Hey Reb!

Hey Reb!
The sculpture of Hey Reb that stood outside the Tam Alumni Center from 2007 to 2020
UniversityUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas
ConferenceMountain West
DescriptionUNLV Rebels Mascot[1]
First seen1983; 41 years ago (1983)
Last seen2020; 4 years ago (2020)

Hey Reb! was a mascot for the UNLV Rebels, the athletic teams of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in Paradise, Nevada, USA.[2][3][4] He performed live at all UNLV athletic events. The mascot, Hey Reb!, was first created in 1983 to depict the embodiment of an independent, rebel spirit at UNLV athletic events,[5][6] intended as a tribute to western settlers.[7]

In the aftermath of the George Floyd protests, the statue of the mascot was removed as part of a larger national reckoning with racist symbols and Confederate memorials; the mascot itself was permanently retired for the same reason, and no replacement mascot was announced.

  1. ^ "Why are the UNLV sports teams represented by a Confederate rebel?". Greenspun Media. Las Vegas Sun. December 23, 2008. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
  2. ^ "Hey Reb!". UNLVRebels.com. Archived from the original on March 14, 2014. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  3. ^ "My day with UNLV's Hey Reb". Las Vegas Weekly. March 15, 2012. Archived from the original on March 14, 2014. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  4. ^ "After Six Years, Jon "Jersey" Goldman Takes Off the Hey Reb! Suit". virtual-rebel.com. July 1, 2013. Archived from the original on March 14, 2014. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  5. ^ "Mascot/Spirit Mark". University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Archived from the original on October 25, 2013. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  6. ^ "The man behind the mustache: Hey Reb driven by passion for UNLV sports". Las Vegas Sun. November 17, 2012. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  7. ^ "'Hey Reb' statue removed by University of Nevada, Las Vegas; mascot under review". NBC News. June 18, 2020. Retrieved June 23, 2020.