Former Illiniweks express dismay

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Former University of Illinois students who portrayed Chief Illiniwek are concerned about a new report of the tradition's imminent demise and may pull out of discussions about the Chief's future if it already is a "foregone conclusion," a former Chief said Thursday.\nSteve Raquel, one of 27 members of the Council of Chiefs, said it's still premature to talk about the fate of the 80-year-old tradition of a student dressed as an American Indian chief performing a halftime dance at athletic contests. The council has been involved in discussions with the university's board of trustees about the Chief's future and was dismayed that the Chicago Sun-Times reported Thursday, citing unidentified university sources, that Illiniwek would no longer dance after the upcoming basketball season, he said.\n"If the university feels that this is a foregone conclusion, we don't believe so, and we may walk away from the process if that is the insinuated intent of the board," Raquel said.\nThe council is still seeking a solution that would leave the tradition as it is, but "all options are on the table. All opportunities are on the table," he said.\nA university spokesman said Thursday that while some change in Illiniwek's status can be expected, the Chief's fate has not been decided and the board is committed to its process for reaching what it has called a "consensus conclusion" to a debate that has divided the flagship Urbana-Champaign campus for years.\n"University leadership is not taking any interested party in a consensus-solution process for granted," said Tom Hardy, the director of university relations. "Certainly that would apply to any organization of former chiefs."\nThe NCAA has deemed Illiniwek and his dance a "hostile and abusive" use of American Indian imagery and last August barred Illinois from hosting postseason NCAA events. The athletic association upheld its decision through two university appeals, and the men's tennis team felt the impact of the decision when the team was barred from playing host to the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament in May.\nWomen's soccer and volleyball are likewise unable to be a host site for postseason tournaments this fall, should they qualify, but ending Illiniwek's performances after basketball season could give the school's teams a chance to host NCAA events next spring.\nIlliniwek is not scheduled to be part of the agenda for the trustees' Sept. 7 meeting in Urbana, Hardy said. The board has spent more than two years trying to reach the "consensus conclusion" since adopting the resolution that calls for one in June 2004.\n"The university has made no decisions on the future of the Chief Illiniwek tradition or how it intends to comply with the NCAA policy," Hardy said. "Various possible scenarios have been put forward by everyone from proponents to opponents of the tradition, newspaper columnists and others, but the Board of Trustees continues to work on its consensus conclusion process."\nBoard of Trustees Chairman Lawrence C. Eppley did not immediately return calls seeking comment.\nThe Sun-Times reported that the university has tentative plans to transfer ownership of Illiniwek to the Council of Chiefs.\nHardy said that group "has expressed an interest in the possibility of taking on a role as stewards of the tradition, but it hasn't gone any further than their initial expression of interest."\nRaquel, who portrayed Chief Illiniwek in 1992-93, said Thursday the council has had no formal discussions with the trustees about transferring ownership of the Illiniwek name or image. He said the group planned to discuss the impact of the latest news report.\n"There's a healthy respect between us and the board," he said. "But when there are messages coming out that appear to be making this a foregone conclusion, it doesn't help us as a group to come up with support for the university that we've been trying to work with"