have respect for the honor and dignity he portrays," Cruitt said. "The Chief isn't a mascot, he doesn't cheer on the sidelines and he doesn't lead cheers. He represents Illini loyalty."
Cruitt compared the student population at the university to the American Indians of Illinois.
"We come together from all kinds of backgrounds and groups, and we have a loose confederation because we're all loyal to the university at the same time," he said. "Honor and loyalty; that's what the Chief is all about."

Options running out for U of I's Chief Illiniwek (Crain's Chicago Business)

Options running out for U of I's Chief Illiniwek
By Paul Merrion
May 12, 2006
The highly-ranked University of Illinois men’s tennis team takes to the courts today for the first round of regional championships without the home court advantage it’s enjoyed for the last few years.
That’s the first tangible impact of the latest and possibly final chapter in the long-running Chief Illiniwek controversy, which forced Team Illini, ranked eighth in the nation, to travel to 33rd-ranked University of Kentucky for the playoffs this weekend.
As the top regional seed, Illinois would have hosted the regional championship at its Champaign-Urbana campus, as it has for the last seven years, if not for Chief Illiniwek, confirms a spokesman for the National Collegiate Athletic Assn.
“The NCAA has the authority to insure that its championships are conducted in atmosphere free of racial stereotyping,” adds the spokesman for the NCAA, which issued a final decision April 28 banning schools with Indian mascots from hosting post-season play.
After almost two decades of controversy, the endgame is near for the 80-year tradition of Chief Illiniwek, a student in American Indian regalia who appears at football, basketball and men’s volleyball games.
With the powerful support of House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, R-Plano, a bill pending in the U.S. House of Representatives would give the university clearer legal standing to sue the NCAA and collect damages for lost revenues and legal costs.
However, a legislative remedy is considered a long shot, and the university isn’t pushing for it. Yet, if signed into law, a university spokesman says, “we would welcome the opportunity to restore our institutional autonomy.”
With time running out before the chief’s next scheduled appearance September 2 at the first home football game, the university is down to three unpalatable options.
It can sue the NCAA, which would be costly and time-consuming, with no guarantee of the outcome. Meanwhile, however, the sanctions against hosting post-season play would remain in effect.
It can refuse to comply, foregoing the status, revenues and competitive advantage associated with hosting playoff games. But that also “sends a bad message,” a university spokesman says, making it harder to recruit athletes and coaches.
Or, the university can do something to change the status quo, “something to be determined,” adds the U of I spokesman. “There could be an honorable retirement of the Chief tradition, or a changing of how the Chief tradition is conducted.”
To some, an Indian mascot is ethnically insensitive at best, or even a racist symbol of oppression. To others, Chief Illiniwek is an honored tradition and a revered symbol of the university.
Despite student-led efforts to retire the Chief and opposition from the National Coalition on Racism in Sports and Media, university trustees resisted the move and appealed last year’s decision by the NCAA to blacklist schools with Indian mascots, a decision that is now final.
University trustees met this week but the Chief’s fate was not scheduled to be on the agenda. A decision is more likely to be made this summer.
“The NCAA appears to have a gun to our head,” the university spokesman says. Some say “fight ‘em, create a legal defense fund, but I haven’t sensed the kind of intensity there was a few years ago.”

Governor says NCAA "out of line" on Illiniwek

Governor says NCAA "out of line" on Illiniwek
May 11, 2006

SPRINGFIELD (AP) -- Governor Rod Blagojevich continues to keep his opinion about the University of Illinois' Chief Illiniwek private, but he said Thursday the NCAA should butt out.
Blagojevich said the decision whether the university's Urbana-Champaign campus should keep the Chief should be left to the school's board of trustees. The NCAA last month upheld its decision that Illiniwek is a "hostile and abusive" symbol and banned Illinois from hosting postseason tournaments if it keeps the mascot.
Blagojevich said the NCAA is, in his words, "out of line."
He said the proper forum for a decision is the university's board of trustees and said for him to express his opinion might, as he put it, "move the argument in an artificial way."
The trustees have not said what they intend to do in the wake of the NCAA's ban. They're meeting in Chicago on Thursday, but Illiniwek was not on their published agenda.

Trustees to deal with Weber's contract and Memorial Stadium, but Illiniwek not on agenda

Trustees to deal with Weber's contract and Memorial Stadium, but Illiniwek not on agenda
JIM PAUL
Associated Press

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Another contract extension for a basketball coach and approval for the first phase of a huge stadium renovation go before the University of Illinois Board of Trustees this week, but apparently there won't be any talk about Chief Illiniwek.
Discussion of Illiniwek - and the NCAA's ban on Illinois from hosting postseason athletic tournaments until the school does away with the controversial mascot - is not part of the board's posted agenda. And, barring a last-minute change of plans, is unlikely to be discussed at the Thursday meeting on the university's Chicago campus, university spokesman Tom Hardy said Monday. The agenda becomes final at 10 a.m. Tuesday, 48 hours before the meeting, in accordance with the Illinois Open Meetings Act.
"If there's going to be a board agenda item (on Illiniwek), it would have to be reflected in a revised agenda for the board meeting" before then, Hardy said. "I'm not aware of anything right now."
Instead, trustees will be asked to approve a third extension for Illini coach Bruce Weber that would put him under contract through the 2011-2012 season and to approve the first phase of a three-year $120 million renovation of Memorial Stadium in Champaign. Trustees also will consider a go-ahead for construction of a new student recreation center on the Springfield campus and $42 million in deferred maintenance needs at the Urbana-Champaign and Chicago campuses.
The 80-year-old Illiniwek tradition is once again front-and-center on the Urbana-Champaign campus after the NCAA upheld its decision to bar Illinois from hosting postseason tournaments because the Illiniwek image is "hostile and abusive" to American Indians. The April 28 ruling means the seventh-seeded Illinois men's tennis team was prevented from hosting the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament this weekend, the first evidence of what athletic director Ron Guenther has called "an unbelievably negative effect" on the school's athletic program.
Guenther took some criticism from the public for his statement, but trustees Chairman Lawrence C. Eppley defended him.
"It might be harsh news, but he's right," Eppley wrote in an op-ed article that was published by The (Champaign) News-Gazette Sunday. "Guenther 'gets' winning. He 'gets' tradition. He also 'gets' that sometimes the best interest of the university is different than personal preference."
Weber's contract extension calls for increasing his pay for radio, television and other promotional appearances from $500,000 to $600,000 per year, an increase that will push his pay, including deferred compensation, to $1 million next season, according to documents filed with the board's agenda.
"I don't want to go anywhere. I don't want to move again," Weber said during an appearance on WDWS-AM in Champaign on Monday morning.
Construction on the first phase of the Memorial Stadium renovation - building new seating for 7,000 fans in the north end zone - won't begin until after the upcoming football season, but approval is needed now to secure construction permits and hire the construction company, according to agenda documents.
The pending approval for Springfield's new rec center includes a boost in the project budget from $14 million to $16.3 million. Construction would begin this month if the board signs off on the plans.
The board also will be asked to approve a series of projects made possible by its approval last month of a student fee for deferred maintenance. The first projects include replacement of the fire alarm systems at the university hospital and other buildings in Chicago and repairs to the university library in Urbana.

Bill in U.S. House challenges NCAA rule

Bill in U.S. House challenges NCAA rule
The News-Gazette
Christine Des Garennes
May 5, 2006

WASHINGTON – A House bill introduced Thursday would allow the University of Illinois to sue the NCAA and seek damages for lost revenue if barred from hosting a championship game.
The legislation proposes to limit the NCAA's ability to apply sanctions on colleges or universities because of team name, symbol, emblem or mascot, according to a news release issued by one of the bill's sponsors, U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson, R-Urbana.
Johnson introduced the bill with House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Yorkville.
The move comes six days after the NCAA Executive Committee announced the UI could not host postseason events unless it gets rid of Chief Illiniwek, an 80-year-old university symbol.
The NCAA last August issued the policy prohibiting postseason competition at colleges or universities with "hostile or abusive" racial, ethnic or national origin mascots or symbols. The UI was one of 18 schools included on the list of institutions with "hostile or abusive" mascots or symbols.
Throughout the appeals process, the UI has stated that it should resolve the issue itself, that the NCAA Executive Committee exceeded its authority when it decided American Indian imagery was a "core issue" and that the NCAA set policy without following its bylaws.
The federal legislation has been in the works for months. Hastert approached Johnson about it in December, said Phil Bloomer, Johnson's spokesperson.
In response to the NCAA announcement last Friday, Johnson's office has been fielding numerous calls from constituents, most of whom have said, "Do something. Please do something," Bloomer said.
Thus the "Protection of University Governance Act of 2006."
"We're not doing this for political mileage but because it's the right thing to do," Bloomer said. Johnson is seeking re-election in November.
In a statement issued Thursday, Johnson said the NCAA was established as a sports management association but has since "assumed the mantle of social arbiters. They need to go back to scheduling ballgames and leave the social engineering to others."
UI administrators have not looked at the legislation yet, but university spokesman Tom Hardy said he expects the UI "will follow it with some interest, but we are not going to make any assumptions about what will happen or what could happen," he said.
"We've been served well by taking a deliberative approach since it (the policy) came up last August. There is no timetable. No decisions have been made on how to proceed at this point," Hardy said.
The pro-Chief camp was elated.
"We'll be reaching out to as many alumni as we practically can. The calls have already started," said Roger Huddleston with the Honor the Chief Society. He expects many UI alumni around the country will be willing to throw their support behind the issue because "it's a 50-state issue, not a Champaign County issue," he said.
"The Chief is not the issue, as much as I love the Chief. This is about right of self-determination," Huddleston added.
"I feel that's a red herring," said Bryan Alkemeyer of the institutional autonomy argument. "The real issue there is a racially offensive mascot/symbol on campus," said Alkemeyer, co-coordinator of the Progressive Resource/Action Cooperative.
Alkemeyer expects to begin a campaign to stop the legislation.
David Gill, the Clinton Democrat running against Johnson in November, issued a statement about the legislation through his press secretary Brian Amoah.
"I am unaware of the legislation proposed by Mr. Johnson; however, I do believe the citizens of the 15th District would appreciate it if Tim would put the same effort into drafting legislation to help deal with $3 a gallon gas, uninsured health care, bringing troops home from Iraq and other problems that plague the 15th," he said.
Original cosponsors of HR 5289, besides Hastert and Johnson, are Rep. Jerry Costello, D-Ill; Rep. Allen Boyd, D-Fla.; and Rep. Dan Boren, D-Okla.
The bill has not been assigned to a committee yet.

Copyright 2006 The News-Gazette

Chief Illiniwek's days could be numbered

Chief Illiniwek's days could be numbered
Bloomington Pantagraph
By Jim Paul
Associated press

URBANA -- After years of debate over whether the University of Illinois' Chief Illiniwek represents honor or racism, time finally might be running out for the 80-year-old tradition.
Friday's decision from the executive committee of the NCAA that Illiniwek belongs on a list of imagery that is "hostile and abusive" likely means Illinois will have to give up the mascot or risk losing its ability to compete for championships on the athletic field.
The decision bars Illinois from playing host to future postseason tournaments, a factor, officials say, that would hurt the school's ability to recruit top athletes.
"The action that took place last week and what the university does about it has to be done in the context of the impact on the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics," university spokesman Tom Hardy said Monday. "Right now, we are not in compliance" with the NCAA ruling.
The effect will be nearly immediate. Despite its No. 8 national ranking, Illinois likely will be left out when sites are announced Wednesday for the opening rounds of the men's tennis tournament, which the school has hosted for eight straight years.
It is that kind of impact - on sports such as tennis, gymnastics, volleyball and soccer - that very well could mean the end of Chief Illiniwek.
"The department has invested large amounts of resources in facilities, scholarships and coaches in our Olympic sports," athletic director Ron Guenther said last week. "The inability to host NCAA competition would have an unbelievably negative effect on our programs."
The debate about Chief Illiniwek has raged for years on the university's Urbana-Champaign campus. Supporters say the tradition of a student dressed in buckskins dancing at halftime honors the state's heritage, while opponents say it perpetuates a racial stereotype that demeans American Indians.
The school has few options should it decide to challenge the NCAA
-Rep. Tim Johnson, R-Ill., whose district includes the UI campus, has said he has considered introducing legislation to prevent the NCAA from invading institutional autonomy. He also has expressed doubt that he could gain enough support.
-The university could challenge the NCAA in court. While some supporters of the Chief have called for this, it would be difficult. "It would be fairly costly to do. It would be very time consuming. It would create a kind of renewed rancor and divisiveness publicly," Hardy said.
-The university could retain Illiniwek and forgo playing host to postseason competition. Such a move might be viewed as contrary to the university's athletic mission to have the highest quality programs, ones that allow athletes to compete for championships.
On campus Monday, students were more concerned with preparing for final exams than with wading into the Illiniwek debate. Junior nursing student Sarah Nazarian of Champaign called the controversy a "silly situation."
"Maybe if I paid more attention to it and actually cared, it might make a difference to me. But I really don't care," she said.
Senior biology student Katherine Waser said she felt bad for the tennis team but had not known about Friday's decision until informed by a reporter. Civil engineering student David Osorio said the controversy has taken attention away from the university's accomplishments outside of athletics.
"My personal take is lose the Chief the first chance we get," he said.
Officially, the university's board of trustees is weighing its options, Hardy said. While tennis will be affected this spring, a final decision on Illiniwek's fate probably won't have to be made until just before football season late this summer.
But one observer who has followed the debate since it began is convinced the Chief's demise is imminent.
"The Chief is gone," said Loren Tate, a sports columnist for The (Champaign) News-Gazette and a supporter of the tradition. "I don't see any way out."

Copyright © 2006, Pantagraph Publishing Co. All rights reserved.

UI trustees consider remaining options on Chief

UI trustees consider remaining options on Chief
By Christine Des Garennes
Saturday April 29, 2006
Has Chief Illiniwek danced his last dance at the University of Illinois?
The NCAA on Friday announced the UI cannot host championship events unless it gets rid of its American Indian symbol. But the university has yet to decide the exact fate of the 80-year-old symbol.
The fact is, it's a final ruling, said UI Board of Trustees Chairman Lawrence Eppley. "The ruling is in effect today, so we're subject to the sanctions. Right now we're out of compliance," said Eppley, who said he was disappointed with the NCAA announcement.
After the NCAA last August issued the policy prohibiting postseason competition at schools with "hostile or abusive" racial, ethnic or national origin mascots or symbols, the UI has been involved in a lengthy appeals process. The UI was one of 18 schools included on the list of institutions with "hostile or abusive" mascots or symbols.
During the appeals process, the UI did win the right to use the names "Illini" and "Fighting Illini," but not Chief Illiniwek.
What next?
" The board wants to take the final report from NCAA ... go through it carefully and take it into consideration with the guiding principles of their consensus process and make a determination on how to proceed from there," UI spokesman Tom Hardy said.
This consensus conclusion, which the board decided last July it would work toward, would be a resolution where not one particular interest group would be a winner at the expense of declaring others losers, Hardy said.
The board will meet May 11 in Chicago, and the topic of Chief Illiniwek may or may not be on the agenda, Eppley said.
Throughout the appeals process, the UI has maintained that it should resolve the issue itself. It also has said the NCAA Executive Committee exceeded its authority when it decided American Indian imagery was a "core issue" and set policy without following its bylaws.
On campus Friday, UI law student Josh Rohrscheib, outgoing co-president of the Illinois Student Senate, said student reaction has been mixed, and many are not sure what it will all mean. But most do agree on one point, he said: the issue sure is divisive.
" The whole point of a mascot or symbol, whatever you want to call it, is to unite a campus. The fact is, the Chief is a very divisive force on campus," Rohrscheib said. "The university has a tight budget. We don't have nearly as many academic advisers as we need. Class sizes are huge. There are so many more important things to be addressed. At the end of the day, the Chief is not doing what it's supposed to do."
What the ruling means for UI sports programs is that, in addition to not being allowed to host NCAA championships, the UI will be invited to participate in championships only if it does not have American Indian references on uniforms or associated athletic program activities.
"The inability to host NCAA championship competition would have an unbelievably negative effect on our programs," UI athletic director Ron Guenther said in a written release. "A ban on hosting NCAA championship events would put Illini athletics at a competitive disadvantage and make it hard to recruit top student athletes and coaches."
Part of the mission of the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics is for the UI to compete at Big Ten and national championships. And the athletic department has invested a lot of resources in its facilities and scholarships to do this, he noted.
Friday's ruling could cost Illinois the chance to host NCAA men's tennis tournament matches May 12-14.
Ranked sixth in the country, the Illini would be a certain pick as a first- and second-round site for the eighth consecutive year. The NCAA will announce sites Wednesday, and it's unclear if Illinois is eligible.
"We're certainly disappointed in the ruling," men's tennis coach Brad Dancer said from Minneapolis, where his Illini beat Northwestern on Friday in a quarterfinal match at the Big Ten tournament. "I know Ron (Guenther) is working with the board to see what solutions there are. We've got all of our balls in the school's court. We want the opportunity to host."
News-Gazette sports editor Jim Rossow contributed to this report.

Find this article at: http://www.news-gazette.com/news/2006/04/29/ui_trustees_consider_remaining_options_on_chief

NCAA keeps UI on 'hostile and abusive' list; trustees looking at future options

DENIED- NCAA keeps UI on 'hostile and abusive' list; trustees looking at future options
Daily Illini
Courtney Linehan
5/1/06
Nine months after declaring American Indian imagery including Chief Illiniwek "hostile and abusive," the NCAA executive committee stood by its policy that the 80-year-old symbol is grounds for barring the University from hosting postseason sporting events.
The committee announced Friday that Illinois, University of North Dakota and Indiana University of Pennsylvania will not be permitted to host NCAA-sponsored championship events as long as they continue using American Indian mascots, logos or nicknames with their athletic programs. Those schools will also be prevented from displaying any references to American Indian imagery at postseason contests.
An earlier round of appeals resulted in a different NCAA committee declaring that the names "Illini" and "Fighting Illini" are a variation on the word "Illinois," and therefore are not offensive.
On Friday, the executive committee also determined that Bradley University in Peoria, Ill., which retired its American Indian mascot in 1989 but still goes by the nickname "Braves," would be removed from the list of offenders but will be on a watch list for five years to ensure its usage does not become offensive. Bradley is the only school to be placed on the watch list.
"The NCAA has the obligation and responsibility to ensure that its championships are conducted in a way that respects sportsmanship and recognizes the rights and respects the points of view and ethnicities of its fans and its players," NCAA President Myles Brand said in a teleconference Friday.
Controversy has enshrouded the Chief for more than 15 years. The University considers Illiniwek a symbol, not a mascot, in part because he only performs for a few minutes at halftime, and does not pal around with cheerleaders and band members throughout contests. Illiniwek only performs at regular season men's and women's basketball, football and volleyball games which the University hosts.
Illiniwek's supporters say he is a respectful tribute to American Indian culture, citing his authentic Ogallala Sioux regalia and dance steps that, while exaggerated, are rooted in American Indian fancy dancing.
"We think it represents tradition and does it respectfully, especially compared to other representations out there," said Allyn Ricci, sophomore in Education who serves as community service coordinator for Students for Chief Illiniwek, a Registered Student Organization.
But several campus groups disagree, saying the Chief is not authentic or respectful. Illiniwek's opponents say the symbol perpetuates a stereotype of American Indians and should be retired.
"It's the University, not the NCAA, that is hurting the athletics because the Board chooses to maintain a racist mascot, instead of dealing with the issue and giving the athletics the ability to host postseason play," Jen Tayabji, co-coordinator of Progressive Resource/Action Cooperative, an RSO that has declared itself anti-Chief, said in a press release Friday.
The University has adopted a wait-and-see policy to fighting the NCAA policy, and has been deliberate in dealing with nearly two decades of debate surrounding the University's symbol. Tom Livingston, who portrayed Illiniwek in the late 1980s when the controversy took center stage, said that measured approach has kept the tradition alive when hastier changes might have prematurely ended it.
"If the University changed course every time an outside body weighed in on Chief Illiniwek, we wouldn't have had the last seven portrayers of Chief Illiniwek," Livingston said. "The NCAA's characterization of the Chief as abusive and hostile, there's nothing I've seen publicly or privately behind-the-scenes that is abusive or hostile about this. I think they made the decision in a vacuum."
The University sent three appeals to the NCAA, and with the April 28 decision, exhausted its options in fighting the restrictions.
The appeals have centered around institutional autonomy - the NCAA, the University claims, does not have the authority to tell its member institutions what they can and cannot do. The University has repeatedly stated the NCAA is "the only game in town," and Illinois has no choice but to participate in NCAA contests.
"We've asked in our appeals, maybe too indirectly, 'Where is the limit of your jurisdiction? Where else do you want to tell us what to do?'" said Larry Eppley, chairman of the Board of Trustees.
The NCAA disagrees, however, and said Illinois has two options: discontinue the Chief Illiniwek tradition or stop hosting postseason competitions. If the University was banned from hosting postseason competitions, it would most immediately and most strongly affect Illinois' non-revenue sports - football and basketball do not host postseason contests. Ironically, Eppley said, the sports affected are the events where Chief Illiniwek does not perform.
There was little visible reaction from students when the final ruling was announced Friday. But Student Body President Ryan Ruzic, junior in LAS, cautions that this does not mean they are indifferent to Illiniwek's fate.
"I don't think it's the appeal being denied that students will care about," Ruzic said. "Rather, it's the actions the University will have to take that students will react to."
A March 2004 student government poll found that nearly 70 percent of the 13,000 students who voted supported retaining the symbol. Ruzic said the anti-Chief movement may have grown a little since that time, but the pro-Chief side still represents the majority of students.
Eppley said the University will not act hastily and will base its next move on what other schools do and how the NCAA responds to those actions. He would not say whether Illiniwek will perform at the Sept. 2 football opener, the Chief's next scheduled appearance.
"We've found that we've benefited by not reacting too quickly to things we learn from the NCAA," Eppley said. "It's served us well so far, and I suspect it will continue to serve us well."
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© Copyright 2006 The Daily Illini

Illinois rejects Chief ruling, sends appeal

Illinois rejects Chief ruling, sends appeal
University argues they, not NCAA, have authority to handle Illiniwek
Daily Illini
Courtney Linehan
2/1/06
Illinois appealed a recent anti-Chief NCAA decision Tuesday, waiting until the last day before the University symbol would have been banned from postseason competitions and the school would have been barred from hosting championship events.
By sending the petition, Illinois will likely get an extension until at least April 27, two months after Chief Illiniwek's last scheduled appearance of the season. The appeal asks, however, that the University be exempt until the academic year ends May 15.
"We want to be removed from the list and we want to assert the University's principle of self-determination," University spokesman Tom Hardy said. "In order to do those kinds of things, we need to work through the NCAA's administrative process."
Hardy said the NCAA decision has distracted the Board of Trustees' from working to bridge the divide between Chief supporters and opponents. Illinois' latest appeal, signed by Board chairman Larry Eppley, said the board intends to make "hard choices" regarding the Chief tradition, but did not mention retiring Illiniwek.
"Some change in the status quo regarding the Chief Illiniwek tradition is possible," the appeal says. "The options are limited only by the parameters established by the University's board, whose members are deeply familiar and engaged with the issue."
The 28-page document sent to the NCAA Executive Committee uses several examples of case law - including Supreme Court rulings regarding the NCAA - to argue that the NCAA policy and recent rejection of an initial appeal "violate principles of institutional autonomy." The University has argued since the Aug. 5 policy change that Illinois should have the right to come to its own solution about the Chief, rather than be forced to comply with an outside organization's demands.
The NCAA is the governing body of intercollegiate athletics, but the appeal argues that its opposition to Chief Illiniwek steps beyond the athletic realm.
"This appeal … is about a policy that asks a member institution to decide between abandoning an 80-year-old tradition cherished by many or face diminished participation in NCAA championship events," the appeal says.
While the initial NCAA ruling on Aug. 5 prohibited 18 member schools from using their American Indian mascots, logos and nicknames, more than half the schools on that list are no longer affected. Illinois first appealed the policy on Oct. 14, asking that the term "Illini" and the Chief Illiniwek symbol be exempted from the NCAA prohibition so Illinois' Board of Trustees could continue independently pursuing a resolution to the 15-year-old debate. When the NCAA staff review committee ruled only half in Illinois' favor, saying "Illini" was not offensive, the Board decided to send an appeal directly to the NCAA executive committee.
That committee decided earlier this month that it would delay reviewing three other appeals - from North Dakota, Bradley and Indiana University of Pennsylvania - until its April 27 meeting. At that time it decided any school that sent a second appeal before the policy's scheduled start would automatically receive the same exemption.
The University argues that the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights - which determined in 1995 that Chief Illiniwek did not create a hostile environment on campus - has the right to take action regarding the Chief. The NCAA, the University says, does not.
On Nov. 11 an NCAA staff review committee approved the use of the "Illini" and "Fighting Illini" nicknames. The committee ruled, however, that people outside the University could make the Chief Illiniwek symbol "hostile and abusive" despite the University's "good intentions and best efforts."
"By continuing to use Native American nicknames, mascots and imagery, institutions assume responsibility over an environment which they cannot fully control," Bernard Franklin, NCAA senior vice president for governance and membership, said in a prepared statement when the original Illiniwek appeal was denied.
The new appeal argues that the NCAA has yet to factually prove the Chief creates a "hostile and abusive" atmosphere. It further raises the issue that the NCAA never actually defined "hostile and abusive," its catchphrase for American Indian imagery it opposes, and arbitrarily singled-out schools to be subject to the ruling.
Additionally, the University claims the initial NCAA policy violates the First Amendment and antitrust laws.
"They never offered any outline or definition of what constitutes 'hostile and abusive' behavior," Hardy said. "They said in August they'd provide civil rights case law to support their position, but we're the ones who've provided that."
While this means that Illinois will be allowed to use the Chief Illiniwek symbol in the men's basketball postseason and can host other postseason tournaments, it does not mean that Illinois will change its policy of Chief Illiniwek not performing at the men's basketball NCAA tournament. The Chief has not appeared there since the Flyin' Illini competed in the Final Four in 1989.
Most of the 18 schools originally targeted have been removed from the "hostile and abusive" list for various reasons the University sees as arbitrary. Illinois' appeal asks that the decision be reversed, or at least limited to more specific sporting arenas.
"The NCAA policy sees black and white in areas where there's a lot of gray," Hardy said. "What other things could come up and how would those be handled?"
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© Copyright 2006 The Daily Illini

University back where it started after yearlong debate

University back where it started after yearlong debate
Daily Illini
5/1/06

On Friday the NCAA Executive Committee determined that its initial labeling of Chief Illiniwek as "hostile and abusive" was accurate and grounds to prevent the school from hosting postseason sporting events. The decision concluded a yearlong process heavy on paperwork and rhetoric:

April 30, 2005 - The University is one of 32 schools to sends the NCAA self-evaluations on their uses of American Indian imagery. This is the second self-evaluation in as many years.
July 14, 2005 - University Board of Trustees approves guidelines for coming to a consensus resolution to the debate surrounding Chief Illiniwek.
Aug. 5, 2005 - NCAA Executive Committee rules 18 schools will be barred from hosting postseason competitions or from displaying their mascots, logos or nicknames when participating in those contests at other schools because American Indian imagery is deemed "hostile and abusive."
Aug. 23, 2005 - The Florida State Seminoles are removed from the "hostile and abusive" list after proving they have the support of the Seminole Tribe of Florida. This sets a precedent that other schools will later use to get off the list.
Sept. 2, 2005 - The Board of Trustees adds an eighth guideline to its Consensus Resolution policy, saying the Board will keep the best interests of the athletes in mind when deciding what to do about Chief Illiniwek.
Sept. 26, 2005 - The NCAA policy is extended to include BCS Bowl Games.
Oct. 14, 2005 - First appeal sent claiming anti-American Indian imagery policy violates the University's rights as an autonomous institution and that the term "Fighting Illini" is based on the name of the state.
Nov. 11, 2005 - The NCAA rules that Chief Illiniwek is offensive, but "Fighting Illini" gets the OK.
Jan. 9 - The NCAA says it will extend its Feb. 1 deadline for any school that has a pending appeal when that date comes. The University appeals in time for the stay.
March 29 - The University issues its third appeal, which is ultimately denied by the NCAA Executive Committee.
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© Copyright 2006 The Daily Illini

Daily Illini Editorial: Save the last fancy dance

Editorial: Save the last fancy dance
NCAA denies appeal on the Chief, leaving consequences for Unversity
Daily Illini
5/1/06
In the May 1, edition of The Daily Illini, the editorial "Save the last fancy dance," incorrectly stated that the men's tennis team was "slated" to host the NCAA regionals. They were just a likely candidate. In addition, the editorial stated that Chief Osceola and the Utah Utes "were deemed inoffensive on grounds that were never explained clearly." Instead, they were deemed inoffensive because permission had been granted on behalf of their respective tribes to use the symbols.

For the sake of diffusing vociferous public criticism, NCAA has once again denied the University's appeal to be released from the "hostile and abusive" list for the use of Chief Illiniwek as its symbol. The capricious grandstanding by NCAA President Myles Brand and the self-righteous officials is not only unfair for its selective punishment, but seriously infringes upon the University's right for self-determination.

The NCAA ruling should appall even those who support retiring Chief Illiniwek. Unless the NCAA is going to start making decisions for every university, this is an egregious and completely arbitrary abuse of power by NCAA President Myles Brand and his cronies. The University is a body that makes its own decisions, and the decision to retire the Chief should come from its Board of Trustees. NCAA's high-handed tactics to strong-arm this institution into submission is simply unacceptable.

NCAA tries to sidestep the autonomy issue by arguing that it lacks the power to make the University retire the Chief. But the NCAA's ruling will pose problems for our school which will only multiply until we comply with their implicit mandate. There are consequences to retiring the Chief beyond just ending the halftime dance and taking off the Chief's likeness from uniforms. The University will lose a source of income from its licensing agreements. With the University's budget as tight as it is right now, cutting off any revenue is something that simply should not be done without a great deal of discussion and thought.

Moreover, though the Chief performs only at four sporting events (football, volleyball, and men's and women's basketball) every Big Ten sport is affected. The University is prohibited from hosting any postseason sports tournaments until the retirement of the Chief - including men's tennis, which was originally slated to host regionals this year.

In addition, the hypocrisy shown by Brand and Co. is simply a matter of selective enforcement. One would think, if the NCAA's ruling were in good faith, that mocking an entire race and ethnic group would be stopped, but Brand and the NCAA seem to think it's only some of the schools that use American Indian symbols that do this. Florida State's Chief Osceola and the Uta Utes are deemed inoffensive on grounds that were never explained clearly. Further, the icon for Notre Dame harkens back to the days when Irish immigrants were subject to violence and exploitation as the bottom rung of industrial American society and stereotyped as alcoholics.

The truth is that NCAA would not press the big-time programs like Notre Dame or Florida State. Brand & Co. will never try to enforce the rules with schools that bankroll the NCAA. It instead picks on schools like Bradley and Carthage, which pull no weight on the grand scheme of things, and this University, where external pressure just might tip the balance on the heated and unproductive debate over its symbol.

The University and its Board of Trustees must do everything in their power to repulse the NCAA from blackmailing this campus into submission. An open debate at the University among its students, faculty and staff about the future of Chief Illiniwek should continue, although the time for the trustees to make a firm stance is approaching quickly. Such an abrupt and illogical ending to the visceral conflict that has divided this campus for so long will leave this University scarred and impotent.
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© Copyright 2006 The Daily Illini

NCAA Leaves University in Tough Spot

NCAA Leaves University in Tough Spot
By MARK TUPPER
From the Herald & Review

CHAMPAIGN - Friday's decision by the NCAA Executive Committee to reject the University of Illinois' second appeal on behalf of Chief Illiniwek backs the school into a difficult corner.
And it makes fans trying to figure it all out ask two questions: What happens from here? Will we ever again see Chief Illiniwek dance at a home football or basketball game?
Since the NCAA took it upon itself to become the moral conscience for college athletics, it is trying to rid the world of the dangerous and sinister influence of Native American symbols and imagery. Ruling those symbols "hostile and abusive," the NCAA ordered schools to drop those symbols, mascots, nicknames and imagery if they want to retain the right to host NCAA championships in any sport.
At Illinois, sports like tennis, soccer, volleyball, baseball, softball and gymnastics are prime candidates to host early-round NCAA tournament matches, a privilege that goes to teams ranked highest in their regions. Illinois is also a candidate to host future national championships, as men's gymnastics did in 2004.
Even basketball is a potential casualty, since the NCAA now owns the NIT and allows teams with good home attendance records to host early-round games.
We realize there are some fans who will say, "The heck with those sports. Football and basketball are the only sports that matter. Let's thumb our nose at the NCAA and preserve the Chief at all costs."
Director of Athletics Ron Guenther adamantly disagrees with that stance, having said, "One of the components of the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics' mission statement is to compete at the highest levels for Big Ten and national championships. The department has invested large amounts of resources in facilities, scholarships and coaches in our Olympic sports.
"The inability to host NCAA championship competition would have an unbelievably negative effect on our programs," Guenther said. Such a ban, he said, would put Illini athletics at a competitive disadvantage and make it hard to recruit top student-athletes and coaches.
Keep that thought in mind.
Right now, it would seem the university has three choices.
One, it can accept - albeit reluctantly - a decision the NCAA called "final" Friday. That means the Chief will never again perform as part a university athletic event. It means the university can no longer market or sell the Chief logo or likeness. It means Decatur's Kyle Cline would become a footnote in history as the last person to portray the Chief full-time.
Two, you can take the position of the imaginary fan I quoted above. That's the position that says, "Screw the NCAA. Only football and basketball matter and we should continue to celebrate Chief Illiniwek at halftime of our games even if it means never again hosting an NCAA championship event."
Or, three, the university could take the NCAA to court, perhaps convincing a judge to rule that the NCAA has overstepped its bounds. That would likely be a long and expensive process and it may have to be funded by private funds, since Sen. Emil Jones, an anti-Chief advocate who is president of the state senate, has said money spent litigating this would be subtracted from the university's budget.
In that case, however, the NCAA would simply say they haven't taken away the right of a school to retain its Native American symbols and imagery. They've simply protected their own right to award championship competitions wherever they choose and they will choose not to award them to schools whose mascots dance around in a feathered headdress.
If there's a fourth option, it's this: The university could elect to temporarily retain the Chief through the end of the upcoming football season. Call it a Farewell Tour, but there might be a feeling that Chief Illiniwek deserves a prolonged going-away tribute rather than simply chopping him out of the picture abruptly and ingloriously.
Then, after the Chief danced a final time at the last home game Nov. 11, the university could announce it would comply with the NCAA's directive, a move that would take its name off the NCAA's bad boy list.
That delay would eliminate the tennis team's chance to host early-round NCAA tournaments next month, although those already may have been lost, and it could impact next season's soccer season. But that might be a reasonable price to pay if we want to celebrate the Chief one more fall.
University big-wigs were meeting on Friday, kicking around all the options. At some point they'll announce a course of action.
Further down the road, there are sure to be efforts to sustain the Chief Illiniwek tradition by organizations not affiliated with the university. It's been suggested the Alumni Association might be that group, but that strikes me as stepping into a gray area that might incur the NCAA's wrath.
Some other outside group, however, could independently choose to preserve the history of Chief Illiniwek and arrange for performances before each home football and basketball game. Those might take place one hour before kickoff at the intersection of First Street and Kirby, which, so far as I know, is not technically university property.
And no matter what happens, there's nothing to say 60,000 Illini fans couldn't show up at the home football opener Sept. 2 wearing a Chief-like headdress.
At this point, the NCAA still can't dictate what individual fans wear to the games, although I wouldn't be surprised to learn they are looking into it.

From Inside Illinois: NCAA edict threatens Chief Illiniwek tradition

NCAA edict threatens Chief Illiniwek tradition
Inside Illinois
Vol. 25, No. 20, May 4, 2006

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) issued a final ruling April 28 against the UI’s continuing use of Chief Illiniwek. Absent a change in this 80-year-old tradition, the NCAA will prohibit the school from hosting NCAA championship events.Athletic Director Run Guenther recently commented on the potential sanction: “One of the components of the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics’ mission statement is to compete at the highest levels for Big Ten and national championships. The department has invested large amounts of resources in facilities, scholarships and coaches in our Olympic sports. The inability to host NCAA championship competition would have an unbelievably negative effect on our programs.” It is believed a ban on hosting NCAA championship events would put Illini athletes at a competitive disadvantage and make it hard to recruit top student athletes and coaches.The NCAA issued its policy banning American Indian imagery last August. The university challenged the policy and the rhetoric attached to it.In the first round of appeals, the university won back the right to use the names “Illini” and “Fighting Illini” for all its athletic teams. Subsequent appeals continued to disagree with the NCAA on the allegation that the Chief tradition creates a “hostile and abusive” environment, matters of institutional autonomy and a flawed policy process. “Our decision is final,” declared NCAA Executive Committee chair Walter Harrison in making the April 28 announcement.“By branding an 80-year tradition ‘hostile and abusive,’ the NCAA inappropriately defames generations of Illinoisans and University of Illinois supporters,” said Lawrence C. Eppley, chair of the UI Board of Trustees.“The University of Illinois is disappointed by the NCAA Executive Committee’s final decision to uphold a policy that is capricious in its design and implementation,” Eppley said. “The NCAA’s insistence on dictating social policy for a few select member institutions intrudes on the University of Illinois Board of Trustees’ autonomy and the board’s process for reaching a consensus conclusion on issues regarding the Chief Illiniwek tradition. In determining a course to follow, we will consider our options in the context of the NCAA’s final pronouncement and the consensus process guidelines adopted by the board.”