"Now that the University of Utah almost certainly will be allowed to keep its nickname, the school needs to make "Utes" even more meaningful to everybody.

The school has so carefully disassociated itself from Native American stereotypes, nobody outside of Utah even knows that "Ute" is a tribal name.

So once their appeal is approved, officials need to make more effort to establish the connection to the real Utes. Amid all of the emotional reactions to the threatened nickname change, one response resonated with me. Somewhere out there was a fan who actually loves the Ute people, thanks to an association that evolved from cheering for Utah. "

Get the Story:
Kurt Kragthorpe: Utes need to reestablish their roots (The Salt Lake Tribune 8/25)

NCAA Announcement:
NCAA Executive Committee Issues Guidelines for Use of Native American Mascots at Championship Events (August 5, 2005)

Relevant Links:
University of Utah - http://www.utah.edu
Utah Utes - http://utahutes.ocsn.com
NCAA Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee - http://www1.ncaa.org/eprise/main/
membership/governance/assoc-wide/moic/index.html
National Coalition on Racism in Sports and Media - http://www.aimovement.org/ncrsm

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