U of I students meet with Board of Trustees on kingfisher mascot prop…

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — A group of University of Illinois students has been trying for years to get the university to adopt a new athletic mascot. On Thursday, they took another step toward that goal when they met with the Board of Trustees.

Kingfisher Taskforce wants the belted kingfisher to represent the university. Some people had their own ideas of what they would like to see as the mascot, but many said that if the kingfisher fits the bill, they’ll support it. They said it’s better than having no mascot at all.

U of I alum Michael Greifenkamp said he was used to the former mascot at the university, Chief Illiniwek.

“I was a student here back in the late 80s and early 90s,” Greifenkamp said. “And most people supported Chief Illiniwek then.”

But he said that it’s time to move on from the Chief, who was retired as a mascot in 2007.

“The Chief isn’t coming back,” he said. “I think some people need to get that into their heads. It took…