Senior columnist Maggie Knutte and columnist Grayson Hodson share opposing perspectives on replacing the mascot for the Illini. Knutte argues in favor of a replacement with the belted kingfisher, ...

One week ago Friday, stacks of T-shirts bearing a new Chief Illiniwek logo appeared for the first time on the shelves of a sports apparel store at the University of Illinois.

The University of Illinois will retire its 81-year-old American Indian mascot, Chief Illiniwek, following the last men's home basketball game of the season on Wednesday. The NCAA in 2005 deemed ...

This new mascot will revitalize the spirit and enthusiasm of University of Illinois students and will maintain a precious Illini tradition by appropriating another group’s culture, with the ...

University of Illinois mascot Chief Illiniwek performs for the last time during an Illinois basketball game in Champaign Feb. 21, 2007. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman, File) Unfortunately, university ...

This exercise of identifying an acceptable mascot is a full generation away from having a fighting chance. Too many of the Chief loyalists are still alive, and most of them are still angry.

What is Illinois' mascot? The Illini used to have a mascot named Chief Illiniwek from 1926 through its retirement in 2007. The mascot was portayed by a member of the student body.

The University of Illinois will begin the search for a new mascot nine years after it retired Chief Illiniwek under pressure from the NCAA.

A University committee is working to identify new traditions that don’t rely on depictions of Native Americans, and supporters of the kingfisher mascot are hoping that their pick will be included in ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — As this college town prepared for the University of Illinois football season’s opener Saturday, the giddy chatter about the team’s new coach and the hottest tailgate ...

Big 10: Alumni recommendations for an Illini mascot, Part 2 To be clear, and this is coming straight from the chancellor: Changing the name of the Fighting Illini is not up for discussion.

The school did have a de facto mascot from 1926 until 2007 in Chief Illiniwek, a Native American symbol representing the Illinois Confederation of tribes, also known as the Illini.