Chief Illiniwek performs for last time

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The student who had just performed Chief Illiniwek’s last dance stood in a tunnel just off the basketball court, still in costume and grimacing to fight back tears.

After 20 years of pressure from activists who found the University of Illinois mascot offensive, the school did away with Illiniwek and his antics. Dan Maloney, a graduate student who portrays the controversial American Indian mascot, performed for the final time in front of students and fans at a men’s basketball game Wednesday night.

“If this is the last time – and I stress if,” Maloney said. “I couldn’t think of a better way for it to end.”

The school’s decision led the NCAA to lift sanctions that had barred Illinois from hosting postseason sports since 2005. The NCAA had deemed Illiniwek – portrayed since 1926 by students who cavorted at home football and basketball games in buckskin regalia – an offensive use of American Indian imagery.