Saigo invited to speak at NCAA

Roy Saigo

It will be a big day Monday for SCSU President Roy Saigo. He will be making a 30-minute presentation to the NCAA’s Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee.

Saigo will be talking about the use of American Indian mascots, nicknames and logos by universities and colleges.

Marsha Shoemaker, SCSU special assistant to the president said Saigo was invited by MOIC chairman Eugene Marshall, Jr. to present at its meeting in Indianapolis. As such, the NCAA is paying Saigo’s expenses, including travel and accommodation.

In March, 2001, Saigo sent a letter to NCAA’s presidents committee highlighting the issue.

“He brought the issue to their attention,” Shoemaker said. “They had talked about it earlier, but the president put it on the table as a resolution.”

A month later, Saigo made a similar resolution at a WCHA meeting, but this was blocked by nine universities and colleges, including the University of Minnesota and Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Many people have questioned Saigo’s move to table the resolutions, saying that Saigo and SCSU had no business telling other universities what to do.

“It’s not a matter of him (Saigo) championing the issue (on a personal level) or as the president,” Shoemaker said. “The president has always said that this is an educational issue. It’s important to have a forum to discuss the issue.”

The American Indian mascot issue has become a hot topic on the SCSU campus. On Nov. 2, 2001, two student organizations – the American Indian Student Organization and Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano/a de Atzlan – organized a protest outside the National Hockey Center when the SCSU men’s hockey team hosted the University of North Dakota, which uses the nickname “Fighting Sioux” and an American Indian-head logo.

A similar protest was staged at the University of Minnesota later, while another is planned on Feb. 15 at MSU, Mankato, when the Mavericks host UND’s basketball team.

Efforts to contact Marshall were unsuccessful. However, several MOIC documents were provided by NCAA director of professional development Rochelle Collins, who is also the staff liaison to the MOIC.

According to the documents, the MOIC had reviewed a variety of materials, including the NCAA Constitution, recent documents issued by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and publications. In addition, professor Cornel Pewewardy, from the University of Kansas’ department of teaching and leadership, provided a historical overview of American Indian mascot issues.

Upon completion of its review, the committee agreed that the use of American Indian mascots in intercollegiate athletics must be a concern to the NCAA. Specifically, the committee noted three articles in the NCAA’s constitution pertaining to the principle of non-discrimination, the principle of sportsmanship and ethical conduct and cultural diversity and gender equity.

The MOIC decided that it would develop a briefing report on the issue to be submitted to the NCAA for review and to determine the appropriate responses.

Several issues will be addressed in the report. These include historical background; scope (is the issue solely related to mascots, or should logos, insignias, fight songs, names and antics also be addressed); American Indian organizations, agencies and constituent groups that need to be involved in the discussion and resolution to the issues; issues and concerns from administrators, spectators and alumni at institutions that currently have American Indian mascots or names; and information from administrators, spectators and alumni at institutions that formerly had American Indian mascots or names.

The MOIC appointed a seven-member subcommittee to oversee the preparation of the briefing report. Among the members are Marshall and a student athlete representative.

The subcommittee is expected to draft a preliminary report and recommendations for the full committee by June 15. The recommendations will then be discussed by the MOIC and a final report will be drafted between June and September.

The final report is expected to be handed over to the NCAA Executive Committee’s subcommittee on Gender and Diversity Issues in October for review.

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Leslie Andres can be reached at: [email protected]

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