Ole Miss students will vote on mascot

Years after it traded Colonel Reb for a bear, the University of Mississippi could again change its sidelines mascot.

Student government president Dion Kevin III announced Monday that students will vote next week on changing from a black bear to the “Landshark.”

The school’s athletic nickname remains the Rebels, but Ole Miss retired Colonel Reb from the sidelines in 2003 and has ditched other Old South symbols, including Confederate battle flags and the anthem “Dixie.”

The bear was chosen in a three-way vote of students in 2010, with landshark the runner-up.

The landshark is based on a “fins up” hand motion started by late football player Tony Fein.

Kevin says adopting it would “leave a legacy of unity and excitement.”

University administrators didn’t immediately respond to a call seeking comment.