MBB: American Southwest Conference

[ASCfan237]

interesting...i did not know that

[JACKET84]

Larger schools didn't give into the NCAA.  "Fighting" Irish, Raggin Cajuns, etc.  McMurry should have stood their ground.

[Ralph Turner]

Larger schools didn't give into the NCAA.  "Fighting" Irish, Raggin Cajuns, etc.  McMurry should have stood their ground.

We looked at the options.  The Board of Trustees could not justify the use of resources on the legal expense.

We did not have a specific tribe with which we could align.  Perhaps the closest alignment historically would have been the Kaw tribe, of which there are several "tribes", and the tribe McMurry founding president Hunt grew up with is not "Texan or New Mexican".

Here is my blog on the issue...

http://d3blogs.com/d3hoops/2006/05/20/about-mcmurrys-indians/

[Bearkat00]

Huh - interesting fact on the McM nickname.  I too did not realize that they didn't have a nickname and in fact would've still assumed it was the Indians. 

With that being said, any chance they will be incorporating a nickname in the near future?  How about the McMurry Armadillos !  Sticks w/the Texas theme and how sweet would it be to have an armadillo running around the arena during games!

[JACKET84]

I understand about the finances of legal fees.  It's a shame the richer schools can get by with things, and they end up punishing the small schools.  I never saw any smoke signals in Brown Co, which would have implied a hostile environment up in Abilene due to the mascot name.

[rimrocker]

Bearkat00,

Your assumption that McM was still the Indians was probably the intended effect that McM wanted in not picking a new nickname.  By not picking a new one, they are still the Indians...in a round about way.  Pretty wise on their part!

[pistol pete 22]

So Im guessing the Choctaws stood up for MC an said the nickname was ok? I know a D2 school north of where I live an their nicknames were the savages and they changed it to the savage storm........so things could be worse lol

[Ralph Turner]

So Im guessing the Choctaws stood up for MC an said the nickname was ok? I know a D2 school north of where I live an their nicknames were the savages and they changed it to the savage storm........so things could be worse lol

The Choctaws established an affiliation with the Mississippi tribe (not the Oklahoma tribe) of the Choctaws.

I believe that they no longer abbreviate the name Choctaw to "Chocs" in consideration of that agreement.

(MC fans, please jump in here.)

[Ralph Turner]

Bearkat00,

Your assumption that McM was still the Indians was probably the intended effect that McM wanted in not picking a new nickname.  By not picking a new one, they are still the Indians...in a round about way.  Pretty wise on their part!

We have so many traditions that are woven into the school's culture.

Tipi Village at Homecoming has been going on since 1951.  That is a living history and cultural diversity event.  How much more real can it be than to try to emulate the culture of another people?  Josh Bowerman knows what it means.  He helped his wife's sorority erect their tipi.  Alumni return to Homecoming every year to make sure that the new members erect the tipi correctly.

It is my fraternity that was bequeathed the ceremonial regalia belonging to an Oglala chief who lived in DFW after his death.  The outfit is spectacularly beautiful.  Inspecting the handiwork in the garment yields amazement.  The regalia is priceless in value.

The statue on the university commons is a native American.

We send students at spring break to do service projects up in the Four Corners area.

[golden_dome]

So Im guessing the Choctaws stood up for MC an said the nickname was ok? I know a D2 school north of where I live an their nicknames were the savages and they changed it to the savage storm........so things could be worse lol

The Choctaws established an affiliation with the Mississippi tribe (not the Oklahoma tribe) of the Choctaws.

I believe that they no longer abbreviate the name Choctaw to "Chocs" in consideration of that agreement.

(MC fans, please jump in here.)

Ralph,
    You are right, the schools that were able to keep their mascots were the ones who had an affiliation with a particular tribe that offered support of the mascot.

   We do have a very good relationship with the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and their support was instrumental in us keeping the nickname. They are proud that we use it. The NCAA matter gave us an opportunity to make that a better relationship and we have a lot of dialogue with them about how we portray the Choctaw image.

   We no longer use the abbreviated "Chocs" nickname and try to request media to do the same. I would add this, there are a lot of phrases and terms they like us to use that would probably surprise some people. They are very proud of their heritage and encourage us to use it where appropriate as long as it was part of their particular tribe, and not someone else.

[ASCfan237]

Does anyone have any updates as to schools losing kids to grades or kids transfering in and out at semester?

[TheBuzz]

Does anyone know if the games from the tournament at UMHB (Dec. 29-30) will be broadcast on the internet?

[Ralph Turner]

Does anyone know if the games from the tournament at UMHB (Dec. 29-30) will be broadcast on the internet?

UMHB may do livestats for its games.

[Ralph Turner]

Anderson IN (HCAC) 84, at TLU 79.

Bulldogs cut it to one in the last couple of minutes and missed 2 3FG's to tie in the last 30 secs.

Anderson was picked 2nd in the pre-season poll, so this may be a good showing.  I wish that TLU had won.

[rimrocker]

UMHB gets a big win over #6 Whitewater tonight 73-67  behind 31 pts from Tillman Gaddy.  Good win for the ASC as well.