Black bear chosen for Ole Miss mascot

AP image

OXFORD – The University of Mississippi’s new mascot is the Rebel Black Bear, replacing Colonel Reb who was removed from the sidelines because he was too reminiscent of the Old South.

The announcement came Thursday after a campuswide vote in February and months of polling.

The final three choices were a land shark, a bear and the personification of the school cheer “Hotty Toddy.” The bear received 62 percent of the vote in the final poll.

Ole Miss has struggled for years with how to retain its tradition while shedding symbols of the Old South.

In 1997, the school ended the waving of Confederate flags at sporting events. Last year, the band stopped playing a fight song to discourage the fan chant, “The South will rise again.”

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One Response to “Black bear chosen for Ole Miss mascot”

1. TomRay Says:
   October 14th, 2010 at 10:59 am

   I always thought that a JELLYFISH would have been more appropriate. Something that hasn’t got a backbone. The SOUTH has nothing to be ashamed of–any more than the NORTH.

   The fact that the students and alumni have stood idly by while a bunch of outsiders and historically ignorant nitwits remove all allusions to our proud southern heritage appalls me.