Bradley Braves volleyball program, 1976
Title
Bradley Braves volleyball program, 1976
Description
Women’s volleyball started at Bradley in 1974. This 1976 program is the earliest volleyball artifact in our collection.
Opportunities for female athletes were given a huge boost with the Education Amendments of 1972, which expanded civil rights legislation to education and, in Title IX, explicitly prohibited sex-based discrimination. Following its enactment, Bradley University, along with other institutions nationwide, began expanding athletic offerings to include more women's sports. Today, Bradley women compete in basketball, cross country, golf, softball, track and field, and volleyball.
Inside the program, you will notice a caricature. In Fall 1976, a Bradley art student created a female cartoon figure to be the new “partner” for the famous male mascot, “Tommy Hawk.” The Scout invited students to submit suggestions to name the new generic Indigenous mascot who would represent Bradley women in sports. A panel of judges selected “Chey-Anne” as the winner. In hindsight, it is a peculiar and jarring irony to see a lifting of old barriers accompanied by a renewed form of racial stereotyping. This kind of appropriation of Native imagery and names by universities was never about serving the curricular needs of students and of course is particularly egregious for institutions whose student population rarely included anyone who identified as Indigenous.
One Indigenous student, Jo Lakota, who earned degrees in education at Bradley in the late 1970s remembers the university at that time as completely intolerant of criticism about the mascots and the behavior of fans at games. Back on campus to discuss Native Land acknowledgements in Fall 2021, Lakota encountered students who were shocked by images of the old Bradley mascots and appalled that they had not learned this history.
The 1990s saw much more constructive conversation about Bradley's mascot history and Braves nickname. For example, then-Director of Teaching Excellence Programs and English professor Tim Conley organized a series of forums on Bradley's campus to educate people about the issue and enable civil and informed discussions. Video and transcripts from these forums as well as material and artifacts illuminating these topics and debates in Bradley history are part of our collections and available to researchers.
Opportunities for female athletes were given a huge boost with the Education Amendments of 1972, which expanded civil rights legislation to education and, in Title IX, explicitly prohibited sex-based discrimination. Following its enactment, Bradley University, along with other institutions nationwide, began expanding athletic offerings to include more women's sports. Today, Bradley women compete in basketball, cross country, golf, softball, track and field, and volleyball.
Inside the program, you will notice a caricature. In Fall 1976, a Bradley art student created a female cartoon figure to be the new “partner” for the famous male mascot, “Tommy Hawk.” The Scout invited students to submit suggestions to name the new generic Indigenous mascot who would represent Bradley women in sports. A panel of judges selected “Chey-Anne” as the winner. In hindsight, it is a peculiar and jarring irony to see a lifting of old barriers accompanied by a renewed form of racial stereotyping. This kind of appropriation of Native imagery and names by universities was never about serving the curricular needs of students and of course is particularly egregious for institutions whose student population rarely included anyone who identified as Indigenous.
One Indigenous student, Jo Lakota, who earned degrees in education at Bradley in the late 1970s remembers the university at that time as completely intolerant of criticism about the mascots and the behavior of fans at games. Back on campus to discuss Native Land acknowledgements in Fall 2021, Lakota encountered students who were shocked by images of the old Bradley mascots and appalled that they had not learned this history.
The 1990s saw much more constructive conversation about Bradley's mascot history and Braves nickname. For example, then-Director of Teaching Excellence Programs and English professor Tim Conley organized a series of forums on Bradley's campus to educate people about the issue and enable civil and informed discussions. Video and transcripts from these forums as well as material and artifacts illuminating these topics and debates in Bradley history are part of our collections and available to researchers.
Date
1976
Subject
College sports--Volleyball; College sports for women
Rights
For official publication permission or to request high resolution images, contact Special Collections at specialcollections@bradley.edu or (309)677-2822.
Citation
“Bradley Braves volleyball program, 1976,” Virginius H. Chase Special Collections Center, accessed May 8, 2024, https://bradleyspecialcollections.omeka.net/items/show/103.