Illinitalk

You know how we here at Illinitalk feel about the Chief. I think we have made it abundantly clear so I am not going to get into it again. That being said, below are three links to stories about the actions taken by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees today. Kind of funny that Trustees contains the word trust.

I would be remiss if I did not take a moment to recognize the work of Trustee David Dorris. Thank you for taking a stand for what you believe in and for your efforts to get a formal vote on this issue--it is appreciated.

Daily Herald

Chicago Sun-Times

Chicago Tribune

Labels: Board of Trustees, Chief, Chief Illiniwek, David Dorris

Mark Tupper raises the curtain today on what went on behind the scenes for Illinois coach Bruce Weber before Selection Sunday. Lots of good stuff in his blog post.

Also, interesting news out of Champaign today: The U of I Board of Trustees is going to take a number of "Chief votes" tomorrow. Here is the story that's posted on WCIA's website:

The U of I Board of Trustees will take a vote tomorrow on two resolutions concerning Chief Illiniwek. The first one deals with the decision made on February 16, 2007, to end performances of the Chief. The board will also take a vote on getting rid of Native American imagery as the symbol of the U of I and its intercollegiate athletics. This also includes regalia, logo, and the names "Chief Illiniwek" and "Chief." The board will vote on continuing the names "Illini" and "Fighting Illini." The second resolution asks the board to direct its legal counsel to join with Dan Maloney and Logan Prince in their lawsuit against the NCAA. We will bring you more on this story coming up tonight on WCIA-3 News at 5 and 6.

So here is my question: Is the vote on using "Illini" and "Fighting Illini" lumped in with the vote on getting rid of the imagery? Inquiring minds would like to know.

Labels: Chief Illiniwek, NCAA Tournament

More from Dave Newbart of the Chicago Sun-Times today on the continuing controversy over the way the University of Illinois handled (or failed to handle some would say) the Chief Illiniwek decision. Be sure to read the article in its entirety because it is outstanding but here are a few of the excellent questions raised in the article:

Because there was virtually no public debate, neither critics nor supporters of the chief really know what happened. Was there any disagreement? Was the decision unanimous? Was this solely a decision by the board of trustees or was the university administration involved?

In 1990, seven members of the board were willing to take a public stance on the issue. They passed a resolution to n the chief. That resolution was repeatedly cited as school policy until this month's decision.

If there was a "consensus," how could it overrule a formal resolution? Although the university counsel, Thomas Bearrows, did not return a call, other legal experts didn't think it could.
"Nothing I have seen would indicate that," said Ann Lousin, a professor at John Marshall Law School and former chairwoman of the Illinois Civil Service Commission. Dawn Clark Netsch, a Northwestern law professor and a former state lawmaker and comptroller, agrees that the earlier resolution "set a precedent" for future board action.

Where did any deliberations take place? Presumably in closed session, which the board believes is OK because it faced lawsuits against the chief. Beyond that, officials emphasize that Eppley -- a law partner of former Speaker of the Illinois House Lee Daniels -- was careful not to violate the letter of the state's Open Meetings Act -- by conferring with trustees privately, but individually.

But should one of the state's most powerful boards make its most highly anticipated decision in years completely outside the bright lights of the board room? "It would certainly seem to be an end run around the Open Meetings Act," Lousin said.

Perhaps more disturbing, said Netsch: What stops the board from creating future policy this way? "That's a little scary," said Netsch. "If they can do that by having the president just call up people and make decisions, they can do that on other issues."

That should be of concern no matter which side of the chief debate you're on.

Labels: Chief, Chief Illiniwek

IlliniPundit has more interesting news here.

Labels: Chief Illiniwek

Last night I left a business entertainment function early to find a spot to watch The Last Dance. I was accompanied by coworkers from around the Midwest. We went to a quiet sports bar here in Big XII country. And I watched a painful first half of basketball.

Then ESPNU skipped most of their standard halftime show to let us see it. The Last Dance. As the Chief stood at the entrance of the floor, you could see grief on the normally stoic face. I choked up. As he ran out onto the floor, I sang the 3-in-1 to myself, mesmorized by the familiar, passionate dance of Chief Illiniwek. I saluted the Chief with the crowd, even while trying to explain what this meant to my coworkers. And tears came to my eyes. Then, as he was leaving the floor, the Chief did something I had never seen before -- he turned around and returned to the center of Assembly Hall for a final salute. And I cried.

Those around me were generally sympathetic and understanding of the significance of the event. I was relieved to see a stronger second half performance by the team -- even though Rich shot way to deep for my taste a few times, I thank Rich, Warren and Marcus for playing hard and helping us pull away to win on their Senior Day and, most significantly, The Last Dance. This was a game that would have been crushing to lose, along with our symbol.

Grieving is a part of life, and I have given myself permission to mourn the end of this era at the University of Illinois. I love my alma mater, but I hurt today. As I sit at the airport and watch the talking heads on ESPN saying it was time for this tradition to go, I get angry. As I write this, I find myself tearing up again.

Eventually I will move on to acceptance, but I won't forget. I won't forget the excitement of watching the Chief for the first time with my family at an Illini football game in junior high. I won't forget sharing the tradition with my baby sister, who was not quite 2 at her first Illini football game. I won't forget the pride I felt knowing some of the founders of Save the Chief, or the excitement of visiting a former Chief's home. And I won't forget that the Chief is part of my pride in being a member of the Illini Nation.

May Chief Illini live on in the heart of the Illini Nation, if not on the fields and courts of the University of Illinois.

Labels: Chief Illiniwek

My wife (Oskee Mom-Mom) celebrated her 30th birthday last night, which meant I took her and my daughter out for dinner, we sang Happy Birthday, she blew out candles, we ate cake, opened presents, and did everything else that goes into celebrating a birthday. Overall, it was a fun evening, but I couldn't help but feel a sense of sadness at the end of it.

Thanks to ESPN, we couldn't watch the Illinois-Michigan game last night. They decided to broadcast it on ESPNU and, for some reason ($$$), were not willing to open it up to any other stations for broadcast in Champaign or the Chicago area. Thus, we listened to the game on the radio in the car and then at home.

We were home in time for halftime and I want to thank WIND-560 in Chicago for broadcasting the entire final dance of the Chief. My wife and I are both Illinois alums and so we stood as the band played the 3 in 1 and the Chief performed. We did the motions as we remembered them from our time in Champaign-Urbana. My daughter, the Illinette, tried to do the motions too and then swayed with us as we sang Hail to the Orange.

What saddened me immensely is that as we listened to the crowd roar for the Chief, I realized that my daughter will never have the chance to see the Chief perform in person. While I don't know if she will one day choose to become an Illini (although a dad can hope), I do know that I had plans to take her to football and basketball games once she was older (She did make it to part of a Homecoming game as an infant but won't remember that). I had looked forward to teaching her about Illinois traditions and the Chief and having a chance to share the halftime performance with her. That won't happen now. Yes, we will probably still go to the games but it won't be the same.

The Chief danced his last dance last night. His opponents will celebrate. His supporters will mourn. The arguments from both sides have been made over and over again and I have no intention of rehashing them here.

Let me close by saying the following. Whether as a student, as an alumn, or as a supporter of the University of Illinois, I have always been proud to call myself an Illini. To me Chief Illiniwek was not a mascot. He was a symbol. He was not a symbol of bigotry, hate, abusiveness, or hostility as some would argue.

He was a symbol who stood for bravery, courage and strength. A symbol who was respected, honored, and revered. If you don't believe that, then you have never been to an Illinois game and seen how he was treated by the crowd. It was demonstrated again last night, not only during his peformance, but also when he walked off the court.

Instead of going on down the tunnel and leaving as he always does, he instead turned around and came back to center court where he proceeded to face all corners of the arena one last time before departing for the final time. The roar of the arena was deafening and the thousands of flash bulbs going off from the cameras were blinding. Those in attendance were showing their thanks and appreciation to the Chief for what he has, does, and will always stand for whether it be in-person or now in spirit.

My wife and I wish we could have been there to see him one final time. I wish my daughter would have had the chance to see him. Last night amidst a big birthday celebration, the fun was tempered by sadness. Thank you for the memories Chief Illiniwek and may your spirit live on in each of us.

Labels: Chief, Chief Illiniwek, Last Dance, Symbol

Last night was Chief Illiniwek's last dance. If you haven't already, be sure to check out the video the university put together here. (I'm surprised with all the controversy that the university had the guts to use its resources to make such a video. I'm sure the anti-Chief crowd will be screaming about that soon.)

And speaking of the crowd that is intolerable of opinions other than their own, check out this press release from S.T.O.P. (Students Transforming Oppression and Privilege). If you aren't familiar with this group, you will be soon because they have the momentum and, as this space predicted earlier this week, are going after all things Chief and Illini (in order to stay relevant they have to have a cause).

Take note of this line in the press release: Neither should the trademark be transferred to any other public or private entity that considers the mascot an "honorable tradition."

You know why they don't want that? Because they are scared to death that some wealthy alum who loves the Chief (and there are many) will buy the trademark and they won't be able to do a thing to control it.

Perhaps S.T.O.P. would sue this wealthy alum. However, if the alum is wealthy enough to buy the trademark, he/she is probably wealthy enough to pay a couple of high-priced attorneys. And that means S.T.O.P. either goes broke with legal fees (unless they've got a big donor behind them) or they have to give up.

Please, someone buy the trademark.

And by the way, since when does a student group basically dictate to the university how it operates? I'm all for the students having a say but the demands in this press release are over the top. The University of Illinois needs to put its foot down soon or the inmates will be running the asylum if they aren't already.

Incidentally, here is S.T.O.P.'s website.

Finally, I forgot to mention earlier this week that IlliniPundit had a great take on this whole controversy earlier this week. I highly encourage you to check it out.

Labels: Chief Illiniwek

John Supinie, who copied his blog name from our's, has a column up about how hard Ron Guenther is working given all the balls he has in the air right now i.e. allegations of football recruiting violations (wish he would come forward and finger the culprit of that NY Times story), the Jamar situation and the Chief situation.

For this morning, I want to focus on this section of his story:

On Friday, Guenther and the Illini watched as the school announced Chief Illiniwek — an 81-year-old tradition — would be retired following Wednesday’s game against Michigan. The school still can use Fighting Illini and Illini as nicknames, but there’s still the lingering issue of the Chief Illiniwek logo that’s sold on official school merchandise.

Eventually, the logo will also likely be retired, but first the school must handle the legal issue of the copyright. If the copyright isn’t used for a long period of time, the school could lose it and the Chief logo could fall into someone else’s possession.

That silly copyright. I tell ya. Gettin' in the way of everything.

If anyone out there is an expert in copyright law, we want to hear from you. Is there a way the university could "close" the copyright so it can never be used again? Is there any way an alum (a wealthy one if necessary) could buy the copyright and preserve the Chief logo?

In the end I don't think opponents of the Chief are going to be satisfied that the Chief is gone. I hope I'm wrong but I believe they will look to channel their energies in going after the logo, then the name "Fighting Illini."

Labels: Chief Illiniwek

Another hat tip to Andy Gray at SI.com's "On Campus" for pointing out this interview they did with U of I student Dan Maloney who portrays Chief Illiniwek.

Labels: Chief Illiniwek

ESPN has "Feast Week." Illinitalk has "Chief Week."

In honor Chief Illiniwek's last dance tomorrow, please send us your stories, photos etc. of your memories of the Chief and/or how you are mourning the passing of this legendary tradition. If yours is good, we'll post it on this site.

Labels: Chief Illiniwek

Chief Illiniwek will no longer perform.

Additional background information on this development and answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ's).

All of our regular readers know where Illinitalk stands on this issue. This portion of a statement from Athletic Director Ron Guenther sums up the reality of the situation:

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

We too are disappointed. But the reality is, we knew this was likely coming once the NCAA created their new policy mascot/symbol policy back in 2005. The sanctions imposed by the NCAA on schools that violated their policy left the University with little other choice once the appeals process was exhausted. Score one for the NCAA bureaucrats as they have dealt a blow to institutional autonomy.

One question from the FAQ's stands out to us as one that needs to be answered more definitively:

Q: What will happen with the University’s trademark rights to the name Chief Illiniwek, the portrayal of the Chief and the Chief Illiniwek logo?
A: The University is reviewing trademark laws. No final decision has been made.

It is our hope that the University of Illinois will decide to turn over the trademark rights to the group of former Chief's or to another suitable entity who will honor the tradition of Chief Illiniwek.

Finally, we would appeal to all of you out there, regardless of whether you support the Chief decision or not, to continue to support the University of Illinois and the Fighting Illini Athletics.

Have a good weekend and good luck to the Illini at Northwestern on Sunday! Go Orange and Blue!

Labels: Chief, Chief Illiniwek, NCAA, Ron Guenther, Symbol, Trademark