NEWBERRY, S.C. -- Newberry's ready to show off its new "Wolves" nickname -- almost.
The small, Division II school whose president once vowed never to give up the "Indians" nickname is testing out its new monniker as its fall sports schedules begins.
Sure, there's no official logo or mascot costume yet. But the school's athletes who've just gone by "Newberry" the past two seasons are happy to once again have an indentity.
The school's board of trustees approved the change in June. About the only visible evidence is the sign "Newberry College Wolves" in the cafeteria. The school plans to unveil the mascot at its Homecoming game with Lenoir-Rhyne on Oct. 2.
"Now we have something to put some pride in called the Wolves," senior offensive lineman Matt Holmes said.
The school's board of trustees approved the change in June. About the only visible evidence is the sign "Newberry College Wolves" in the cafeteria. The school plans to unveil the mascot at its Homecoming game with Lenoir-Rhyne on Oct. 2.
That is expected to end five years of struggle and questions after the NCAA placed the school on its list of 18 with mascots considered "abusive" and "hostile."
College president Mick Zais followed with a strong letter to the late NCAA leader Myles Brand in October 2005 saying "it was the height of arrogance for the NCAA to presume to speak on behalf of all Native Americans."
The question was a contentious one on a campus owned and supported by the South Carolina, Southeastern, Florida/Bahamas and Caribbean Synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Zais, a retired brigadier general now running for the state's superintendent of education, argued the nickname was not meant to demean Native Americans and instead honored their "bravery and tenacity in battle," he wrote in his letter to the NCAA.
The NCAA rejected two Newberry appeals as it fought the NCAA. The logjam broke in November 2006 when Newberry, after winning the South Atlantic Conference football championship, agreed to retire the nickname after a two-year moratorium. The NCAA took Newberry off its censured list and allowed it to host a Division II playoff game that season.
Those in Newberry's athletic department understood giving up the longtime nickname was best.
"We got a lot of Indians on our staff. We won't ever forget where we're coming from," said football coach Todd Knight, who spent seven seasons as Newberry's defensive coordinator before moving up in 2009. "But we got to focus on where we're going to take the program now."
English professor Warren Moore said the issue pitted the Southern trait of standing up for longheld traditions with that of the region's politeness in not wanting to offend others.
"The better angels of our nature wound up coming through," Moore said.
That also led to two years in mascot limbo as administrators surveyed alumni and the campus community for a nickname. Athletes were left with "the big red 'N,"' said cross-country runner Brad House.
Derrell Kinard, a senior defensive lineman, felt like he didn't fully know who his team was without a nickname.
Knight, the football coach, joked that the "N" stood for "No nickname and no mascot," a period that officially ended wth the adoption of Wolves two months back.
History professor Timothy Elston, a Newberry trustee, remembers those contentious days when some on the board dug their heels in to keep "Indians."
But given time "to mull over the concept of it as a moral issue rather than a political issue, the board of trustees reached agreement," Elston said.
Holmes is ready for Newberry fans to cheer on the Wolves. The true test comes Sept. 4 when Newberry opens its football season at home against Livingstone.
"I'm sure they'll still be a few people shouting 'Indians,"' Holmes said. "But we're starting a new tradition and that's what's exciting."
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