The Evolution of Middle Tennessee’s Mascot
MARCH 21, 2016
Story by Devin Ross
... Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, the college went without an official mascot, but by 1950 it had begun to incorporate the image of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest into campus life ... The decade saw an influx of Confederate imagery on campus amid the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision and the Confederate Centennial ...
In 1968, the university discontinued Forrest as the official mascot and created a committee specifically to choose a more generic, less controversial mascot who would be more palatable to minorities ... Their choice was a .. St. Bernard named Beauregard ... apparently a compromise as the new mascot was dressed like an infantryman whose name likely referenced P.G.T Beauregard, another Confederate general.
In 1970, after Beauregard had failed to inspire sports fans and controversy stirred due to crosses being burned on campus, the mascot’s name was changed to Lord Byron ... The graphic depiction of Lord Byron was similar to Beauregard. He appeared to be a musketeer-like infantryman yielding a sword .. After the name Lord Byron failed to strike a chord, the dog’s name was changed to Old Blue ...
In 1978, MTSU president M.G Scarlett, faced with cries to omit images of Forrest .. finally removed his image from the university’s official seal ... The same year, the university adopted a new mascot: an ambiguous swash-buckler-like superhero character simply named the Blue Raider. However, he too was short-lived ...
http://mtsusidelines.com/2016/03/the-evolution-of-middle-tennessees-mascot/
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