Sept. 29, 2006

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (AP) -Northeastern State is dropping the Redmen nickname the university has used for more than 80 years.

The school informed the NCAA of its decision by phone Friday, with a report to follow. The NCAA can bar schools with "hostile or abusive" team names from hosting or participating in the organization's championship events. Friday was the deadline for schools to say if they intend to change their names.

The school is considering 400 suggestions for a new nickname. Neal Weaver, NSU vice president for university relations, said finalists will be announced next week, and by May a new name, logo and mascot will be in place.

"Our teams are currently playing as the Redmen, and we don't want to do the change in the middle of the season," he said.

Councilors for the Tahlequah-based Cherokee Nation turned down a measure Thursday to support continued use of the nickname.

"I still see the ugly association with the use of Indians as mascots," Tribal Councilor Taylor Keen said.

Joe Byrd, a former Cherokee Nation principal chief, said he doesn't have a problem with Redmen.

"This is Oklahoma, a word that means `land of the red people,"' said Byrd, an NSU alumnus. "We're not talking about `savages' or other derogatory names here; we're talking about the `red' and `men."'

The other federally recognized tribe in Tahlequah, the United Keetoowah Band, approved a resolution in early September supporting the school's use of Redmen.

Several universities changed or agreed to change their nicknames after the NCAA policy discouraging use of these names was announced in 2005. Other schools have filed appeals, seeking permission from the NCAA to continue use of the nicknames.