UMass Magazine Online

Summer 2003

Departments

Around the Pond

Features

The Vast Area of Small

Tiny couch potatoes

Pumped-up Roosters

The pervasive presence of microbes

At-risk Native Talk

Our giant in hedge funds

Around the Pond

Make my day




	illustration by Cynthia Fisher (bigbangmosaic.com)

It was mid-May. Both the Celtics and the Bruins had lost their playoff bids in the first round to teams from New Jersey, while the Red Sox once again demonstrated that they could show big-time promise at the start of a season. But what did all that matter? All eyes in the western end of the state were on a pitched battle between the Minuteman and the (Gray) Wolves.

Nothing less than the UMass Amherst athletic mascot was at stake, and fans of the old soldier marshalled their forces, whipping up a storm of outrage and routing the four-legged interloper.

“The Minuteman triumphs,” said athletics director Ian McCaw, backing away with sportsmanlike aplomb, only a little bruised from his first tough off-the-field skirmish. “The alumni and friends of the university have spoken.”

Feelings had run high as the threat to the 30-year-old mascot was mounted in the form of a New York-based design firm that had evaluated all logos and marks used in the 22-sport program. Phoenix Design Works along with the athletics department had proposed replacing the Minuteman with an animal mascot. Some sort of wolf was leading the pack. The goal of the change was to raise revenues from marketing UMass sports merchandise. Out of date, gender-inappropriate, gun-toting were some of the charges levelled at the old patriot. But legislators, alumni and faculty weighed in with scorching opinions, driving the wolves howling out of contention.

Expensive foolishness, some charged, for a university struggling with deep budget cuts. “Gray wolves?” wrote George Wade of the psychology department, in mock amazement. “Sounds like a bunch of aging lotharios.”

[top of page]

A May Day celebration

Du Bois: Larger image

Digging for answers at Du Bois' home

Digging: More images

Budget Update

It's not just about cuts

Pollin: Larger image

Let's hear it for the class of 2003!

Let's Hear it: More images

Make my day

Make my day: Larger image