University of South Carolina Libraries
Morgan CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10 Network frv 11 years. A replace ment for Morgan as play-by-play announcer and host of the Susan Walvius show is Manning currently taking place. McAlexander stepped down from the Gamecock Radio Network after being replaced by former Gamecock.quarterback Todd Ellis in the football booth. McAlexander, who’s been call ing football and basketball for the Gamecocks since 1995, decided not to keep his job as play-by-play for basketball and decided to move on to other opportunities. McAlexander has worked in ra-' dio and television in the SEC for 31 years. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@hotmail. com I Ole Miss to keep nicknames OXFORD, MISS. (AP) - University of Mississippi Chancellor Robert Khayat tried Friday to ease the fears of those worried that the nicknames Ole Miss and Rebels — like the Colonel Rebel mascot — will be replaced. A 12-paragraph op-ed piece written by Khayat was posted on the Ole Miss athletic department Web site. The piece ran under the headline “Mascots, Myths and Momentum.” “As chancellor of The University of Mississippi, I have learned it is difficult to have a ra tional conversation about an emotional subject such as a school mascot. Still, it is impor tant to separate emotion from fact, myth from reality, and ac curacy from misleading general izations,” Khayat wrote. Khayat wrote that Mississippi’s teams will continue to be known as the Ole Miss Rebels. He also noted that the song “Dixie” is still part of the school band’s repertoire and will con tinue to be played at sporting events, and that Colonel Rebel will continue to appear on mer chandise and in public presenta tions. Ole Miss officials have said they want a more intimidating mascot than Colonel Rebel, a Southern gentleman with a cocked wide-brimmed hat, snow white goatee and cane. Khayat wrote that the Colonel Rebel mascot was introduced in 1979 as part of a national trend to ward Disney-like cartoon char acters. “The decision to update the mascot was based on the belief that a Disney-like elderly planta tion person is not representative of a modern athletics program. Our mascot should reflect the youthful energy, vitality and en thusiasm of our students,” he wrote. Ole Miss has hired a New York consultant to study new options for a mascot. The school will not have a sideline mascot until a suitable one is approved. In the last decade, Ole Miss has been steering its image from the Old South by phasing out symbols that some say are racial ly divisive. Confederate battle flags, once pervasive at football games, have been banished and “Dixie” is no longer the school’s unofficial fight song. Khayat wrote that Ole Miss soon will announce a contest so liciting ideas for a new mascot. The school will seek the opinions of students, active alumni, donors and season ticket-holders, he wrote. “The final selection will be made by the Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics based upon preferences expressed by those who participate in the process — particularly our stu dents,” he wrote. BRIEFLY SEC leads nation in .~ sponsored sports The SEC placed first in the country in top finishes by the 20 sports the conference spon sors. A ranking system was de signed around NCAA Championships and national polls to rate each conference in the nation. With a score of 1423.5, the SEC held off the Pac-lO’s 1339 and the Big 12’s 916.5. Each sport recieves points based on winning national cham pionships and how many top-25 finishes it has. Out of the 20 sports in the SEC, there were eight first-place fin ishes in the rating, including sev en national championships and three national runners-up. -1 list mm mam wmsas whip's Saturday Jutvi9n RFCiSTRATiON wru 3FCTN 10:00 MI Tournament Starts (1:00am I Ho PrTfam! < fMounts TtA ItiM CPFA7FCCPAMP CASHPRfIFS Call 254-7801