Searching for some Hoosier pride

Ohio State has Brutus the Buckeye. Purdue has a sledge hammer-carrying Boilermaker. Northwestern has a simple Wildcat. \nAt IU, the school mascot is? \nAlthough no timetable has been set, this eventually won't be a question. One day, IU will have a person stuffed into a costume to call its own.\nIf finding a mascot takes the athletics department as long as it did to find a football coach, don't expect one soon. In fact, when the school does announce its mascot, there might not be enough time to recruit a good one before the start of the football season. \nLike football prospects, potential mascots like to make early commitments. The more aggressive schools -- Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State -- like to close their mascot classes early. Sometimes they close their classes before IU even begins looking for one.\nWhen the University settles on a mascot, don't expect anything too exciting. The educated guess is that IU will settle with something Brand -- oops, make that bland.\nFor starters, there's nothing original about selecting an animal. Six Big Ten schools already suggest an association with animals in their nicknames. The mascot industry has done almost everything that can possibly be done with animals. \nAnimals are part of the tradition at many schools. Georgia has an adorable bulldog named UGA that sits on the sidelines during football games. Penn State has a Nittany Lion that goes from stadium-to-stadium, starting fights with other mascots. At Colorado, a buffalo leads the football team onto the field. \nSpeaking of buffalos, IU once had a bison as a mascot in the 1960s. \nA bison might work if IU was located in South Dakota. Not many sober minds associate bison with Indiana. Outside of petting zoos and the Indiana State Seal, it's difficult to find a bison in this state.\nAthletics Director Michael McNeely and football coach Gerry DiNardo were once assistant coaches at Colorado, so don't be surprised if the bison came out of retirement. Just don't expect the football team to duplicate the success of Colorado's anytime soon. The Hoosiers could have five adult bison playing offensive line and still find a way to lose the game in the fourth quarter. \nThe mascot decision is one that must be handled with care. A bad decision might not only turn away fans, but could create controversy.\nWhen "Chief Illiniwek" prances around at Illinois sporting events, it excites some. More importantly, it angers others. There's no need for a racially offensive mascot in college athletics, regardless of how deep of a tradition a school has. There's also no need for such a mascot at IU, a school that strives to promote diversity.\nIn 1979, IU had someone named "Hoosier Pride" as a mascot. "Hoosier Pride" essentially was a hick. In today's politically correct era, some person sitting on their tractor in Kokomo might find a 21st-century version of "Hoosier Pride" offensive. \nIU's leaders are sometimes dumb, but they're not stupid. Don't expect to see a mascot that stirs controversy. Of course, IU officials did decide to fire Bob Knight two months before the basketball season, so anything is possible.\nCurrently, no formal mascot candidates have been announced. Here are some suggestions:\n• Coach Knight look-alike. Alumni and students who are still disappointed with the decision to fire the greatest non-soccer coach IU has ever had can at least stare at a Knight look-alike during football and basketball games while daydreaming about the glory days of IU basketball.\n• An elephant and donkey. For a school that wastes so much time being politically correct, the political symbols would fit well. \n• A cougar. That way John Mellencamp's imprint could be left on this university more than it already is. The only problem is that Bloomington North High School might already have territorial rights on using a cougar as a mascot.\n• Inflatable football player. Too bad they don't fit into the athletics department's new marketing strategy. They were too much fun for an IU football game, anyway.\nMascots certainly have helped some schools develop identities. At IU, the proper mascot could help the school establish one. But the wrong one could erase any identity the University might have.