New athletic director, new football coach — time for a mascot?
Nine years after Chief Illiniwek was officially retired, an Illinois Student Senate committee is studying whether it's time for the University of Illinois to move on.
The two co-chairs of the Ad Hoc Committee on a Mascot, juniors Alex Villanueva and Mark Schaer, stress that the effort is not to actually choose one — or rehash the Chief debate. It's strictly to investigate whether students, faculty, staff, alumni and members of the community feel the campus is ready for one.
"We recognize that Chief Illiniwek was the symbol and he has been retired," Schaer said.