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Arkansas St. Weighing Options on Nickname

By NOAH TRISTER
.c The Associated Press 

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Arkansas State athletic director Dean Lee said the 
school isn't sure whether it will appeal the NCAA's ban of the nickname Indians 
at postseason events.

``We are being encouraged to file an appeal,'' Lee said. ``But that's still 
yet to be determined if that's the process that we're going to go.''

The NCAA announced in August that it would ban the use of American Indian 
imagery and nicknames at postseason tournaments. That prohibition was extended 
the following month to include football bowl games - beginning next year.

Several schools have appealed. Indiana University of Pennsylvania's appeal on 
behalf of the name Indians was turned down earlier this month. Other teams, 
like the Florida State Seminoles, have won the right to retain their nicknames.

Lee said Arkansas State has been encouraged to follow suit by ``fans, alumni, 
donors and constituents.'' But the school is proceeding slowly.

``We've been somewhat deliberate in our movement with this, because we have 
kind of used - I don't want to say a committee approach - but we've used a kind 
of a community approach where we've gotten involvement from a lot of 
different people in groups associated with the university,'' Lee said.

Arkansas State recently qualified for the New Orleans Bowl, its first 
postseason appearance in football since returning to Division I-A before the 1992 
season. But the nickname ban doesn't start until February, so it won't affect the 
Indians in the Dec. 20 game at Lafayette, La.

The NCAA said in August that approval from American Indian tribes would be a 
primary factor in deciding appeals.


 
11/29/05 17:48 EST