Ole Miss Rebels Mascot, UM Cheerleaders, and Rebels Traditions
OLE MISS REBELS MASCOT, CHEELEADERS, AND TRADITIONS
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Ole Miss Rebels Mascot
Ole Miss Rebels Traditions
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Colonel Reb
One student each year at Ole Miss dressed in a Confederate uniform and paraded down the sidelines exhorting the Rebel faithful to cheer for their winning team.
Seeking to professionalize the sideline appearance, the student was exchanged for a trained cheerleader mascot in the form of the original 1938 emblem that was a campus staple on merchandise. Colonel Reb finally graduated from his 40 year paper history to a living caricature on the field in 1979.
In 2003, the administration eliminated Colonel Reb from the sidelines at Ole Miss athletic events as the on-the-field mascot, though he was allowed at tailgating and other unofficial university functions. At this time there has been no replacement for the beloved Colonel Reb.
Billy Brewer became head football coach at Ole Miss in 1983 and was searching for a way to allow the football team to experience the atmosphere Rebel fans enjoyed in The Grove while tailgating on gameday. The Grove is a 10-acre grassy plot of ground in the center of campus which is heavily shaded by large oak trees. It was then that players began walking through the Grove on Gameday from Kinard Hall, the athletic dormitory, across campus to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. The Sporting News ranked it among college football's greatest traditions and described The Grove as the Holy Grail of tailgating sites.
Archie Manning's football uniform number, 18, is the official speed limit of the Ole Miss campus.
The name Rebels as Ole Miss' official athletics nickname emerged in 1936. Suggested by Judge Ben Guider of Vicksburg, it was one of five entries submitted to Southern sports writers for final selection from a list totaling more than 200 proposed nicknames. The promotion was a contest sponsored by The Mississippian, student newspaper. Of the 42 newsmen contacted, 21 responded. "Rebels" was the choice of 18.
In Star Trek, the character Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy was a graduate of Ole Miss.
