ST. GEORGE Utah
A University of Utah-proposed affiliation with Dixie State College comes with a handful of ironclad conditions but not every Dixie supporter likes the deal.
Among the primary concerns are requirements to drop Dixie’s “Rebel” mascot and handing over direct control of administrative and fiscal policies of the college to bosses in Salt Lake City.
“There is a very large group of people who want Dixie or the name Dixie to be preserved in the best possible way,” said St. George attorney and Dixie alum Ralph Atkin at a public hearing last week.
But that’s not likely to happen and strong emotions won’t change the equation, said Shandon Gubler, chairman of the DSC board of trustees.
In a letter to the Dixie board last week, university officials outlined 10 conditions for the merger. A six-member task force comprised of representatives from both school is considering the proposal.
“From the U’s perspective, the university is a national player with international scope,” Utah’s board chairman Randy Dryer said. “Here in Utah, we understand there is a difference between Utah’s Dixie and the Dixie of the old South. To the rest of the world, it means the Confederacy and slavery. The name is an issue of great importance to the university.”
