Hey! What’s the beef with UNLV’s mascot?

By Ian Whitaker

Monday, Dec. 21, 2015 | 2 a.m.

UNLV’s nickname and mascot are no strangers to controversy.

For years, the school’s Rebels moniker and Hey Reb! mascot have come under periodic fire from people who argue they are symbols of the southern Confederacy and are racist.

This year, the debate got new legs. A student protest in November sparked debate about the school’s brand and whether it should be thrown out.

The issue generated national headlines but left many wondering, “Why now?” If the concerns aren’t new, why was this year different?

The answer is a complex intersection of state history, national events and the university’s modern image as an ethnically diverse campus.

Who were the students who protested the Rebels name and Hey Reb!?

Most of the protesters were students in UNLV’s interdisciplinary program, which includes fields such as gender and sexuality studies, and Afro-American studies. Years ago, the programs were hit hard by the recession and were scaled back for budgetary purposes due to their relatively low enrollment. The cutbacks, coupled with recent concerns about racism at the University of Missouri, sparked the protest.

Why do people want to get rid of the symbols?

People object to the Rebels nickname and Hey Reb! because they think they represent the racist Confederacy. The Confederate states were seen as rebels against the north during the Civil War, and they wore scarlet and gray uniforms, the same colors used by UNLV. Critics also argue Hey Reb! resembles a Confederate general.

Why Rebels?

Students adopted the nickname in the mid-1950s when UNLV was Nevada Southern, a satellite branch of the University of Nevada, Reno. At the time, the Legislature in Carson City was tipped in favor of Northern Nevada and rural counties, and legislators regularly refused to funnel resources to expand the fledgling college in Southern Nevada. That led to a growing resentment among students and staff at Nevada Southern that played out in angry newspaper editorials directed at higher education officials and state politicians, leading students to think of themselves as rebels against the system.

Who was Beauregard?

Beauregard was UNLV’s unofficial mascot from 1968 to 1973. He was a cartoon wolf decked out in the grey Confederate Army uniform. Use of his image was discontinued, primarily because of complaints by black student-athletes. The only evidence of the mascot left on campus is an image of his face on the floor of Barrick Museum, which originally was a gymnasium used for graduation ceremonies when Beauregard was in use.

Who is Hey Reb!?

After UNLV got rid of Beauregard, there was a period of about 10 years during which the school had no mascot. UNLV briefly flirted with a mascot resembling an American minuteman, but that didn’t stick. In the early ’80s, students grew restless about not having a mascot, so the university formed a committee to come up with a new one. The winning design was submitted by Mike Miller, a graphic artist at a local design firm that was doing business with the university. Miller’s inspiration for Hey Reb! was the mountain men and explorers of the early American West, whose travels left an indelible mark in many states, including Nevada.

Early depictions of Hey Reb! show the mascot sporting a frilly, western-style jacket and a cowboy hat with a feather. Miller himself was fond of the landscape of the American West and included it in much of his own work. But while Hey Reb!’s original design was a celebration of western pioneers, his look today veers away from that. The mascot now dresses in a UNLV sports jersey, and the only recognizable symbols from the original design are his head, mustache and cowboy hat. The changes have led many to compare Hey Reb! with the University of Mississippi’s former mascot Colonel Reb, whose face looks strikingly similar.

Where do students stand now?

We don’t really know. There has been no serious attempt to survey the student body. An independent diversity group at UNLV created an online poll on the subject for students, but it was closed a few days later after being flooded with responses. It’s doubtful the results will be released. Most of the people familiar with the controversy believe a majority of students support the mascot and the nickname. A Facebook page created to defend Hey Reb! garnered more than 3,000 followers, and a number of alumni voiced their support for the mascot. UNLV is a commuter campus, but the school’s Rebel image and mascot are among the few things that seem to unite students.

What about the Rebel Yell?

UNLV’s student newspaper was founded April 20, 1955. Its name is a reference to a war cry used by Confederate soldiers during the Civil War. The name was adopted by the newspaper when UNLV’s student body began to embrace Confederate imagery to underline the state’s north-south imbalance. The newspaper also featured a Confederate battle flag on its masthead, as well as the face of Beauregard. Both symbols were removed, and the newspaper began experimenting with other names starting in 1970. At various times, the newspaper was known as the Yellin’ Rebel or simply the Yell. In 1992, its name was changed back to the Rebel Yell; the reason is unclear.

Talks about changing the name again are underway with the newspaper’s student staff and professional advisory board.

Has this happened at other colleges?

Yes, many times. Colleges and universities across the nation have rebranded team names and mascots after complaints about racism.

• St. John’s. The New York school adopted the name Redmen for its sports teams in the 1920s, based on the color of their uniforms. But over the years, the name took on racial overtones, to the point that the mascot became a Native American character. After complaints from Native American groups, the school adopted the name Red Storm in 1994. The mascot now is a bird.

• Ole Miss. No school embraced its Confederate roots as tightly as the University of Mississippi. Fans waved Confederate flags at sporting events well into the 1990s, when the university passed a resolution asking them to stop, then took steps to discourage students from smuggling flags into games. Until 2010, the Ole Miss mascot was Colonel Reb, a depiction of a Southern plantation owner. The mascot was replaced by a bear in 2010, although the teams’ name remains the Rebels.

• Stanford. The California university’s mascot was a Native American from 1930 to 1972, when complaints over racism prompted the school to drop it.

• Marquette. Once the Warriors, the university adopted the name Golden Eagles in 1994. “We live in a different era than when the Warriors nickname was selected in 1954,” the school’s president said.