IU athletics deflates mascots

From their penguin-like waddles to their attempts to knock each other over like bowling pins, the inflatable players at IU football games attempted to entertain both young and old fans.\nBut the inflatable players have disappeared.\n"I didn't notice that they were gone," said senior Enoch DeMar, a starting offensive lineman. "I'm too busy playing and preparing for the game."\nThey have not gone unnoticed by all.\n"At first, I didn't really notice the inflatable guys were gone," sophomore Robert Johnson, a season ticket holder said. "But then people started talking about it, and I was kind of like, \'Yeah, where are they?\'"\nThe athletic department chose not to use them because they are working on a new marketing strategy.\n"We are in the process of reevaluating our brand identity program," said Jeff Fanter, director of media relations for IU athletics. "During this evaluation we are analyzing all aspects of how people identify with the IU brand."\n"It is far too early for us to comment on the specifics of our marketing approach because right now we are in the analysis stages," Fanter said. "We are reviewing what we do and how we can do it better. This takes some time. It will probably be three to four months before we could talk specifics in this area. We aren't prepared to answer specific questions at this time because we are in the early stages." \nDirector of Marketing for IU athletics David Lovell said consistency is not portrayed by the inflatable players.\n"The inflatables are not mascots but a part of the game day festivities," Lovell said. "We have been evaluating our marketing and promotional strategy as we assess our position in college athletics, and we felt that having two inflatables who wear uniform designs that not only differ from each other, but also differ from our football team uniform would not portray a consistent image," Lovell said. "We felt that we should convey a more consistent message to our fans who attend IU football games, and that is what led to us not using the inflatables at games."\nStill, the football team thought blow up inflatables were a good idea.\n"I think it's sort of cool," DeMar said. "You have one blow-up with an old (marooned colored) throw back uniform and one with a new uniform." \nSome loyal fans disagree with the department\'s assessment. \n"I know of very few mascots who wear the same uniform as the team, so I don\'t really see that as an issue," Johnson said. "I\'m a little upset, they provided good entertainment during lulls in the game." \nFanter said the decision to cut the inflatable figures from the gameday activites was not based on fan reaction.\n"We do not have information to conclude if they were popular of unpopular and our decision was not based on that line of thinking," Fanter said. "There purpose was enhancement of the game day experience."\nJohnson said he believes the inflatables were entertaining.\n"I would definitely say they were popular," he said. "I always heard people cheering for them when they were performing"