URBANA — A group of students at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign hope the school’s new chancellor, Charles Isbell, will sign off on a new mascot.
The King’s Guard is a student organization pushing to make U of I’s mascot the belted kingfisher, a female bird with blue and orange feathers.
The school has not had a mascot for about 18 years since retiring Chief Illiniwek, its fictional Native American chieftain, in 2007.
U of I retired the mascot under criticism and a rule from the NCAA indicating it was hostile to Indigenous communities.
Some students, like King’s Guard Advocacy Director Vijay Shah, hope the kingfisher could get the role with Isbell now leading the campus.
Shah said he appreciates how Isbell has said he wants to be “a good ancestor” to future scholars.
“We really agree and believe that adopting the belted kingfisher is one of the strongest ways as a campus community that we can do that, not only for indigenous communities, but for the students, for the alumni,” he said.
The kingfisher has seen support from various groups on campus. The University Senate voted to support the bird in 2020, and students supported the proposal in two student government votes.
The King’s Guard currently has a mascot suit that appears at games and other events.
Klaudia Babel, social media director with the group, said people have been enthusiastic about the bird, adding it gives them something more to cheer for than just the block I.
“That’s something that’s been missing from the school for over two decades now,” she said. “People love to see something that could unify students, that isn’t a symbol that is controversial, that is hateful in any way.”
Some alumni have held on to the U of I’s former mascot and launched petitions for it to be reinstated.
When asked whether they think the university has not adopted a new mascot because of alumni who are attached to the Chief, Shah said the King’s Guard has never heard administrators confirm that idea. He added that the organization considers it a rumor or misconception.
Shah noted the initiative has also received support from alumni as well as state elected officials and several Indigenous groups.
U of I’s previous chancellor, Robert Jones, created a plan to expand outreach to Indigenous communities.
U of I spokesperson Patrick Wade said in a statement Chancellor Isbell has been having discussions with community members on a variety of issues.
“Any symbol or mascot the university may adopt in the future must reflect our collective values and bring the entire Illinois family together in celebrating our student-athletes, our mission, and the spirit of our university. At this time, we are not implementing any of the mascot ideas that have been suggested to date,” he wrote.
Shah said the organization has no plans to stop advocating for the kingfisher.
“We are part of the community,” Shah said. “We’re here to stay, and we belong to the campus now … regardless of how the campus moves on this, this is something that the students have really come to accept and to see as their own.”