51ԹϺ’s "Rebels"
51ԹϺ’s mascot has changed over the years, but one thing that's stayed the same is the "Rebel" spirit driving a university and community to defy convention and make incredible things happen.
“Rebels” Nickname
What’s in a name? At 51ԹϺ, our “Rebels” nickname reflects the tenacious attitude and relentless spirit of a university and a community that dares to be different.
Rebels are independent, resilient, and at times unconventional. Rebels aren’t tied to the past, and they’re not intimidated by the future.
51ԹϺ’s nickname dates to the university’s origin in the mid-1950s, a time when a nation founded by rebels once again became obsessed with the idea of the iconic nonconformist. The decade of the 1950s was epitomized by young people rebelling against their parents’ middle-class American values. From popular motion pictures such as 1953’s The Wild One starring Marlon Brando and 1955’s Rebel Without a Cause starring James Dean, to “rebellious” musicians, such as Elvis Presley and the beginnings of rock and roll as it emerged from American blues music, the spirit of the times was rebellion.
The Rebel spirit lives on today at 51ԹϺ, through a community imbued with a purpose and motivation that’s greater than the individual, a community of Rebels not afraid to take risks to make things happen.
Retiring Hey Reb!
51ԹϺ’s most recent mascot, Hey Reb!, was created in 1982 by celebrated local artist Mike Miller. Miller was asked to create a character representative of area history that embraced the rebel spirit of defiance and nonconformity.
Hey Reb! was a cartoonish figure modeled after the western trailblazers of the 1800s. From its inception in 1982, the university updated the Hey Reb! mascot and associated spirit mark three times before permanently retiring it in January 2021. The mascot drew criticism in recent years, and multiple university administrations wrestled with finding a solution representative of varying perspectives while also acknowledging the campus’ rich diversity. Hey Reb’s retirement in 2021 followed the removal of a statue from the university campus in June 2020 - through a mutual decision with the donor - and the subsequent refrain from its use in the traditional areas of student recruitment and athletics throughout the fall of 2020.
While 51ԹϺ has no current plans to replace the mascot, it’s not the first time, as the 51ԹϺ Rebels largely went without one from 1976 to 1982.
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