Mavs? Unicorns? Roadrunners?
Fifty-one votes.
That’s all it took for the Indians to become
the Mavericks — and to avoid becoming the Unicorns.
What’s this, you ask?
In the fall of 1971, the University of
Nebraska at Omaha decided to ditch its Indians moniker and try on a new mascot.
In conjunction with homecoming festivities that year, a student election was
held to determine the new nickname.
The final tally: Mavericks 566, Unicorns 515,
Roadrunners 397, Demons 346, Indians 0. The change was announced prior to the
newly named Mavs’ game against Northern Colorado (we lost 22-17).
UNO had been known as the Indians from 1939 to
1971. Apparently, however, they are not forgotten.
In the December 1999 UNO Alumni Survey on the
association’s web site, a leading 39 percent of respondents said they prefer
Indians as UNO’s name, followed by Mavericks at 31 percent. Others receiving
votes: Maroons (1920-24), 13 percent; Ponies/Shetlands (1912-13), 9 percent;
Cardinals (1924-39) 5 percent; Crimson & Black (1013-20), 3 percent.
