NCAA poses restrictions on American Indian nicknames, images

CMU is looking for clarification after the NCAA ruled
that CMU, along with 17 other institutions with
American Indian nicknames, were “hostile or abusive”
last Friday.

An NCAA committee said any nicknames or mascots deemed
“hostile or abusive” will not be allowed on uniforms
or any other clothing for NCAA Tournament play
starting Feb. 1.

Nor will any of the 18 schools be allowed to host an
NCAA Tournament event.

“We want to know how they made the determination to
why they found us to be put under this category,” said
Steve Smith, director of broadcast media relations.

Smith said CMU has made several strides to educate
students about the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, and
the university eliminated any derogatory mascots or
logos in the early 1990s.

“The term ‘hostile or abusive’ sounds harsh,” he said.

“It shows disrespect to the Saginaw Chippewa Indian
Tribe.”

Joe Sowmick, Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe
spokesperson, said in a statement any decision from an
outside source was “unacceptable.”

Herb Deromedi, athletics director, agrees with
Sowmick.

“We have worked in a consistent manner to be able to
show the proper respect for the nickname,” he said.

“We need to have more dialogue with (the NCAA).”

Deromedi added the NCAA needed to clarify why CMU was
in violation.

The future for the Chippewa nickname is still up in
the air.

“I won’t attempt to predict the future,” Deromedi
said. “But at the present time our nickname is the
Chippewas and unless told differently, it will remain
so.”

Smith said decisions have not yet been made and they
would be addressed by the Board of Trustees.
Five CMU teams had “Chippewas” on their uniforms last
season. Softball, baseball, women’s track and cross
country had the name on one of their uniforms. The
football team had it on both its home and away
uniforms.

The decision does not affect football because Division
I-A has no playoff system.

Smith said CMU would not be affected monetarily by
this decision.