Ole Miss unveils mascot finalists

By By Will Bardwell / staff writer
Oct. 8, 2003
It's fourth and long for Colonel Rebel and Ole Miss appears ready to punt him away.
University of Mississippi officials released two proposed mascots Tuesday to replace the embattled Colonel Reb. Select voters will have a chance starting today to vote on their choice for the new mascot.
The two finalists are both cartoon characters.
Although Boone was in a meeting Tuesday and did not return phone calls, he did respond to an e-mail. Boone said the two designs were chosen Monday by the university's Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics.
Boone also said in the e-mail that the winner would be announced "probably next week" and the new mascot would make its first appearance "probably next year."
Lengthy debate
The move follows more than three months of debate on the future of Colonel Reb. In June, Boone announced that the longtime Ole Miss mascot would be phased out and a new mascot would take its place.
The athletics department commissioned a contest for replacements, but it was placed on hold late last month after the committee announced none of the entrants were satisfactory.
Earlier Tuesday, the Ole Miss chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People held a rally supporting the administration's efforts to create a new mascot.
C.J. Rhodes, the chapter's vice president, said roughly 100 people attended the rally.
Rhodes said the group wants a more "racially inclusive" mascot, and that Colonel Reb draws too strong an allusion to the South's Confederate past.
Proposed designs
Both the Rebel Bruiser and Rowdy Rebel characters are white.
Rowdy Rebel resembles "Mr. Clean" and would be a new look for Ole Miss. The Rebel Bruiser design will look familiar to many Ole Miss fans he looks like a pumped-up version of Colonel Rebel.
Mike Lester, who has drawn caricatures of college mascots at his studio in Rome, Ga., currently sells drawings of a muscular Colonel Reb character strangling a bulldog.
Lester's conception of Colonel Reb is strikingly similar to Rebel Bruiser. The Rebel Bruiser character has a white goatee, white hair, and a red wide-brimmed hat characteristics shared with Colonel Reb.
Brian Ferguson, president of the Colonel Reb Foundation, said he prefers Rebel Bruiser even though he still opposes a change.
Ferguson said he will not vote in this week's poll, and that a change to Rebel Bruiser would be no different than keeping Colonel Reb.
No matter the results of the poll, it will not necessarily be the determining factor. If there is a tight vote, Boone may send the mascot decision to the school's student-athletes.
REPLACING COLONEL REB
Here is a look at the vote to choose a new Ole Miss mascot.
The vote: Ole Miss students, faculty, staff, dues-paying alumni, Loyalty Foundation members and season ticket holders can vote.
The place: Online voting was expected to begin at 9 a.m. today and last until midnight Sunday at www.olemiss.edu/athletics/poll.html.