"William and Mary is in the process of assembling a report to the NCAA about its nickname - Tribe - and why it should not be judged "hostile and abusive" to Native-Americans.

Thirty-two of the 33 NCAA member schools with Native-American nicknames and mascots recently learned if they were acceptable. W&M received an extension because it was between administrations.

Any school that produced four U.S. presidents and that was judged "hottest small state school" by Newsweek needs no outside help to argue its case, but part of its report will go something like this:

"Tribe" is about as innocuous a reference to Native-Americans as it gets. The closest thing to a mascot the school has is a green, fuzzy creature called Colonel Ebirt ("Tribe" spelled backwards), who obviously was named on a day when all the clever kids slept late."

Get the Story:
Dave Fairbank: Tribe debate sizzles on campus (The Hampton Roads Daily Press 8/23)

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

Relevant Links:
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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