UNLV considering mascot change

[WideRight]

Saw this article about how UNLV is removing its "Hey, Reb" statue and is considering a change of mascot due to the dubious references to the Confederacy in the Rebels moniker.  

https://www.si.com/college/2020/06/17/unlv-removes-hey-reb-statue-considers-mascot-change

 

I don't want to start a debate here about whether or not Confederate symbols are appropriate.  But I do have two questions which I think are worth discussing?

 

1.  Why would a school in Nevada (very far from Dixie) that started operating in the 1950's (long after the Civil War) choose a Confederate "rebel" as a mascot? 

2. What other type of mascot could be used with the name "Rebels", since that word does not have to mean "Confederate soldier"?

 

If we could avoid the debate about the Confederacy, statues, building names, the flag, etc. and just maybe stick to these two questions, maybe we could avoid having the thread shut down.  

[CS85]

5 minutes ago, WideRight said:

1.  Why would a school in Nevada (very far from Dixie) that started operating in the 1950's (long after the Civil War) choose a Confederate "rebel" as a mascot? 

2. What other type of mascot could be used with the name "Rebels", since that word does not have to mean "Confederate soldier"?

 

1.  Looks like it was part of a local rivalry and part of a student vote, had almost nothing to do at all with the Confederacy, at a glance anyway.

https://www.unlv.edu/campuslife/mascot-nickname

 

2.  I think they could still keep the Rebels name and just remove the Confederacy stuff.  They've already got Beauregard the Wolf to fall back on, just get him out of the grey uniform and keep him as a fun-loving wolf, keep the Rebels nickname, and you're probably okay.

[cajunaggie08]

The Rebels nickname mascot was chosen because the school that became UNLV was a satellite campus of University of Nevada, Reno. As Las Vegas grew, so did the school and eventually it was given equal status with UNR. The students saw themselves as breaking off from the blue northern school and decided to call themselves rebels as a play on a civil war theme.

[cajunaggie08]

2 minutes ago, CherryMX said:

 

1.  Looks like it was part of a local rivalry and part of a student vote, had almost nothing to do at all with the Confederacy, at a glance anyway.

https://www.unlv.edu/campuslife/mascot-nickname

 

2.  I think they could still keep the Rebels name and just remove the Confederacy stuff.  They've already got Beauregard the Wolf to fall back on, just get him out of the grey uniform and keep him as a fun-loving wolf, keep the Rebels nickname, and you're probably okay.

 

The state of California has 2 schools with bear mascots so I suppose Nevada could have 2 different wolf related schools, but I doubt UNLV wants to rename themselves to something that ties them back with UNR.

[WSU151]

Just make Hey Reb into more of a Western frontiersman, in a Sam Elliott-way. I always thought of him as a westerner moreso than any ties to the Confederacy anyway.

 

There's no way UNLV goes with a wolf named Beauregard again. 

[Ben5]

If Ole Miss won't lean into the Star Wars motif, I don't see why UNLV shouldn't. Besides the cost of licensing from Disney.

[FinsUp1214]

Growing up as a Mountain West fan, I watched UNLV often and never realized there were any Confederacy ties, I too thought it was more of a “rebel frontiersman” kind of thing. I’ll never fault a school for being safe and taking action to right any wrongs they or others believe they’ve caused (or could cause) though, so if UNLV feels better about changing the mascot on those grounds, then by all means they should.

 

As far as other names go, I thought about the wolf too but quickly remembered Nevada-Reno. Maybe “Stars”, referring to the 8-point star on the welcome sign? I can’t think of any “Stars” names at the university level off the top of my head. Maybe “Rattlers” if they want to go an animal route, or if they want to stay western, “Mavericks”. 

[WideRight]

26 minutes ago, Ben5 said:

If Ole Miss won't lean into the Star Wars motif, I don't see why UNLV shouldn't. Besides the cost of licensing from Disney.

 

That would be hilarious.  Would love to see them use Admiral Akbar as their mascot, especially when they identify that the opposing team is mixing up their defense:   "It's a trap!!!!"

 

[kimball]

Dixie State in Southern Utah has recently gone through a number of changes the past decade or so with the nicknames tied to the Confederacy. They went from Rebels to Red Storm (awful) to Trailblazers (slightly better) since 2009. There was also talk about renaming the school when it became a university. The whole reason it's called Dixie State in the first place is fascinating as the region is called Utah's Dixie because it was founded by a number of Southerners sent there by Brigham Young to grow cotton and tobacco, even though it didn't work out that well.

 

As far as UNLV goes, I'm all for Star Wars Rebels! But, yeah. If they could reimagine the Rebel into something that worked I think that'd be the best bet. And, I'd rather see a nickname that represented Southern Nevada rather than Vegas. Plus, Stars, Aces, etc. are better pro names than collegiate. 

[MJWalker45]

10 minutes ago, kimball said:

As far as UNLV goes, I'm all for Star Wars Rebels! But, yeah. If they could reimagine the Rebel into something that worked I think that'd be the best bet. And, I'd rather see a nickname that represented Southern Nevada rather than Vegas. Plus, Stars, Aces, etc. are better pro names than collegiate. 

Gamblers or Wranglers could work!

[Hat Boy]

50 minutes ago, WideRight said:

 

That would be hilarious.  Would love to see them use Admiral Akbar as their mascot, especially when they identify that the opposing team is mixing up their defense:   "It's a trap!!!!"

if their football helmets are some kind of play on the rebel pilot helmet, then I am all in

 

 

[tBBP]

Remember this?

 

 

Seems to me this Confederacy connotation theme could have been (and probably still can be) averted simply by leaning more into local ties and imagery,  such as this. I still don't know why so many rejected that... that has got to be one of the most awesomest marks, with one of the most genius users of negative space, that I've ever seen. 

[WSU151]

24 minutes ago, Buc said:

Remember this?

 

 

Seems to me this Confederacy connotation theme could have been (and probably still can be) averted simply by leaning more into local ties and imagery,  such as this. I still don't know why so many rejected that... that has got to be one of the most awesomest marks, with one of the most genius users of negative space, that I've ever seen. 

 

Once you see the angry bird (in gray, pointing left) you can never unsee it.  Take out the weird "beak" and make the front of the guy normal, and it's really good. 

[CDunn]

It would be pretty easy to turn it from a Civil War rebel into a Revolutionary War rebel theme. Granted, Nevada wasn't part of the US during the revolution, but it wasn't part of the Confederacy either. Outside of that you could probably just use a cowboy-type figure with the name Rebels

[pepis21]

Political correctness one day will kill that civilization.....

Make him a Cowboy and leave alone. He already look almost like Yosemite Sam.

[jacobrgroman]

my high school alma mater in texas are the rebels. when they began it was very heavily confederacy themed but around the 70s switched over to more of a cowboy motif. think a cross between a texas tech red raider and a oklahoma state cowboy.

[FiddySicks]

UNLV has Rebels as the mascot because back then (similar to today) Southern Nevada had absolutely zero culture that was worthwhile to celebrate, so what could they really do other than ape off of the actual south? It works now too because Vegas is essentially the Tupelo of the west, for all intents and purposes. 
 

Better than changing the mascot, they could just fold the school and allow their students to attend universities that are actually legitimate educational institutions. 
 

Fold the town, too. We could use the water back. 

[DEAD!]

I admit, I never thought about the mascot having a link to confederacy. I thought it was just some cowboy motif. Now that I think about it, if there was any school that should change such a mascot ... its Ole Miss. 

[TenaciousG]

3 hours ago, pepis21 said:

Political correctness one day will kill that civilization.....

Make him a Cowboy and leave alone. He already look almost like Yosemite Sam.

“Political correctness” is the greatest strawman of all time. I have never met someone in my life who has said “Boy, I love political correctness! Everything should be that way!” Instead it’s now the number one complaint of people online who want everyone to be bothered but themselves.

[WSU151]

This thread...definitely staying on the rails...