Walk into any sports bar in Oxford, Mississippi, on a Saturday in the fall, and you’ll see him. He's on the faded hats of old-timers. He’s plastered on window decals of pickup trucks parked near The Grove. He’s the quintessential Southern gentleman—or a painful relic of a segregated past, depending on who you ask. We’re talking about Colonel Rebel Ole Miss, the white-bearded, cane-toting caricature that officially "died" years ago but refuses to stay buried.
It’s weird.
In most places, when a mascot gets retired, it just vanishes into a trivia book. Not here. At the University of Mississippi, the Colonel is a ghost that still haunts the sidelines of every conversation about identity, heritage, and what it actually means to be a "Rebel" in the 21st century.
The Birth of a Sideline Staple
Before he was a lightning rod for controversy, Colonel Rebel was basically just a drawing. He first popped up in 1937. The school’s yearbook, The Ole Miss, needed a visual identity. Enter the caricature of an antebellum planter. He had the wide-brimmed hat, the tuxedo-style coat, and that distinctively "distinguished" slouch. By 1947, he was the official face of the athletic department.
For decades, the Colonel was everywhere.
He was on the midfield logo. He was the guy leading the football team onto the grass. Fans loved him. To a specific generation of Mississippians, he didn't represent the Confederacy—at least not consciously. He represented "The South" as a vague, romanticized concept of hospitality and grit. But history isn't vague. It’s heavy.
The image was actually modeled after a real person, or so the campus legend goes. Many believe the look was inspired by "Blind Jim" Ivy, a Black man who was a fixture at Ole Miss sporting events for decades and was often called the university's "cheerleader." The irony is thick. A mascot that many view as a symbol of white supremacy might have been visually rooted in the likeness of a Black superfan who wasn't even allowed to enroll at the school during his lifetime.
Why Colonel Rebel Ole Miss Had to Go
The 1990s were a turning point. The university started feeling the heat. National broadcasts of Ole Miss games often featured shots of the Confederate battle flag waving in the stands, and the Colonel stood right in the middle of it. It was a branding nightmare for a school trying to recruit elite athletes and top-tier faculty from across the globe.
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Chancellor Robert Khayat knew something had to change.
In 1997, the university famously requested that fans stop bringing Confederate flags to games. It wasn't an outright ban at first—more of a "please don't"—but it signaled the beginning of the end for the old iconography. The Colonel was next on the chopping block.
By 2003, the university officially removed Colonel Rebel Ole Miss from the sidelines. They didn't just replace him; they left a vacuum. For years, there was no mascot. It was just the "Rebels" name and a whole lot of awkward silence during timeouts. The school tried to move on, but the donor base wasn't having it. They saw the removal as an erasure of their history, a "woke" move before that word was even a thing.
The Bear and the Landshark
You can't talk about the Colonel without talking about the "replacements." They’ve been... a mixed bag.
First, there was Rebel Black Bear. In 2010, after a student vote, the bear won out. It was a nod to William Faulkner, a famous Oxford local who wrote The Bear. It made sense on paper. In practice? People hated it. It felt corporate. It felt like a mascot for a minor league baseball team in Idaho, not a storied SEC powerhouse.
Then came the Landshark.
This one was different. It started with Tony Fein, an Iraq War veteran and linebacker for the Rebels who started the "fins up" hand gesture on defense. It was organic. It was gritty. In 2017, the university leaned into it and made the Landshark the official mascot. Tony "Landshark" became the guy on the sidelines. While it’s more popular than the bear, you still won't find many 60-year-old boosters wearing a shark on their polo shirts. They’re still looking for the Colonel.
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The Legal Tug-of-War
Here is something most people forget: the university doesn't actually own the exclusive rights to the Colonel's image anymore in the way they used to.
When Ole Miss abandoned the trademark, a group called the Colonel Rebel Foundation stepped in. They fought to keep the image alive. This is why you can still buy Colonel Rebel gear at off-campus shops like B-Bobs or various boutiques in downtown Oxford.
- The University's Stance: They want nothing to do with him. He is persona non grata in the official "Rebel Shop."
- The Foundation's Stance: He is a symbol of "the pride and the tradition" of Mississippi.
- The Student Stance: Mostly indifferent, though many Black students and progressive groups see him as a symbol of the Jim Crow era that has no place in a modern educational setting.
Honestly, the legal battle is just a proxy for the cultural one. If you walk through the Grove on a Saturday morning, you'll see the Colonel on silver platters and fine china. He’s become a "secret handshake" for a specific type of fan. He’s a rebel in a way the school never intended—a symbol of defiance against the university administration itself.
The E-E-A-T Factor: What the Experts Say
Historians like Dr. Charles Reagan Wilson, a former director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture, have written extensively about the "religion" of the South. In this context, Colonel Rebel Ole Miss isn't just a mascot; he's an icon in a secular religion. Symbols carry weight because we give them weight.
For many, the Colonel is inseparable from the era of "Massive Resistance" to integration. He was the mascot when James Meredith walked onto campus under the protection of federal marshals in 1962. He was the mascot during the riots. You can't just scrub that away with a new logo.
On the flip side, proponents of the Colonel argue that the caricature is just that—a caricature. They point to the fact that he was often depicted in cartoons losing to other mascots, meant to be a fun, harmless figure. But in the world of SEO and public perception, "harmless" is a luxury that symbols of the Old South no longer enjoy.
The Reality of the Modern Rebel
Ole Miss today is a vastly different place than it was in 2003. The student body is more diverse. The football team is a global brand. When Lane Kiffin stands on the sidelines, he’s not thinking about 1947; he’s thinking about the transfer portal and NIL deals.
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The university has done everything in its power to distance itself from the Colonel. They’ve changed building names. They’ve moved Confederate monuments. But the Colonel persists because he is tied to the "Rebel" nickname.
That’s the elephant in the room.
As long as the team is called the Rebels, people will associate it with the most famous "rebel" in the school's history. Some fans have suggested changing the name entirely—maybe to the "Mississippi Blues" or just "Oxford FC"—but that’s a bridge too far for even the most progressive boosters. The "Rebel" name stays, and so, the ghost of the Colonel lingers.
Navigating the Oxford Scene: A Guide for Fans
If you’re heading to Oxford for a game, you need to understand the social landscape. It’s not as simple as "old mascot bad, new mascot good." It’s nuanced.
- The Grove is the Epicenter: If you want to see the Colonel in his "natural habitat," this is it. You'll see him on ties, stickers, and napkins. It’s a museum of the way things were.
- The Official Shops: Don't go into the Ole Miss Bookstore looking for a Colonel Rebel shirt. You won't find one. They are strictly Landshark and Script "Ole Miss" territory.
- Respect the Vibe: Oxford is a place of high manners. Even people who disagree vehemently about the mascot will likely share a bourbon with you. It’s a weird, beautiful, complicated place.
Why He Still Matters in 2026
We live in a world where "brand" is everything. For Ole Miss, the Colonel Rebel Ole Miss mascot is a cautionary tale about what happens when a brand becomes more than just a logo. He became a container for an entire region's baggage.
He matters because he represents the friction point between who we were and who we want to be. You can retire a mascot, but you can't retire a memory. Whether you think he’s a charming piece of folk art or a grotesque reminder of a dark past, the Colonel remains the most talked-about "retired" figure in college sports.
Actionable Insights for the Curious Fan
If you're looking to dive deeper into the history or just want to navigate the culture of Oxford without stepping on toes, keep these points in mind:
- Study the History: Read The Ghosts of Ole Miss by Wright Thompson. It provides the best context for why these symbols matter so much to the people of Mississippi.
- Visit the Archives: The JD Williams Library on campus has incredible archives. You can see the original drawings of the Colonel and track his evolution from a yearbook sketch to a national controversy.
- Support Current Traditions: If you're a fan, lean into the Landshark. It’s the current identity of the players. The athletes themselves have largely embraced the "Fins Up" culture, and supporting the team means supporting the guys on the field today.
- Understand the Trademark: If you’re buying merchandise, know where it’s coming from. Official university-licensed gear supports the athletic department. Third-party "Colonel" gear supports private entities. Decide where you want your money to go.
The Colonel isn't coming back to the sidelines. That ship has sailed, sunk, and been turned into a reef. But in the hearts of a certain segment of the fanbase, he’ll always be the "real" mascot, forever tilting his hat to a crowd that isn't there anymore.