Former NCAA Native American Mascot Teams That Have Changed For The Better (...Or Worst)

Surely, majority of you know of the re-emergence of the rally to have the Washington Redskins change from their long standing native american moniker, 'the redskins.'

This long, ongoing process (really debate) isn't new in the sports world. For decades teams have been some variance of native american mascot and as time as gone by, our society and culture changed to the point that many went from not caring and rooting for these teams to demanding they get rid of their nicknames. The NCAA and many of it's members are really where this has been hit.

For this addition of the RamlinArkansan blog, I'm going to address all those SELECT collegiate teams, what they formerly were and changed to, and my overall thoughts.

Stanford Cardinal:

Previously Known As: Indians (1940-1972)

For over four decades, Standford University was represented by that fiesty little fellow up above. But starting in the 70s onward really began seeing the tide turn from apathy about Native American mascots to somewhat resentment. After much protest from many Stanford students, the universty president finally retired 'Indians' after the 72 season. For eight years, it appeared the school would just be another generic "Cardinals" until then university president Donald Kennedy decided the school just be called 'Cardinal', as in the singular form describing the university's primary color.

CHANGE GRADE: A+ (Very solid change for the better of Stanford).

Technically, Stanford has never formally declared the 'Tree' as the university's official mascot-it's more of student/school spirit character. However, their's no denying when you see that crazy, cracked out Christmas tree (really a Sequoia tree but eh...) practically everyone knows he's the "Stanford Tree."

FUN FACT!!:

The student body in fact voted in the early 80s to have the "Red Barons" become the school's new mascot. However, many alumni hated the name finding it "silly" and it was ultimately rejected by the board of trustees. Interestingly, during the university wide vote, their was a movement to bring back the name "Indians" but it was overwhelmingly shot down by the students-also, the name 'Cardinal' was in fact an option to vote on-it came in 4th place.

DARTMOUTH BIG GREEN:

PREVIOUSLY KNOWN AS: 'Indians' (1920s-early 1970s)

Another 'Indians' (of many) on this, Dartmouth's origin story for it's usage of the name Indians goes back to it's humble beginnings: according to its wikipedia page (for the record I know it's not the most USEFUL of sources but sue me): "It is often pointed out that the charter of Dartmouth College, granted to Eleazar Wheelock in 1769, proclaims that the institution was created "for the education and instruction of Youth of the Indian Tribes in this Land in reading, writing and all parts of Learning ... as well as in all liberal Arts and Sciences; and also of English Youth and any others." Of course, if you continued to read hardly ANY native Americans graduated from Dartmouth, but oh well! Much like Stanford, by the 70s the name began catching serious slack and it was ultimately dropped by University officials. 

Dartmouth had always been known as "The Big Green" (Which is named by the enormous commons area in the center of its campus that has a lot of green grass...figures). However, for decades no mascot was ever actually decided on. In 2003, the student government proposed a vote to finally decide on a new mascot-the students were so underwhelmed by their choices that winner of the vote was "No Mascot". 

That's when this fellow comes into the picture...

 Meet Keggy the Keg.

Keggy was the invention of a local humor magazine published at the university that was originally meant to be a partial joke and an attempt to pressure the Student Government Association to create better and more unique mascot choices.

....For some reason that never occurred and despite initial controversy and a couple of kidnappings of the suit, Keggy has become a unofficial yet universal figure head mascot for the Big Green athletics.

Change Grade: ??? Though I'm not sure if Keggy will turn into a lasting change like Stanford to the Cardinal/Stanford Tree, but you gotta admire their sense of humor at Dartmouth.

Marquette Golden Eagles:

Previously Known as: Warriors (...kinda sorta. )

Simply put, Marquette has quite a complicated mascot/nickname history. Because of that (and also I'm not in the mood to paraphrase at the moment) here's the bit from their Wikipedia page:

"Marquette's intercollegiate athletic teams were the "Warriors" from May 1954 to July 1994 when the nickname was changed to the "Golden Eagles", on the grounds that previous logos had been disrespectful to Native Americans. Prior to 1962 Marquette football was known as "Golden Avalanche" and other teams were known as "Warriors," "Blue and Gold," and "Hilltoppers".^[63] The Marquette Warriors (the nickname that preceded Golden Eagles) won the NCAA basketball championship in 1977.^[64] In 2004, Marquette began to consider changing the name back to Warriors, but instead the Board of Trustees changed the nickname to simply "Gold". An intensely negative reaction by students, faculty, alumni, and fans led to yet another series of votes, which eventually pitted "Golden Eagles" against "Hilltoppers". Respondents were told in advance that write-in votes for "Warriors" would not be tabulated, although those results were later released, and "Golden Eagles" was restored in June 2005."

Change Grade: C+. Glad to see they got everything sorted out and they're sticking by their cartoon birdy. Next!

Eastern Michigan Eagles:

(...wth??)

Previously Known As: Hurons (1929-mid 80s)

...wow.... um....ok Eastern.

The name "Hurons" was adopted in 1929 and was the beloved name for the athletic department at EMU for nearly 60 years until the University began worrying about its name and possibly being a racial slur/stereotype. After an internal review, EMU board of regents voted to retire the Hurons name and adopt "Eagles" as recommended by an outside committee selected to suggest a new mascot name. 

Many alumni and fans of the school withdrew financial support and to this day their is actually two separate alumni associations, one in support of the eagles and one that's staunchly wanting the name "Hurons" to be returned. (the picture above is just one of many logos they currently use).

Change Grade: F. You'll find many sites where EMU fans and even some officials claim 'Hurons' is supported by certain tribes-many more also argue that 'Hurons' can be turned around in a way that Illinois kept their name, "Illini" and drop the Native American aspect of the mascot. The one argument that can't be made is the name 'Eagles' is dull, not creative and I can't help but feel that Dr. Suess played a hand in the drawing of their logo.

University of Miami (OH) Redhawks: 

Previously Known as: Redskins (1929-1997)

Prior to the nickname 'Redskins', the athletic squads at Miami were referred to as Miami Boys, Big Reds, Reds, and Red & Whites until the athletic director made it permanently Red Skins for nearly 70 years.

Interestingly, the school for a long time had the support of a particular Miami Tribe located in Oklahoma suddenly withdrew their support in 1997. The university quickly rid themselves of the name Redskins and then name Redhawks was voted as the university's new mascot.

Change Grade: B. Kind of lame considering I'm pretty sure 'redhawks' is not an actual species, but the logo is pretty solid.

St. John's Red Storm

Previously Known As: Redmen (1960s-1994)

Interestingly, St. John's originally called themselves "redman/redmen" for the fact of the team wearing red jerseys and uniforms. However, sometime in the '60s the term was developed into a Native American image and the university soon adopted the interpretation as its mascot until 1994, when mounting pressure led St John's officials to change the team name to its current moniker, the Red Storm.

Change Grade: D. It's pretty lame name, and the logo just screams minor league team all over it.

Louisiana-Monroe Warhwks

Previously Known As: "Indians" 

ULM has had quite a bit of change in the last 20 some-odd years-the university changed it's name from "Northeast Louisiana University" to its current incarnation and in 2006, the University President announced that because of the NCAA restrictions the NCAA set that year, virtually banning all logos with Native American imagery as well bans on hosting post season tournaments and appearances in the post well as well, ULM would be retiring their name. After letting the public submit various suggestions, a panel limited it down to 12 sections and from there was narrowed to three possibilities: "Bayou Gators, Bayou Hawks and Warhawks." The University President had the ultimate decision and he selected Warhawks.

Change Grade: B+. I remember I initially scoffed at the name, however after hearing the other two possibilties figured "...eh...could be worse." Nearly 8 years later, I actually think the name is pretty solid-the warhawk still looks like it just woke up/strung out from a kegger-but its been a good change for the school.

...But why make a film of your Mascot (Ace the Warhawk) robbing a register and then getting arrested?

North Dakota: ???

Previously Known As: Fighting Sioux

One of the last and longest holdout of all NCAA schools, the University of North Dakota were the Dan Snyder of college football, refusing to budge at removing the nickname despite NCAA crackdown, which included ban from the FCS playoffs, basketball tournaments and more postseason play. North Dakota even sued the NCAA-both parties reached an agreement: If UND could find a tribe to endorse their name, the NCAA would allow the university to keep their namesake. If not, the school would retire the name 'Fighting Sioux.' Ultimately, no support was found, yet many legislature, alumni and others continued their legal fight to keep the name but in June 2012, the state board of higher education offically voted to rid the university of the name.

Change Grade: (N/A). Due to an odd ruling, the North Dakota legislature prohibited the University from selected a new nickname and are barred from doing so until at least 2015. (Apparently to allow time for angered fans and individuals to 'cool off'). Currently, UND officials have not stated or released a timetable as to when a name might be selected.

Arkansas State Red Wolves

Previously Known As: Indians

I could literally write an ENTIRE BLOG of the history and name changing process that occured at Arkansas State (I was there for it!). But to try to sum up the basics, the university originally had Jumpin Joe (the guy on the left) as it's helmet decal and the 'stAte' logo as the offical university logo for a long time. In the 80s, they dropped Joe for the stAte logo. However, in 1996 they switched to what fans referred to as the "headress logo" (on the right) and was the primary university decal for nearly 10 years. When the NCAA imposed its native american restrictions, ASU dropped the headdress logo and went back to the stAte logo yet again. They slowly and methodically removed all native american imagery throughout their athletic department, yet kept the "Indian Family" (which were three students chosen to portray Chief Big Track, the Indian Princess and the Indian Warrior). The University tried in vain to find a tribe to endorse the name 'Indians', but the search proved fruitless. Finally, in 2007 the university announced the name Indians would be retired following the conclusion of the 2007-2008 athletic year. 

Similar to ULM, a website was selected for the public to suggest any names in the search-however, unlike ULM the university wouldn't allow a public vote for the name, instead relying solely on selected indivuals that would form a mascot search committee, and the chancellor ultimately making the final decision. Despite the initial outrage by this, the majority of public suggested "Wolves"-which was what the committee recommended to the Chancellor. Many (like myself) strongly supported 'Red Wolves' and the chancellor chose this as well.

Change Grade: A. Call me biased, but their's no denying this change was a huge boost for the program. It gave people an opportunity to get involved in the new identity of the athletic program, which in turn made new fans for ASU. A recent article by Talkbuisness.net revealed that "By percentage increase in sales, Arkansas State is 7th in the country for merchandise sales over the past five years." (You can read the full story here http://talkbusiness.net/2014/03/asu-mascot-offers-branding-lesson-ages/ ).

Their are a few more universities that changed their mascots as well, and here's a brief breakdown of those:

- Siena – Indians to Saints (1988)

- Seattle University – Chieftains to Redhawks (2000)

- Illinois – Removed Chief Illiniwek as official mascot in 2007. Athletics teams are still called Fighting Illini.

- Bradley and Alcorn State – Both schools stopped using Native American mascot but have retained their Braves nickname.

- William and Mary – Adjusted Tribe logo to remove feathers to comply with NCAA. Athletics teams are still called Tribe. (2007)

As of this post, only Florida State, Central Michigan, Mississippi College and Utah all appealed and won to the NCAA due to their friendly relationship and support of local tribes.

Grading Arkansas State's Last Four Head Coaches

To say that Arkansas State University has become the modern day "Cradle of Coaches" would obviously be a pretty darn fair assessment.

     Prior to the 2011 football season, Steve Roberts and many before him struggled to make the then Indians (ultimately Red Wolves) competitive let alone a successful, solid football program. Many forget (and many more simply don't realize) that Roberts didn't bring in Hugh after dismissing his long time colleague and offensive coordinator, Doug Ruse, after a dismal 4-8 campaign in 2009. He had originally hired Clayton Helton, which many fans saw as an astonishing coup for the Red Wolves as he had been a long time Running Backs/Quarterbacks/Wide Receiver and Offensive Coordinator for the Memphis Tigers. He coached the highly touted Deangelo Williams during his time in Memphis and spent two months with the Red Wolves before he was whisked away by the USC Trojans. He remains there to this day, and for the most part has been a solid get for the program. Having to scramble to get a new offensive coordinator in place before fall camp (especially one that ran a similar fast paced, hurry up style that Helton had begun to implement at ASU) when Hugh Freeze came into the picture. Freeze, who was two months into his first big time college gig as San Jose State's OC/QB coach, had become home sick and had hoped to land a gig closer to his native Senatobia, Mississippi. When ASU came calling, Freeze instantly took the opportunity.

     Freeze in barely two months time instilled his "basic playbook" in the players and coaches at Arkansas State and despite another 4-8 season in 2010, the team broke several school records, both in yardage and individual performances. Roberts was canned after that season and Freeze, who barely a year before was struggling to keep his NAIA Lambuth program afloat, became one of the youngest head coaches in the program's history.


    You know the rest of the story, or at least the important parts. Freeze completely turns ASU around, winning 10 games, clinching it's first outright conference title in over 20 years and leading the Red Wolves to only it's second bowl game as a FBS Division member. Then he left to become Ole Miss' head coach.

     Then the improbable....the one and only Gus Malzahn steps in to take over. He too leads the Red Wolves to an undisputed conference title and yet another bowl game. And then he quickly returns to the Plains of Auburn to be their head man.

    Bryan Harsin stumbled a bit, not quite reaching the high level of succeess as his two predecessors did but thanks to a little bit of outside luck, still secured ASU a share of the conference crown with yet another visit to the GoDaddy Bowl.

....then Harsin flew the coup back to his native Boise.

     Now, as we anxiously await how the Blake Anderson era will play out, I only seem it's necessary to review the previous head coaches more thoroughly, their highest and lowest moments, their defining game and the legacy they left behind. Finally, perhaps conjure an idea as to what mark Anderson will leave on his first (and dare I say ONLY) season at ASU.

Steve Roberts-"The Helmsman" 

When Steve Roberts became the 'captain' of ASU in 2002, he would've been at the helm of ship both sinking and lacking direction at once. Arkansas State joined the (what we now call) FBS level of college football in the early 90s and simply put-it was an ABYSMAL decade. The Indians were practically beaten left and right, belonged to the incredibly stretched out Big West Conference and all around play was pathetic. Roberts first season brought ASU it's first 6+ wins since 87!! The Helmsman not only steers but rights the ship and Steve Roberts did that. Though he never won more than six games at his time as the head coach, Steve rejuvenated recruiting, had the loyalty and respect of the majority of his players and oversaw the transition from "Indians" to "Red Wolves."

FINAL GRADE: C+
Though there can be hardly any doubt that Roberts turned the football program around, he ultimately fell short of winning the "important" games (Conference games) and only had one shared conference title and bowl appearance in 2005. Their were moments where his squads were both explosive on both sides of the ball and moments of utter incompetence and lack of urgency. Perhaps his most lasting impact on the program didn't come from his coaching or victories, but by bringing in Hugh Freeze as his offensive coordinator.

Most Impressive Victory: Texas A&M 2008

Though ASU floundered late in the 2008 season, this was and still is, the biggest win in the programs history. Leading the newly christened Red Wolves to College Station, Steve and his coaches completely shut down Mike Sherman and his Aggies Running game, and with clutch turnovers and timely plays, Arkansas State secured their as of this post only victory over a Power 5 program.

Hugh Freeze-"Game Changer"
Hugh Freeze was a man use to having little and making the absolute most of it. From his humble beginnings as a high school coach at Briarcrest Christian High School, and his first head coaching gig at Lambuth University, Freeze showed an uncanny ability to take a brick and build a house. He had taken an offense that was middle to bottom in conference statistics and catapult them to the top the next season-that was merely in a coordinator position. When he became head coach December of 2010, he quickly showed another fantastic ability-his charisma and mindset that he instilled to everyone he met and spoke with. As the 2011 season started and continued throughout the season he inspired not only his players but a fan base that for so many years had grown accustomed to mediocrity and "coming up short" to glory and success that hadn't occurred in over two decades. 'Gamechanger' is a term uttered so many times in the sports world...if you were to look it up in the dictionary, Freeze's face should be right next to the definition. I really wished we could have seen if Freeze would have kept the momentum going had he stayed on.

FINAL COACHING GRADE: A-
Simply put, it's absolutely incredible how Freeze took an ASU squad that went 4-8 and completely changed them to winners the next. He dominated the Sunbelt, going undefeated in conference play. The only thing keeping his grade from being an 'A+' was how slow it took for the offense to start clicking, with lackluster and sputtering performances against Illinois and Virginia Tech in weeks one and three. However once it finally hit a groove, they were nearly unstoppable.

Most Impressive Victory: Middle Tennessee

 Though the blowout victory against Memphis was the best the offense played all season and the clutch win over Lafayette was very important, I had to go with the Middle Tennessee game for a couple of reasons: 1, with this victory it clinched the conference title for the Red Wolves. Two, ASU had NEVER beaten the Blue Raiders in Murfreesboro since the two began Sunbelt conference play and was only the fourth victory ASU had over MTSU-this was the last roadblock between Arkansas State and history and though the Raiders made it close to the end half, Freeze rallied his team in the lockerroom and the Red Wolves dominated the second half to secure the win and more importantly, the conference title. Finally, after the game Freeze had informed the team that they had been invited to play in only their 2nd FBS bowl game.

Gus Malzahn-"The Next Level"
When it was formally announced that Gus Malzahn was leaving Auburn to become Arkansas State's head coach in December of 2011, it was a signal that ASU was indeed heading for a whole new level never experienced in the entire history of the program. When Freeze was head coach, he was the lowest paid coach in the Sunbelt Conference and one of the LOWEST paid head coaches in all division I college football (his base salary was a little over $200,000). Malzahn as a coordinator at Auburn was making well over that amount. Words alone cannot describe the universal shock and awe many felt when Malzahn stepped out of the plan with his wife and stood at the podium in Jonesboro. The impossible had happened...Hell indeed froze over that day. Publicly, Malzahn quipped it was the right place at the right time for him and his career...the fact Auburn lost virtually everybody from their 2011 National Championship team and the rumored "uneasy" relationship he had with Chizik also played a factor as well.

Though Malzahn slipped up to Western Kentucky, and his squad were utterly destroyed by both Oregon and Nebraska, his short stint in Jonesboro will probably the most remembered and storied season for ASU.

FINAL COACHING GRADE: B+
As previously mentioned, he was out-coached in the Hilltopper lost and Oregon and Nebraska simply ran the Red Wolves over. Much like Freeze, his offense got off to a slow and sputtering start. However, once the offensive production finally found itself in the FIU victory...it never let up. While Freeze won the nail biters and got comfortable wins, Malzahn annihilated everybody else in the conference, averaging over two touchdown victories in conference play. The way he left and particular things he said will linger (rather bitterly) in many ASU fans collective memory for a long time, however his impact will be felt for years to come.

MOST IMPRESSIVE VICTORY: UL-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns

Essentially, both this game and the ULM game were very big, impressive wins for Malzahn. Though the Warhawk match up was the more discussed game in the Natural State (mostly with ULM upsetting Arkansas earlier in the season) the Ragin Cajun domination was simply put-perfect. All three phases of ASU football team shined that night-the offense executed flawlessly, the defense got pressure on Broadway all game long and forced turnovers while the special teams added onto the scoreboard with several field goals.

Bryan Harsin-"Big Shoes to Fill"
When Bryan Harsin came into the picture, it wasn't a secret nor an unknown fact that he in fact had high levels of expectations to meet thanks to his last two predecessors. And it wasn't going to be easy-long time quarterback Ryan Aplin was gone, along with many clutch players. He was going to have to break in a new quarterback and instill an offensive scheme that, though similar to Freeze and Malzhan's, was still quite different Harsin claimed. With so much coaching turnover and talent graduating, at some point the ride has to take a drop and this occurred in Harsin's one year tenure. Though he was very charismatic and had a clean, young look his teams played very inconsistently. The Auburn game made him look like a fool when his team wore the anthracite jersey's and were hit with pre game penalties which put his outmatched defense in terrible positions, and Malzahn in fantastic scoring positions. Their was just something...missing with Harsin; as the old saying goes, he seemed to lack the "it" factor (though to be fair, first head coaching gig). Ultimately, this particular departure I believe was ultimately the best for all involved parties-Harsin was going back home to Boise State...the Bronco program had to pay ASU 1.4 million for Harsin' buyout and I feel they landed with a solid hire in Anderson (which we'll discuss in a bit).

FINAL COACHING GRADE: B-
As I stated above, the 2013 Red Wolves were very inconsistent throughout the season, particularly early on. The lowest point was the confusing 23-7 lost to the Cajuns at Jonesboro-the offense was simply not clicking and the D couldn't stop Broadway or the Cajun rushing attack. However, Harsin made without a doubt one of the best moves of his entire tenure-he handed over all play calling duties to Dirk and next thing you know, the Red Wolves came to life winning four straight. Thanks to some outside help from the Warhawks and the South Al, Astate and Lafayette ended sharing the conference title-although outright titles are always preferred, championships are championships and even though it was the Godaddy bowl, Red Wolves were going bowling for the third straight season. Ultimately, though Harsin's time at ASU was technically a step back from the previous two seasons, the results can't be ignored.

MOST IMPRESSIVE VICTORY: ULM

No doubt about this one: this was the Red Wolves finest performance during the Harsin tenure. ASU was clicking on all sides of the ball-the defense especially began getting the edge on the ULM offense, rattling Kolton Browning into making multiple mistakes and Astate capitalized. The one debbie downer of this game would be only wondering where this team had been all season long.

Blake Anderson: ???
So here we are again...Arkansas State's fifth head coach in five years. Though I will admit I was initially disappointed in the hire (I had been really pulling that ASU could nab Rhett Lashlee at Auburn or Clemson OC Chad Morris) after some time had passed, watching him talk and reading up on his career I feel much, much better about this hire. In terms of resume and experience, he's certainly got quite the padded portfolio with over twenty years of coaching experience at over seven universities. His demeanor is more traditional, hard nosed though his offensive philosophy is certainly modern day minded. Though he's back to square one with the quarterback position, he's certainly in a better spot than Harsin in that he has a guy that's actually played within the system and not transferring in like Adam Kennedy. He still has JD Mckissic and Michael Gordon, which is a plus-though he'll have to patch up the O-Line and with the lost of Kyle Coleman, he'll need to keep his fingers crossed that Arkansas transfer AJ Turner can not only play this season but keep the grades up.

The schedule is certainly an interesting on-playing a rebounding Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville and going travelling back to Miami (except instead of FIU they get the 'U', Miami Hurricanes). A big time week four home matc hup with Mountain West Conference champions Utah State caps off the month of September. Conference play, having to go to Lafayette will be nasty and the Red Wolves will have to make the long trek to Moscow to take on the Vandals. However, the rest is a pretty big break for ASU and if Anderson can get the team clicking on cylinders fairly quickly, I feel pretty confident he can win 8-9 games.