Hey Reb!

Hey Reb! was a mascot for the UNLV Rebels, the athletic teams of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in Paradise, Nevada, USA.[2][3][4] He performed live at all UNLV athletic events. The mascot, Hey Reb!, was first created in 1983 to depict the embodiment of an independent, rebel spirit at UNLV athletic events,[5][6] intended as a tribute to western settlers.[7]

Hey Reb!
The sculpture of Hey Reb that stood outside the Tam Alumni Center from 2007 to 2020
UniversityUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas
ConferenceMountain West
DescriptionUNLV Rebels Mascot[1]
First seen1983 (1983)
Last seen2020 (2020)

In the aftermath of the George Floyd protests, the statue of the mascot was removed as part of a larger national reckoning with racist symbols and Confederate memorials; the mascot itself was permanently retired for the same reason, and no replacement mascot was announced.

Previous mascots

UNLV's original mascot was a Confederate uniform-wearing wolf named Beauregard. Dressed in a grey uniform, Beauregard was a variation on the Confederate symbolic image of "Johnny Reb".

In the 1970s, as race discrimination issues dominated national events, community members voiced concerns that Beauregard glorified the Confederacy and had little to do with the community's history. In the early 1970s, students had voted to banish Beauregard but retained the Rebels name, rejecting alternatives such as Big Horn Rams, Nuggets, A-Bombs, and Sand Burners.

Replacing Beau was a musket-toting Minuteman, but that Revolutionary War figure failed to resonate in the West either. UNLV went without an official mascot for some time before Hey Reb was developed.

Design

Hey Reb was created as a replacement for Beauregard the wolf. Mike Miller,[8] who was a partner in a local advertising firm and headed the UNLV account, first heard of the university's search for a fitting symbol in 1982 and offered to sketch some ideas. Miller brainstormed about the kind of character that could embody the spirit of a Rebel while representing the community's history, and drew inspiration from the mountain men of the 1800s.

Hey Reb is always seen wearing a UNLV jersey with the number 57 on it, to commemorate the university's founding in the year 1957.[9] In 2004, Hey Reb was named one of 12 All-American Mascots, and was given a chance to compete for the Capital One Bowl mascot of the year as part of the Capital One Mascot Challenge,[10] finishing second in the online voting.[2] Hey Reb has also been featured in two national commercials for ESPN's SportsCenter.[2] In 2013, Hey Reb and Jon "Jersey" Goldman, the UNLV student who wears the costume to portray him, were featured in the Hulu documentary series Behind the Mask.[11][12][13] The series followed four mascots, and the people who portrayed them, both inside and outside of the mascot costume.[14]

Criticism

The campus community was divided over the contention that the mascot still resembled a Confederate soldier and therefore appeared to be a symbol of racism. In 2015, Nevada Senator Harry Reid called for the design to be revisited again.[15]

Statue removal and mascot retirement

On June 16, 2020, amidst protests against racial inequality following the murder of George Floyd, UNLV announced they had removed the Hey Reb! statue in front of the Tam Alumni Center, stating: "In recent conversations with the donor we mutually agreed it was best to remove the statue and return it." The university's president Marta Meana clarified the decision: "Over the past few months, I have had discussions with multiple individuals and stakeholder groups from campus and the community on how best the university can move forward given recent events throughout our nation".[16]

The mascot itself was not used since the statue's removal and was later retired permanently on January 19, 2021, due to similar concerns as those that prompted the statue's removal. The university announced that it did not have plans to create a new mascot, and would still retain the Rebels name, comparing the mascot-less team with others such as the New York Giants.[17][18]

References
  1. "Why are the UNLV sports teams represented by a Confederate rebel?". Greenspun Media. Las Vegas Sun. December 23, 2008. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
  2. "Hey Reb!". UNLVRebels.com. Archived from the original on March 14, 2014. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  3. "My day with UNLV's Hey Reb". Las Vegas Weekly. March 15, 2012. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  4. "After Six Years, Jon "Jersey" Goldman Takes Off the Hey Reb! Suit". virtual-rebel.com. July 1, 2013. Archived from the original on March 14, 2014. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  5. "Mascot/Spirit Mark". University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Archived from the original on October 25, 2013. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  6. "The man behind the mustache: Hey Reb driven by passion for UNLV sports". Las Vegas Sun. November 17, 2012. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  7. "'Hey Reb' statue removed by University of Nevada, Las Vegas; mascot under review". NBC News. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  8. "UNLV's "Rebels" – Campus Life – University of Nevada, Las Vegas". June 21, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  9. "UNLV's 'Hey Reb' mascot hangs up his Big Head". Los Angeles Times. March 10, 2013. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  10. "Capital One Mascot Challenge History". CapitalOneBowl.com. Archived from the original on March 1, 2013. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
  11. ""Hey Reb" Stars in Mascot TV Series". KXNT. October 29, 2013. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  12. "Team mascots are game for a demanding gig in 'Behind the Mask'". Daily News. October 29, 2013. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  13. "S. Jersey native stars in 'Behind the Mask'". philly.com. October 30, 2013. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  14. "Hulu series goes behind-the-mask of UNLV's Runnin' Rebels mascot Hey Reb". Las Vegas Sun. October 22, 2013. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  15. Whitaker, Ian (November 17, 2015). "UNLV students to Jessup: Hey Reb! mascot a symbol of racism - Las Vegas Sun Newspaper". lasvegassun.com. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  16. @UNLV (June 16, 2020). "UNLV statue thread" (Tweet). Retrieved June 17, 2020 – via Twitter.
  17. Krajewski, Jim (January 19, 2021). "UNLV retires Hey Reb! mascot, but retains Rebels nickname". Reno Gazette Journal. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
  18. "Spring Welcome and Updates on the Mascot". University of Nevada, Las Vegas. January 19, 2021. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
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