Grand Fork, North Dakota -- As a student at Alcorn State University in Mississippi from 2000 to 2004, Latoya Shields was a devoted fan of Alcorn Braves athletics. As the school’s sports information director today, she still is. “Once a Brave, always a Brave,” she said. Except in the post-season.
Alcorn State is a small, historically black college, and it boasts among its alumni the civil rights figure Medgar Evers, “Roots” author Alex Haley, the late NFL quarterback Steve McNair and Leslie Frazier, head coach of the Minnesota Vikings.
Except for UND, still home of the Fighting Sioux, Alcorn is the only NCAA member school resisting the association’s 2005 ban on use of American Indian names, mascots and imagery.
Vigorously backed by its alumni, Alcorn chose to keep its nickname and accept NCAA sanctions. Thus, its athletic teams still take the field as the Braves — until a Braves team reaches post-season play. Then, the only symbol identifying Alcorn State athletics is a brave capital A — a symbol that bears no small resemblance to a teepee.
READ MORE
No comments:
Post a Comment