The ASU Athletic Department has experienced a lot of turmoil throughout the past several months.
At least it doesn't have to worry about Sparky.
While the university continues to try to move forward after the death of a former football player and the imprisonment of another, other schools are facing a different kind of struggle -- the struggle for the survival of their mascots.
If the NCAA has its way, there will no longer be any Seminoles, Utes or Fighting Illini.
Earlier this month, the NCAA Executive Committee issued a new policy prohibiting NCAA schools "from displaying hostile and abusive racial/ethnic/national origin mascots, nicknames or imagery at any of the 88 NCAA championships."
Among other penalties, if a school's mascot is deemed inappropriate by the NCAA, that school will not be permitted to host any NCAA championships. Most of the policy takes effect Feb. 1, 2006.
The NCAA's announcement is a peculiar one, especially in a time of frequent recruiting violations, graduation struggles and collegiate sports scandals.
Yes, mascots such as the Savages (Southeastern Oklahoma State University) and Redmen (Carthage College) could surely be considered offensive. That doesn't mean, however, that every American Indian mascot is bad.
Each mascot should be examined on a case-by-case basis. The tribes or groups for which the mascot is named should be able to have some say in the matter, like the tribes who have approved names at Florida State, Utah and the University of Illinois.
Dr. Eddie Brown, director of American Indian Studies at ASU, said that tribal rights had to be respected, even though he personally felt no American Indian name or tribe should be used as a mascot.
"If a tribe and tribal members feel comfortable (with a mascot), then that is how it is," Brown said.
Meanwhile, mascots such as Fighting Irish, Quakers, Crusaders and Rebels live on.
Maybe the ASU Athletic Department has finally had a little bit of luck. Instead of putting its money, time and efforts into changing an NCAA-labeled "hostile and abusive" mascot, or fighting the NCAA's policy in court, it can worry about other, more important matters.
Matters like running a clean program, seeing its athletes graduate and learning from the struggles of the past several months.
Jeremy Cluff is the assistant sports editor at The State Press. His "Unnecessary Cluffness" runs every Tuesday. He can be reached at jeremy.a.cluff@asu.edu.
