For more than a century, Illinois' athletic teams have been known as the "Fighting Illini." And for more than a century, people have been wondering what the heck that means.
The Prairie State's flagship university in Urbana-Champaign has been using the term to describe its students, athletes, faculty and alumni for generations. The first recorded use of the word dates all the way back to 1874, less than 10 years after Illinois native Abraham Lincoln was assassinated during his second term as president.
But what exactly is an Illini, anyway? Well, the history of the word goes back even further than the school — or even the state — itself.
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What is an Illini?
Originally, Illini was a term used to refer to a group of Native American tribes that lived in the Mississippi River Valley. The group of roughly 12 or 13 tribes occupied land in what is now Iowa, Illinois, Missouri and Arkansas. The words "Illinois" and "Illini" were the result of French explorers in the area attempting to spell the native word for the group of tribes: ilinwek.
Due to war and disease, the population of the Illini people declined sharply to just a few hundred in the late 18th century. The last remaining members of the tribe relocated to Kansas and then Oklahoma, where their descendants can still be found today within the Peoria Confederation.
In 1867, about 100 years after the Illini people left the state, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign was founded. Seven years later, the school's weekly student newspaper — which was originally called The Student, changed its name to The Illini. This was the first official use of the word at the university.
Pretty soon, people were using the term to refer to students, staff and the campus as a whole. The first recorded use of the word to describe the school's athletic teams is believed to have happened in 1911 in an article in the student newspaper.
“Only a small crowd turned out to see our fighting Illini chase the Gophers back to their holes," the reporter wrote, presumably in reference to a game against Minnesota.
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The name quickly stuck, and by the late 1920s, it was widely used as the unofficial nickname for the university's sports teams. No one is sure exactly when it was officially adopted, but it has now been in use for a century.
The word's background as a Native American term was also apparent in the school's now-discontinued mascot, Chief Illiniwek. The character, played by a student in costume, was created to represent the leader of the Illini tribes.
He performed at halftime during football, basketball and other University of Illinois sports games from 1926 until 2007, when he was retired due to concerns over cultural appropriation.
The Illini were wiped out by a competing tribe in the 1760s. Chief Illiniwek is not a real person. The costume is Sioux. His "authentic Indian dance" was made up by whatever student played the character at the time. pic.twitter.com/6cE5D3rlK2
— Knowing Better (@KnowingBetterYT) September 5, 2022
It's possible the university could decide to retire the nickname for similar reasons, but there are no plans to do so in the near future.
For now, "Illini" remains one of the most unique and beloved sports nicknames in the entire country. Perhaps it will stick around for another few generations to come.
