It has been two and a half years since Chancellor Nancy Cantor left the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for Syracuse University, but many remember her legacy at Illinois by one issue: Illinois’ school mascot Chief Illiniwek.

That issue was put to rest Wednesday when the school’s controversial mascot performed for the final time at Wednesday’s men’s home basketball game versus the University of Michigan at Assembly Hall.

During her three years at Illinois, Cantor became involved in a dispute between the university and American Indian groups for the use of Chief Illiniwek as the school’s mascot. Cantor became a leading voice of opposition to the chief, and said she was glad to see an issue that had lasted for decades put to rest last week when the university announced its decision.

‘I was very glad for the university that this controversy can be put behind them,’ Cantor said. ‘It’s such a wonderful university and it’s very important that it can put behind it this controversy. It had become such a wedge between groups of people and such a symbol, if you will, of different perspectives that were able to come together at all.’

Cantor’s involvement with the mascot controversy came to a climax during an Illinois Board of Directors meeting on Nov. 13, 2004. The Daily Illini, the student newspaper of Illinois, reported Cantor was moved to tears after a resolution – that would have retired the mascot – failed to receive adequate support from the board. Within a year, Cantor left Illinois to come to Syracuse.

‘There is no question she brought a new perspective,’ said university spokesperson Tom Hardy, of Cantor. ‘She brought an outsider’s perspective.’

The issue was brought back into prominence last year when the NCAA added Illinois to a list of schools ineligible for hosting postseason events due to the continued use of the chief. This led the board of directors to abandon the mascot last week.

The university did win a smaller battle in a lengthy appeal process with the NCAA, Hardy said. The names ‘Illini’ and ‘Fighting Illini’ are permissible to the NCAA and will continue to be used.

By revoking its right to host postseason events, the NCAA put Illinois in jeopardy of losing money and notoriety. For the NCAA, it was an issue of ‘respect and sensibility,’ according to a statement released last week.

During the fall 2006 season, the Illinois Athletics Department suffered the consequences of the punishment handed down from the NCAA. For the first time in eight years, the men’s tennis team did not host first-round NCAA tournament matches, and the women’s soccer team lost a road game that would have been played at home had it not been for the sanctions.

‘Our athletic program was feeling the sting of the sanctions,’ Hardy said. ‘It was not a minor consideration.’

Though the NCAA served as the final straw, Cantor pointed out that this issue was decades in the making.

‘I think this is a long process,’ she said. ‘The NCAA was certainly the kind of most visible end push, if you will, to the process. But I think it was indeed a long process that had been going on well before I got there and continued obviously well after I left.’

SU has also been subject to an American Indian mascot controversy. From the 1950s until 1978, Syracuse used the Saltine Warrior as its mascot. The Saltine Warrior was a representation of a 16th century Onondaga chief, but was abandoned due to the protests by an American Indian student group.

‘I think one of the things that is very important is to remember that Syracuse is located in a region with enormous history of indigenous culture and movements,’ Cantor said.

At Illinois, the students are not letting go of their chief without a fight. At Wednesday night’s basketball game, students wore orange until Chief Illiniwek performed at halftime, after which about half the crowd changed into black shirts to mourn the loss of their mascot.

Paul Schmitt, a sophomore at Illinois, is the vice president of Students for Chief Illiniwek. His organization has staged numerous protests against the university’s decision to retire the mascot.

‘This is something that so many people loved and cherished for many years,’ he said. ‘People don’t do that type of devotion for something malicious.’

Schmitt acknowledged that chances of the ruling being overturned are slim despite a strong student opposition. At a rally on the university quad last week, the portrayer of Chief Illiniwek, who rarely speaks in public, said the fight is not over until the first football game next season.

‘Chief Illiniwek has been the University of Illinois to many people,’ Schmitt said. ‘It represents things that are good. It’s about honor, tradition, respect, virtue and dignity. It’s almost a piece of its own culture.’

Published on February 20, 2007 at 12:00 pm