So long, Tony? Ole Miss de-emphasizing on-field shark mascot
Tony the Landshark, the unconventional on-field mascot for Ole Miss athletics, could soon be no more.
While Ole Miss athletics director Keith Carter, in an interview with The Ole Miss Spirit on Wednesday, didn’t say definitively the university was moving on from Tony, he made it clear the anthropomorphic shark was being de-emphasized.
“You’ll see Tony around the stadium, kind of pregame,” Carter said, on the Spirit’s Talk of Champions podcast. “I know the kids love Tony and they want to get pictures and do those type of things.
“We kind of made the decision Tony’s not going to be involved in the game-day (festivities) this year. Nothing official with Tony, but just taking a little bit of a break, and we’re going to see where that ends up.”
Depending on the sport, Tony the Landshark, on game days, can usually be found wearing a No. 47 jersey in honor of the late Tony Fein.
Fein, a former Ole Miss linebacker, passed away in 2009.
He originated the ‘Fins Up!’ celebration that has been widely used by Rebel athletes across all sports since 2007 or so. Fein began putting his hand to his forehead to mimic a shark after a big play, and it quickly caught on with his teammates, fans and fellow student-athletes.
Tony the Landshark has been noticeably absent from football this year. No. 12 Ole Miss (7-2, 3-2 SEC) next hosts No. 11 Texas A&M (7-2, 4-2) Saturday at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN. College GameDay is set to broadcast from the Grove for the second time in program history.
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“Just trying to kind of take a step back from that and kind of look at it and see where we end up there,” Carter said.
Ole Miss removed its Colonel Rebel mascot in 2003.
He was replaced by an oft-maligned black bear in 2010.
“I do think when you have to make some changes, and some needed changes, in that space, it does create a void in some ways,” Carter said. “If you can find the perfect solution, it would be great. But, unfortunately, we haven’t been able to do that, in my opinion.”
Tony the Landshark has had more than his fair share of criticism, mostly due to his general appearance. Sources indicate Ole Miss, if and when Tony is officially removed, will likely pivot to no mascot for a while.
As a result, the university would bring to an end, albeit briefly, the way-too-long and always-silly-and-heated mascot debate that has carried on for nearly 20 years now.
