Mascot IssueFriday, December 02, 2005Arkansas St. Weighing Options on Nickname By NOAH TRISTER .c The Associated Press LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Arkansas State athletic director Dean Lee said the school isn't sure whether it will appeal the NCAA's ban of the nickname Indians at postseason events. ``We are being encouraged to file an appeal,'' Lee said. ``But that's still yet to be determined if that's the process that we're going to go.'' The NCAA announced in August that it would ban the use of American Indian imagery and nicknames at postseason tournaments. That prohibition was extended the following month to include football bowl games - beginning next year. Several schools have appealed. Indiana University of Pennsylvania's appeal on behalf of the name Indians was turned down earlier this month. Other teams, like the Florida State Seminoles, have won the right to retain their nicknames. Lee said Arkansas State has been encouraged to follow suit by ``fans, alumni, donors and constituents.'' But the school is proceeding slowly. ``We've been somewhat deliberate in our movement with this, because we have kind of used - I don't want to say a committee approach - but we've used a kind of a community approach where we've gotten involvement from a lot of different people in groups associated with the university,'' Lee said. Arkansas State recently qualified for the New Orleans Bowl, its first postseason appearance in football since returning to Division I-A before the 1992 season. But the nickname ban doesn't start until February, so it won't affect the Indians in the Dec. 20 game at Lafayette, La. The NCAA said in August that approval from American Indian tribes would be a primary factor in deciding appeals. 11/29/05 17:48 EST posted by: Webmaster@ 8:37 AM
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