Utah appeals to NCAA on Utes nickname

[DJRamFan]

Sep. 1, 2005
CBS SportsLine.com wire reports




SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah sought permission from the NCAA to keep using its Utes nickname and requested a decision before Friday's nationally televised football game against Arizona.

Advertisement


The university sent a seven-page appeal to the governing body Wednesday, asking that it be removed from a list of 18 schools with American Indian nicknames, mascots or images.

"The university is anxious to have this matter resolved," university president Michael K. Young wrote.

The NCAA said there would be no decision by Friday and declined to say when a ruling might be expected.

The school's mascot dresses as a red-tailed hawk and has nothing to do with the state's Indian heritage. Other than the name, the only Indian reference the school uses is two feathers on the "U" emblem.

On Aug. 4, the NCAA said it would ban American Indian images and nicknames by school representatives at postseason tournaments starting in February. Mascots will not be allowed to perform at tournament games, and band members and cheerleaders will be barred from using Indian images on their uniforms beginning in 2008.

The decision also prohibits schools with American Indian mascots from hosting future NCAA postseason events. Schools that have already been awarded postseason tournaments would have to cover any Indian depictions in their sports venues.

The appeal includes two letters in support of the university, one from Maxine Natchees, chairwoman of the Uintah and Ouray Tribal Business Committee, and one from Craig Thompson, commissioner of the Mountain West Conference.

The NCAA has said approval from American Indian tribes would be a primary factor in deciding appeals from schools that want to use such nicknames and mascots in postseason play. The NCAA granted Florida State's appeal to keep its Seminoles nickname.

AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service

Copyright 2004-2005, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved