link to story (http://www.jsonline.com/sports/marq/may05/323576.asp)

If I wasn't laughing so hard, I'd be in shock. Who the hell came up with this?!?!?! The anticipation was to whether or not they would keep Golden Eagles or go back to Warriors.

I love their mascot:

http://www.jsonline.com/graphics/sports/mu/img/may05/goldmascot_125.jpg

That is a horrible nickname.

WTF? Warriors is insulting to native americans? The word is old Middle English, no? MAYBE it'd be insulting to guys wearing red and throwing axes who need food badly, but that's about it.

http://www.silvercreek.wclark.k12.in.us/StudentWork/StudentPages/MDaly/mr-t.gif

I think they were just renaming the team after myself, good choice.

It's as bad as the Syracuse Orange. *sigh*

Sounds like a WNBA or Arena Football name. At least Syracuse had the "Help, help, I'm being oppressed" reason to change theirs.

SI

Warriors.. come out and plaaaaaaaaay!

Awful

WTF? They sit in a room and go.. "Hmm.. what the fuck could we name ourselves so the other universities in Wisconsin will laugh at us? Ohhh.. I know.. How about Gold? Ya.. good idea. That collective laugh you heard across town was from the UW-Milwaukee campus...

I have to make it my mission to go to the Bradley Center ONCE this year dressed like Goldmember.. Probably my only chance at 5 minutes of fame on Sportscenter...

Shh-moke and a pancake?
Bong and a Blintz?

I love Gooooooooooolldd...

The decision was obviously made by Banya.

The decision was obviously made by Banya.

lol

"That's GOLD, kurtism! Pure GOLD!

It's as bad as the Syracuse Orange. *sigh*


Whom did "Orangemen" offend, anyway? Oompa Loompas?

"Wild said that surveys found that fans were unenthusiastic about the Golden Eagles nickname and found it boring, weak and too common."



However, had they said, "Golden Eagles or Gold?", I'm fairly certain they would have gotten a quite different reaction.

Warriors.. come out and plaaaaaaaaay!

http://warriorsmovie.co.uk/pictures/images/stills/still21.jpg

Ok, seriously... I was under the impression that 'Warriors' had some religious meaning, and that it was the ICON that was troubling in a pc way. So why not go back to 'Warriors' with a different icon??? Wouldn't that make EVERYBODY happy?

Whom did "Orangemen" offend, anyway? Oompa Loompas?
Gold.

At this rate, it may very well be that in order to remain inoffensive to everybody all schools will just be called by their colors. I'm sure somebody somewhere can come up with animal oppression arguments for using them as mascots.

I'm offended by the Syracuse Orange because when they changed their name I remember reading a quote from the 'Cuse AD or school president or someone that said something along the lines of, "It makes sense because we're the only university with orange as their primary color."

Uh, yeah, sure...

They're going through this right now at William and Mary..

The NCAA is trying to say that the mascot of "the Tribe" is offensive... again, goes back to roman days...

They're going through this right now at William and Mary..

The NCAA is trying to say that the mascot of "the Tribe" is offensive... again, goes back to roman days...

What's even worse is that the head of one of the local Indian tribes says he doesn't think "The Tribe" is a bad thing.

I'm offended by the Syracuse Orange because when they changed their name I remember reading a quote from the 'Cuse AD or school president or someone that said something along the lines of, "It makes sense because we're the only university with orange as their primary color."

Uh, yeah, sure...

Found the exact quote (http://www.dailyorange.com/news/2004/05/17/Sports/Syracuse.Changes.Nickname.Logo-681727.shtml)

"Orange is going to be our new brand. We are the only school in the country that has orange as its primary color. We are trying to emphasize that."

-Syracuse Director of Athletics Jake Crouthamel

:rolleyes:

There's an interesting story involving this situation with The University of North Carolina at Pembroke. The school was originally founded as an Indian school and has the nickname "Braves." The NCAA is trying to get the school to change its nickname and logo (an Indian) even though the extremely large Indian community in the town approves of the name and wants to keep it. The NCAA trying to be too PC for its own good.

Doesn't anyone learn? Just do what Florida State did - give them a piece of the licensing revenue. The Seminole Tribe is one of the biggest supporters of the name and mascot here - "Burning Spear" and all.

At this rate, it may very well be that in order to remain inoffensive to everybody all schools will just be called by their colors. I'm sure somebody somewhere can come up with animal oppression arguments for using them as mascots. We'll keep 'Hokies'...that was a made up name to begin with.

So why not go back to 'Warriors' with a different icon??? Wouldn't that make EVERYBODY happy?

I think when the Indian Tribes in Wisconsin negotiated the new gambling pact with the state, they got the rights to the word 'Warriors' along with the Crayola Crayon color Maize and my Mom's bank account...

Found the exact quote (http://www.dailyorange.com/news/2004/05/17/Sports/Syracuse.Changes.Nickname.Logo-681727.shtml)

"Orange is going to be our new brand. We are the only school in the country that has orange as its primary color. We are trying to emphasize that."

-Syracuse Director of Athletics Jake Crouthamel

:rolleyes:

That must have really pissed off Clemson.

What's even worse is that the head of one of the local Indian tribes says he doesn't think "The Tribe" is a bad thing.


That's right, forgot about that piece...

Part of this is also because (as someone mentioned with a different school) W&M also used to be an indian school.... in fact, we just changed from Indians to the Tribe in the early 80's so as to not offend anyone...

I think when the Indian Tribes in Wisconsin negotiated the new gambling pact with the state, they got the rights to the word 'Warriors' along with the Crayola Crayon color Maize and my Mom's bank account...

Sorry, I can't tell if that's entirely sarcastic or not. I don't know how Wisconsin could negotiate for Marquette, anyway.

Student reactions...


http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/sports/mu/img/may05/students504.jpg

Marquette "Mustard Yellow"

They should rename themselves the Gold Members.

They could steal Stryper's Yellow and Black Attack...

Student reactions...


http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/sports/mu/img/may05/students504.jpg

Dear God I hope they aren't representative of the entire student body.

Tennessee?

At this rate, it may very well be that in order to remain inoffensive to everybody all schools will just be called by their colors. I'm sure somebody somewhere can come up with animal oppression arguments for using them as mascots.

There was actually a few people on the Rutgers' Rivals message board who were advocating us going from the Scarlet Knights to just The Scarlet. You know...because that's cool.

Sorry, I can't tell if that's entirely sarcastic or not. I don't know how Wisconsin could negotiate for Marquette, anyway.

umm.. 100% joking.

Well, actually 66.667% joking.. They really did get my Mom's bank account..

Dear God I hope they aren't representative of the entire student body.

No, there are some females that go to Marquette.

I have to make it my mission to go to the Bradley Center ONCE this year dressed like Goldmember.. Probably my only chance at 5 minutes of fame on Sportscenter...
Genius!

SI

We'll keep 'Hokies'...that was a made up name to begin with.
Same with the Jayhawks, our mythical bird. :)

SI

They should call themselves the Marquette God. Then their mascot can be whatever they want it to be.

No, there are some females that go to Marquette.

Hey now, there's at least one girl in that pic.

At least I think that's a chick... :confused:

Whom did "Orangemen" offend, anyway? Oompa Loompas?
LOL

But on the serious side, I guess they didn't want to offend Irish protestants, since they are called Orangemen. Although, I thought it was a nod to them, I don't see why they would get offended.

If you go back to JS Online today, they have a huge list of reader suggestions for the new mascot:
hxxp://www.jsonline.com/news/gen/may05/gold-forum.asp

I was going to suggest the Gold'n Plump chicken, but I was too late. I talked to a couple of friends from the area, and not surprisingly, the public and media opinion of the new nickname is almost 100% negative. They are the laughingstock of college sports right now.

This would be a great mascot if he had to keep that expression at all times:
http://www.anniescostumes.com/21039.jpg

Or this could be good:
http://www.funfolly.com/g/mascots/c37700ud.jpg

They should become the Marquette Machismo. It would at least give this guy work:

http://www.deathroses8.50megs.com/images/razor_ramon.jpg

It's as bad as the Syracuse Orange. *sigh*

Sounds like a WNBA or Arena Football name. At least Syracuse had the "Help, help, I'm being oppressed" reason to change theirs.

SI

Actually it was Denver's USFL team. Wasn't it?

Gooold !

SI

Fixed that for ya :D

Whom did "Orangemen" offend, anyway? Oompa Loompas?
Actually Orangemen offended women. They felt like they wern't included.

UPDATE:

Apparently this was emailed to all Marquette students, faculty, etc.

Marquette Trustees announce new nickname selection process, reaffirm position not to reinstate Warriors nickname

Marquette’s Board of Trustees today unanimously reaffirmed its position not to reinstate the Warriors nickname and announced that it would establish a process for stakeholders to select the new Marquette athletics nickname. The Trustees made the decision after reviewing feedback received in the past week from students, alumni and fans expressing surprise and frustration that their voices were not adequately heard in the decision to change from Golden Eagles to Marquette Gold.

“We have spent the past week listening. We heard you,” said John Bergstrom, chairman of the Board of Trustees. “The decision to change the nickname to Marquette Gold generated a response that we did not expect from Marquette stakeholders. We regret that we disappointed them and we want to respond to those concerns. We’ve established a new process today so that your voices can be heard. It’s transparent, it’s inclusive and it’s easy.”

The Board unanimously reaffirmed its position not to reinstate the Warriors nickname. As stewards of the university’s mission, the Trustees believe Marquette must adhere to the highest possible standards of its Catholic, Jesuit mission, which include recognizing and appreciating the dignity of every member of our human family.

“While I recognize that some people are disappointed that we are not reinstating the Warriors nickname, we cannot teach one principle about respect for human dignity in our classrooms and then fail to act by that same principle when making decisions,” President Robert Wild, S.J., said. “The Warriors nickname will always be part of our proud athletics tradition, and we will honor that tradition. But we live in a different era than when the Warriors nickname was selected in 1954. The perspective of time has shown us that our actions, intended or not, can offend others. We must not knowingly act in a way that others will believe, based on their experience, to be an attack on their dignity as fellow human beings.”

The Board of Trustees announced a new process by which a new athletics nickname will be chosen and also announced the formation of the Marquette Nickname Advisory Committee made up of representative students, alumni, faculty and staff. The process will include:

1. Within the next two weeks, a list of as many as 10 names will be presented to the Marquette community. All the names presented will be selected from the hundreds of names suggested by the Marquette community during either the 1994 or 2004 nickname processes. While the final list has not been decided, the list will certainly include some of the obvious names given Marquette’s athletics history, including Blue and Gold, Golden Avalanche, Hilltoppers and Golden Eagles.

There will also be a write-in option, presented with the parameters that votes for Warriors will not be counted, and that all write-in’s must be consistent with both our Jesuit, Catholic mission and the Board resolution on Native American imagery.

2. All members of the Marquette community, including students, alumni, faculty and staff, will be asked to choose two nicknames from the list, or can offer a write-in option.

3. The two options receiving the most support from the first vote will be presented to the Marquette community for a second vote. The nickname with the most support in the second vote will then be presented to the president to be announced as Marquette’s new athletics nickname going into the Big East Conference.

Both votes will be binding, and will be conducted on the Web with provisions made for those who do not have Internet access. Members of the Marquette community will be notified via mail and e-mail in the coming weeks about steps for participating in the voting process. More information about the voting process will also be available at marquette.edu/nickname.

The Marquette Nickname Advisory Committee will oversee the voting process and will advise the university in the development of the look of the new nickname, following its selection after the second vote.

Marquette has preliminarily planned that the timing for the nickname process will be as follows:

Week of May 23: List of nickname options will be presented to the Marquette community for the first vote. The Marquette community (students, alumni, faculty and staff) will choose two names from the list, or offer a write-in.

Mid-June: Second vote will be conducted with the top-two vote getters.

By July 1: The winning nickname will be announced.

Following the choice of a new nickname, Marquette will further engage the Marquette community, through focus groups and other forums, in the design of a visual identity for the new nickname, with a new logo to be chosen by the start of the school year. Students will be asked to give input on design and name the mascot (the costumed character appearing at games) in the fall.

The Board agreed that any nickname selected must be consistent with the university’s mission and adhere to the resolution passed last September banning use of any Native American imagery or references in Marquette’s athletics nickname, logo or mascot. In addition, the new nickname must be selected by Marquette’s official entry into the Big East Conference on July 1. The Golden Eagles will remain Marquette’s athletics nickname until July 1.

Father Wild concluded, “We must remember that Marquette University is first and foremost an academic institution. We have great momentum resulting from the accomplishments of our students, faculty and alumni over the past several years. Just last week, we received the largest single donation in university history with a gift of $28 million that will transform our College of Communication. For the third consecutive year, we celebrate the fact that students are applying to Marquette in record numbers. Marquette has risen in national academic rankings. The campus has undergone a physical transformation, and Marquette has enjoyed the most successful fund-raising period in its history, raising more than $300 million during the current comprehensive campaign. These are the true measures of a great university.”

I read this whole thing and still can't figure out who "Warriors" can possibly offend. What are we trying not to offend The Ultimate Warrior? Seriously, who in the hell would call themselves a warrior, with a straight face mind you, and then get offended just because a freakin college of all things decides to call itself the Warriors. Just stupid, plain stupid.

I read this whole thing and still can't figure out who "Warriors" can possibly offend. What are we trying not to offend The Ultimate Warrior? Seriously, who in the hell would call themselves a warrior, with a straight face mind you, and then get offended just because a freakin college of all things decides to call itself the Warriors. Just stupid, plain stupid.

Kellen Winslow, Jr?

oh wait, he's a "soldier"

I keep picking up different facts about this, haven't been able to figure out the whole story. Somebody on the radio yesterday said that Marquette was the Warriors for only 4-5 years! Is that true?

I keep picking up different facts about this, haven't been able to figure out the whole story. Somebody on the radio yesterday said that Marquette was the Warriors for only 4-5 years! Is that true?

Noooo.. way off.

Marquette changed to the Warriors in 1954. Before that, they were the Hilltoppers (Their football team was the Golden Avalanche). They changed to the Golden Eagles in 94'.

They should just go back to Warriors. Marquette uses "We are Marquette" alot so, just create a Photo Mosaic of pictures from across time to create a face (Indian, WWI, WWII, Revolutionary, Civil War, Black, White, Female, etc) and use the phrase 'We are Marquette.. We are all Warriors" or something like that.. But, won't happen. In that case, do something really different.. just don't use a nickname.. just go with Marquette and have no mascot.

Marquette changed to the Warriors in 1954. Before that, they were the Hilltoppers (Their football team was the Golden Avalanche). They changed to the Golden Eagles in 94'.


Golden Avalanche?! Oh man. That is hysterical. That's my vote.

Noooo.. way off.

Marquette changed to the Warriors in 1954. Before that, they were the Hilltoppers (Their football team was the Golden Avalanche). They changed to the Golden Eagles in 94'.

They should just go back to Warriors. Marquette uses "We are Marquette" alot so, just create a Photo Mosaic of pictures from across time to create a face (Indian, WWI, WWII, Revolutionary, Civil War, Black, White, Female, etc) and use the phrase 'We are Marquette.. We are all Warriors" or something like that.. But, won't happen. In that case, do something really different.. just don't use a nickname.. just go with Marquette and have no mascot.

I agree with this; I really don't understand why they can't call themselves 'Warriors' (appeasing their boosters/alumni) and use a politically correct/neutral logo. That seems like the best possible solution. Is it possible that just the word 'warriors' would be offensive? :confused:

Maybe we're looking at this the wrong way. Maybe it's not that "Warriors" is offensive to Native Americans, but rather the university doesn't want to be associated with war and violence.

I suppose AC Marquette would be out of the question? :)

Maybe we're looking at this the wrong way. Maybe it's not that "Warriors" is offensive to Native Americans, but rather the university doesn't want to be associated with war and violence.

I suppose AC Marquette would be out of the question? :)


Ok, now I'm really confused because I thought originally 'Warriors' in the Marquette context had a religious meaning. Has their theology changed?

Ok, now I'm really confused because I thought originally 'Warriors' in the Marquette context had a religious meaning. Has their theology changed?

I have no idea. I don't know anything about Marquette's history. I didn't even realize that it was a Catholic school until reading this thread. I was just throwing this out there.

Pretty much all the things I've read have had various Native groups being antagonistic towards "Warriors" in any shape. Mind you, these are the groups who "represent" Native Americans, rather than the actual Native Americans themselves, who as a population haven't shown they cared one way or the other about it for most nicknames, not just Marquette's. Insofar as I don't have a dog in the fight, I'd like to see the Warriors return, but the mascot would be something like a Roman gladiator or something like that. IOW, a person who originated the word, rather than the word later being used to label a person (which is how it was bestowed on Native American fighters, if you will). "Lakers" is another possibility considering their location and it would be far more correct than the team in LA. Beyond that...we're running out of things as it's Milwaukee and Wisconsin we're talking about. Somebody'll bitch about it no matter what anyway. May as well go with tradition.

Maybe we're looking at this the wrong way. Maybe it's not that "Warriors" is offensive to Native Americans, but rather the university doesn't want to be associated with war and violence.


Nope, has to deal with the Indian Imagery that 'Warriors' conveys. :rolleyes:

Plus, I've heard several names talked about on the local radio here - War Eagles, Explorers and Crusaders... I mean.. damn.. if you don't like Warriors but you are leaning towards Crusaders?

Maybe they should call themselves the War Eye Oars? :D

'Liberators' would be a nice ironic choice.

dola...

To answer St. Cronin's question, I did a little checking around the internet. As best as I can figure it, the original Warriors name may have been to honor Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits. However, it quickly turned into the familiar Native American kitsch Will E. Wampum.

It doesn't appear that my theory has any validity, and the entire debate is indeed about the Native American issue. I think it's not so much the actual name "Warriors" as it is all of the history associated with that name - logos, mascots, etc - that is considered offensive.

I agree with those who think the most obvious approach is to keep the Warriors name and use Roman legion or some such as the mascot/logo, but I guess you can't just pretend the ugly associations of the name would disappear.

And to those who say that no actual Native Americans object to the "Warriors," apparently there was a Native American student at Marquette in the 80s who wore traditional clothing, and was frequently mocked and taunted at basketball games. I forget the name (I think it came up earlier in the thread), but it seems that his complaints were largely the impetus for the name change in the first place.

Marquette Fat Bellied White Guys Who Drink Beer?

It's got local flavor and isn't offensive to any group who can complain about being offended.

SI

'Liberators' would be a nice ironic choice.
"Now unveiling 'The Marquette Conquistadors'. You didn't like Warriors so we decided to switch sides"

SI

dola...

you only missed that dola by just over 3 hours. so close!

i still vote for Golden Avalanche.

Marquette Fat Bellied White Guys Who Drink Beer?

It's got local flavor and isn't offensive to any group who can complain about being offended.

SI
You have to include something about brats and bowling as well.