LAS VEGAS (AP) — UNLV President Len Jessup says the school needs to keep "Rebels" as its nickname after new research concluded it's not a reference to the Confederacy.
Jessup issued a statement Monday saying the name embodies UNLV's entrepreneurial spirit. He also said there is overwhelming support for the nickname and the "Hey Reb!" mascot.
Some have called for the name and mascot to be changed, saying the character appears to be a Confederate soldier.
Controversy grew this summer after an apparently racially motivated mass shooting at a Charleston, South Carolina church. Democratic Sen. Harry Reid said in the aftermath that regents should re-examine the Rebel nickname.
A 60-page historical report released this month by UNLV Chief Diversity Officer Rainier Spencer says the origins of the mascot aren't rooted in the Confederacy.