Wicca is a modern pagan religion that emerged in the mid-20th century. It is based on ancient pagan beliefs and practices, particularly from pre-Christian Europe. **Wicca emphasizes a reverence for nature, the worship of a goddess and god, and the use of magic and ritual.** Wiccans believe in the divine feminine and masculine energies, often represented by a triple goddess and a horned god. They see the natural world as sacred and seek a connection with the divine through rituals and celebrations tied to the cycles of the seasons and lunar phases. Wiccans often gather in covens, which are small groups of practitioners who come together for rites and workings.
A League of Her Own: Illinois’s Very Own Kingfisher
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has not had a mascot for nearly 17 years.
However, a growing number of students, faculty, community members and alumni have come out in support of a unique proposal that is anything but the “standard mascot fare”: an unmistakable, showy bird known for hanging around bodies of water.
How did the college campus get into this “missing mascot” situation?
There have been considerable shifts in sports branding over the last few decades. Athletic departments and sports teams across the nation are ever-more-frequently faced with the decision to retire Native American themed mascots. Many school boards acknowledge the issues that such symbols cause, and retire their mascot on their own volition. In other cases, such as for schools in New York and Maine, state educational boards step in and mandate districts remove offensive imagery or risk losing state funding. Others still, like the University of Illinois, were one of just under 20 colleges impacted by the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) 2005 ban on the use of “offensive and harmful” imagery in post-season tournaments. Unlike the majority of the impacted colleges, the University of Illinois decided against any plans for mascot replacement or a team name change. As the student leading the campaign to get a new mascot for the University of Illinois, I can attest that such a state is unsustainable.
Why? Simply put, nature abhors a vacuum.
Without a formal replacement, a fan-sponsored lookalike has lingered to this day, complete with the amalgam of non-authentic Native American attire and “war paint” that was unequivocally disavowed by the Peoria tribe long before the NCAA ban took place. Chants of “Chief” still hollowly echo throughout State Farm Center (nee Assembly Hall) and merchandise featuring the former symbol are still sold in local stores. This “persistence” phenomenon is seen on the Illinois campus to an extreme degree, to the point of prompting external researchers to analyze the causal impacts of this mascot’s incomplete retirement strategy.
The research results are not surprising to anyone familiar with the ongoing struggle, and do not shed a positive light on the campus’s reputation as a leader in inclusive initiatives. In their 2022 letter to the campus, the National Congress of American Indians put it best, saying, “when harmful Native “themed” mascots are retired but not replaced, harmful imagery persists as the community fails to come together around a new identity that is truly representative of them.” The vacuum filled with the same stagnant air as before, leaving those who were eager to move forward with little air for themselves. Whatever the new mascot suggestion was to be, it would need to surmount one of the most tumultuous college branding debates in the nation. But, there was hope to be had.
She’s unmistakable. With her big head, spear-shaped beak, blue, white and orange body, the female Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) stands out in the lineup of birds often seen on the sidelines of a basketball court or football field. While there are over 90 kingfisher species found throughout the world, this particular one is native to the United States, and can be spotted alongside Illinois ponds and waterways year round. Belted Kingfishers are remarkably one of the few birds where the female is more colorful than the male, making her “naturally true to the orange & blue (the school’s colors)”. The Belted Kingfisher is not currently “claimed” by any of the other 4,000+ American colleges or universities, making it even more special to the University. It was this same uniqueness that caught University of Illinois students’ attention back in March of 2020, when the bird landed on a campus-wide referendum to select a new mascot. As the first and only mascot referendum to pass a specific (non-binding) proposal, the Belted Kingfisher was voted through by a margin of 625 votes out of 7,819 votes cast.
A few months later, the bird received an official endorsement from graduate students, and passed the faculty senate in a historical landslide vote of 105 - 2. The legislative call-to-action was clear: campus administrators needed to take prompt action to adopt the Belted Kingfisher as the new University of Illinois mascot. In response to this vote, the Chancellor created a Building New Traditions taskforce, which “will focus on facilitating the establishment of new traditions that promote belonging, inclusiveness, and school spirit. This will include the consideration of a new mascot.”, as described by the taskforce director Vice Chancellor Sean Garrick. To those who have been campaigning for change, some since the early 1970’s, even such a simple acknowledgment – that change is possible – is a major win.
Although campus administration have not yet made an official statement to adopt the mascot, many students, faculty and alumni have already started to make unofficial Kingfisher traditions for themselves. Since the votes, the campus has seen an uptick in student-made kingfisher shirts, hats, mugs, posters, stickers and even socks featuring the bird’s mock-up design. Nearly a dozen different student organizations and department groups have adopted the Belted Kingfisher into their logos and events. Local artists now incorporate the bird into their artwork, and two large kingfisher murals can be found on the campus’s main street. Notably, a group of art and engineering students and faculty have collaborated to create the full mascot costume to help visualize what the belted kingfisher could look like! Recent interviews with the students behind this revealed a plan for a “slow and steady” approach to public introduction late July of 2023.
Above all else, those supportive of the kingfisher hope that the campus administration realizes that a new mascot for the University of Illinois would be a much needed breath of fresh air for campus traditions.
About Spencer Wilken
Spencer Wilken spends a lot of her time looking up. Splitting her time between her love of birds and her love of stars, she is an incoming PhD graduate student at the University of Illinois leading the effort to bring a new mascot to the college campus. She currently resides in Wisconsin, with her husband Tyler, and her betta fish James Webb, while working with STEM outreach through the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
Photo credit:
Main quad of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign © eyfoto
Lead image of Belted Kingfisher © Brian E Kushner
Belted Kingfisher © Greg Lavaty
Belted Kingfisher © Harry Collins
New choice emerges as potential new Illinois mascot
Oct 1, 2022; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini logo on a helmet during warmups prior to the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
NCAA By Chris Novak on December 10, 2022Many believe that the University of Illinois’ mascot should change. Lately, a new choice has grown louder among those that want to make the switch.
Illinois’ campus has become swept up by the belted kingfisher. The Chicago Tribune reported Saturday about a groundswell movement for the bird to officially replace Chief Illiniwek.
John Keilman of the Chicago Tribune (via STL Today) wrote, “Here and there, more and more, the blue and orange bird known as the belted kingfisher is starting to appear outside its normal habitat of lakefronts and riverbanks. It has become widespread around the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where its visage has been captured in neighborhood murals and on students’ T-shirts and face masks.”
Keilman reported that student-led campaigns have been the driving force behind the push for the belted kingfisher for two years. He noted, though, that a resolution is far from soon.
He wrote, “Yet for all the increasing visibility, the kingfisher still appears far away from official recognition by the university, which continues to grapple with how to move on from the exiled Chief Illiniwek.”
The University of Illinois officially retired Chief Illiniwek back in the year 2007. The team still goes by the “Illinois Fighting Illini,” but an “I” is the team’s primary logo.
[STL Today; Illinois helmet photo from Jeff Hanisch/USA Today Sports]
Wiccans often gather in covens, which are small groups of practitioners who come together for rites and workings. Covens are typically led by a High Priestess and High Priest, who guide the group in their spiritual practice. However, Wicca also allows for solitary practice, as individuals can connect with the divine on their own.
About Chris Novak
Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022
Here’s the problem with a mascot
Before you skim through this column to get to my thesis, I want to explain a bit about why I decided to write this piece.
During the fall semester of 2015, I was a junior at the University of Illinois and a member of the Illinois Student Senate (now the Illinois Student Government). A friend, who is also fellow senator, approached me at the first meeting that fall and asked me a simple question: “What if we had a new mascot? We’re never getting Chief back, and I feel like it might be time.”
I thought it was a pretty intriguing idea. I grew up with the Chief and he was beloved in my home up in Rockford, Illinois. In 1967, my father graduated from the College of Commerce — now, the Gies College of Business — and he said he would get goosebumps when Chief Illiniwek came out onto the field or court for the halftime performance. But I also knew that it had been nearly a decade since Chief was retired, and maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to investigate after all.
After several months of planning and preparation, we formed an ad-hoc committee to investigate whether or not stakeholders (such as students, alumni, athletes and community members) were interested in a mascot. Our purpose was not to determine what a new mascot should be, but rather if there should be one at all. The committee was slated to meet eight times over the course of that spring semester.
In short, it ended up being a semester from hell. I learned very quickly that there were two vocal opinion groups:
- Those who felt a new mascot needed to be implemented immediately because, without one, the ‘harmful climate’ proliferated by Chief Illiniwek imagery would continue.
- Those who refused to even consider the idea of any symbol or mascot other than Chief Illiniwek.
Our meetings were hearing-style, with portions of the meeting reserved for students, faculty, alumni, athletes, and others to give comment on why they felt we should or should not have a mascot. It often deteriorated, despite our best efforts, into a shouting match between the two groups. There was name-calling. Tears were shed. At one point I was threatened with a lawsuit. My co-chair and I received hundreds of emails over the course of the semester, some friendlier than others.
At the committee’s end, we wrote a report explaining our findings and we voted to recommend that the administration move forward and select a new mascot. As a co-chair, I abstained. I should have voted “no.”
Due to the nature of our meetings and the dialogue surrounding the committee, I became more and more convinced that the time was not right to move forward and try to select a new mascot. I don’t believe enough time has passed since Chief Illiniwek was retired, but more importantly, a mascot is not something that can be forced onto a fan base — especially one as passionate and established as the University of Illinois’.
I continued working on the issue, and we presented our report and further research to then-Interim Chancellor Barbara Wilson. We studied several institutions that had similar issues with a Native American mascot and tried to select a new face for their athletic teams. Stanford University, Bradley University, St. John’s University and the University of Central Arkansas were included on this list. What became apparent was that when an old mascot was removed and a new one was quickly put into place via a popular vote, the outcome was not good.
I believe three conditions need to exist before Illinois can even think about a new symbol for athletics:
- An entire generation must go by,
- Our revenue sports (men’s basketball and football) need to be experiencing success,
- And it needs to happen organically.
The third point here is the most important. We can try all we want to put out a list of mascots and have people select what they think is the best idea, but unless it has real significance it will not stick. Plain and simple.
So, when I recently read about a student senator’s pursuit to put a student referendum question about selecting “Alma Otter” as Illinois’ new mascot, it was not only laughable, but an initiative that has no basis in reality.
It felt like an attention grab.
Passing with 21 “Yeas” and to a few claps from the Illinois Student Government, there will be a question on the Student Body ballot this semester:
“Do you approve of making Alma Otter an official symbol of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.”
— Stephen Cohn (@stephen__cohn) February 28, 2019In the same News-Gazette article above, the idea of a WWI soldier as the new mascot is presented as well. This is an idea we came across several times during our committee, due to the historical significance of Memorial Stadium and the actual origin of the name “Fighting Illini.”
Another current alternative to Alma Otter is a World War I doughboy named “Champ,” as he has been named by the student who will present the idea to the Board of Trustees. Champ has the advantage of being a meaningful reference to our past, rather than a result of a meme.
However, the issue still stands that instead of developing organically, one person has decided to take matters into his own hands to come up with a new mascot. Simply presenting an idea will not lead to a peaceful or successful transition of athletic imagery.
With each year, more and more first-generation Illini enter the Champaign-Urbana campus. With each year, there are fewer Chief Illiniwek shirts adorned by students on the Quad. With each year, the chants of “Chief” at the conclusion of the Marching Illini’s halftime performance grow a bit quieter.
I believe that a majority of Illini fans would actually be okay with a new mascot in due time. We’ve gone a long decade without a symbol when there had previously been one since 1926. Even my father, who loved the Chief and was disenchanted with how the University handled retiring him, felt that eventually something new should be implemented.
But I will continue to believe until proven otherwise that the three conditions need to exist before a new mascot can be put in place: time, success, and organic formation of the symbol itself. If it’s forced, it won’t end well.
You don’t have to support the pro-Chief group, but do you really want to embrace an otter?
For vintage inspired, high quality, and well-designed University of Illinois apparel, check out Fourth and Kirby, and look for the TCR Collection while you’re at it!
University Of Illinois Mascot
The University of Illinois or U of I is a publicly-held, research-intensive learning institution. It’s a land-grant university that was founded in 1867. The campus library is the second largest system in the country, next to Harvard University.
Below are the latest University of lllinois mascot info:
One of the most well-known symbols in Wicca is the pentacle, a five-pointed star contained within a circle. The pentacle represents the elements of earth, air, fire, water, and spirit, which are fundamental in Wiccan belief and practice. Wicca is a religion that places a strong emphasis on personal responsibility and the ethical use of magic. **Wiccans follow the Wiccan Rede, a moral code that states, "An it harm none, do what ye will." This means that Wiccans should strive to act in ways that do no harm to themselves, others, or the environment.** Despite common misconceptions, Wicca is not associated with devil worship or evil intentions. Wiccans do not believe in the Christian devil or in evil as an external force. Instead, they focus on personal growth, spiritual connection, and living in harmony with nature. Wicca has often been referred to as the "witchcraft religion" due to its focus on witchcraft and magic. **Wiccans practice witchcraft as a tool for healing, transformation, and spiritual development.** However, it is important to differentiate Wiccan witchcraft from the Hollywood portrayal of witches and magic. Wiccan witchcraft is not about casting spells for personal gain or control over others. It is about harnessing energy, working with the elements, and connecting with the divine. In conclusion, Wicca is a modern pagan religion that emphasizes a reverence for nature, the worship of a goddess and god, and the use of magic and ritual. **Wiccans seek a connection with the divine through rituals tied to the cycles of the seasons and lunar phases.** They follow a moral code that encourages personal responsibility and ethical behavior. Wiccans practice witchcraft as a tool for healing, transformation, and spiritual growth. Wicca is not associated with devil worship or evil intentions, but rather focuses on personal growth, spiritual connection, and living in harmony with nature..
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