A lot of talk recently about the Washington Redskins and Cleveland Indians potentially changing their name back. Could Midwestern State follow suit?

President Trump Wants Old Team Names Back in Sports

This week President Trump put out on his Truth Social Page, he would like for the Washington Commanders and Cleveland Guardians to go back to their old team names of Redskins and Indians respectively. We will wait and see if these teams decide to honor the President's wishes. However, someone in Wichita Falls brought up another point to the President today.

Wichitan Also Wants Midwestern State Indians Back

Someone in Wichita Falls on X, is trying to get the President's attention to our local college Midwestern State University. The first Midwestern State sports teams were established in 1924 as the Indians. Back then they were known as the Wichita Falls Junior College Indians. The Indians name would stick around til 2006 when the school officially changed to the Mustangs. In total, 24 colleges used the name Indians at some point in their sports history.

Indian History Still a Part of Midwestern State Campus

You might occasionally see someone wearing a throwback Midwestern State Indians shirt, but the best tribute that is still on campus is Sunwatcher Plaza. Students who don't know the Indian history might wonder why this is on campus. It was made for the 75th anniversary of Midwestern State. The statue is called The Sunwatcher and was actually based off several Indian Tribes in the Wichita Falls area. In fact, a member of the Kiowa Tribe actually attended a dedication ceremony for 'The Sunwatcher' statue in 1997.

NCAA Forced Midwestern State to Change Name

It was actually back on August 5, 2005 that Midwestern State would be notified by the NCAA that they were one of eighteen universities that had a team name and/or mascot that was deemed offensive and had to change.

Eighteen Colleges That Had to Change Team Names in 2005

• Alcorn State University (Braves)
• Central Michigan University (Chippewas)
• Catawba College (Indians)
• Florida State University (Seminoles)
• Midwestern State University (Indians)
• University of Utah (Utes)
• Indiana University-Pennsylvania (Indians)
• Carthage College (Redmen)
• Bradley University (Braves)
• Arkansas State University (Indians)
• Chowan College (Braves)
• University of Illinois-Champaign (Illini)
• University of Louisiana-Monroe (Indians)
• McMurry University (Indians)
• Mississippi College (Choctaws)
• Newberry College (Indians)
• University of North Dakota (Fighting Sioux)
• Southeastern Oklahoma State University (Savages)

According to the NCAA, all of the schools listed above had to make changes or "they will be banned from hosting any NCAA championship competitions after February 1, 2006." Apparently Midwestern State attempted to appeal the decision saying the Kiowa tribe had no issue with the university since they never used the Indian in a negative light. Still the appeal was denied and the Indians are no more. 

Colleges That Did Not Change After NCAA Decision

• Catawba College - Salisbury, North Carolina (Catawba Indians)
• Central Michigan University – Mount Pleasant, Michigan (Chippewas)
• Florida State University – Tallahassee, Florida (Seminoles) -
• Mississippi College – Clinton, Mississippi (Choctaws)
• University of Utah – Salt Lake City, Utah (Utes)

All five of these colleges were mentioned in the original NCAA announcement and still to this day remain the same. Apparently local tribes gave permission to the NCAA for them to stay, which has many in Wichita Falls wondering, why Midwestern State was denied all those years ago.

Maybe President Trump can help bring the Midwestern State Indians back.