Many believe that the University of Illinois’ mascot should change. Lately, a new choice has grown louder among those that want to make the switch.
Illinois’ campus has become swept up by the belted kingfisher. The Chicago Tribune reported Saturday about a groundswell movement for the bird to officially replace Chief Illiniwek.
John Keilman of the Chicago Tribune (via STL Today) wrote, “Here and there, more and more, the blue and orange bird known as the belted kingfisher is starting to appear outside its normal habitat of lakefronts and riverbanks. It has become widespread around the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where its visage has been captured in neighborhood murals and on students’ T-shirts and face masks.”
Keilman reported that student-led campaigns have been the driving force behind the push for the belted kingfisher for two years. He noted, though, that a resolution is far from soon.
He wrote, “Yet for all the increasing visibility, the kingfisher still appears far away from official recognition by the university, which continues to grapple with how to move on from the exiled Chief Illiniwek.”
The University of Illinois officially retired Chief Illiniwek back in the year 2007. The team still goes by the “Illinois Fighting Illini,” but an “I” is the team’s primary logo.
[STL Today; Illinois helmet photo from Jeff Hanisch/USA Today Sports]
About Chris Novak
Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022