Hainsworth's RV spawned the TUT Club - the Traveling Ute Tavern Club, whose 50 or so members tailgate at the camper before Ute football games.

"I guess the politically correct people can paint it over," Hainsworth said.

From students on the University of Utah campus to Utah fans reached for comment via phone, reactions ran the gamut on Friday afternoon. But everyone had something to say.

Some thought the NCAA was meddling too much into the university's affairs, especially when the U.'s affiliation with the Ute tribe was taken into consideration. The Ute Tribal Council's policy is to allow the University to use the nickname. The school has sponsored an American Indian program where students come to live and learn in Salt Lake during their high school years.

"It would be a very unhappy thing to have that changed," said Ute grad and fan Carolyn Nelson, whose sister and sister-in-law hosted American Indian students. "I think they would be flattered to have the U. use the name."

The thinking went that if the University of Utah respects the Ute Indian Tribe, then the issue might be a nonissue.

"One, I want to know who is it offensive to?" Hainsworth said. "It's offensive to the politically correct police. That's their lot in life, just to cause chaos and mayhem."

Some mascots and some schools' traditions, however, seemed to go too far in the opinion of local Ute fans. Take the Seminoles of Florida State.

"Florida [State] does the Tomahawk [chop]," Nelson said. "That offends me a little."

David Hornbeck, an employee at the University of Utah, said there's no gray area when it comes to universities and professional teams using nicknames such as Utes, Indians and Redskins. He said Friday's ruling by the NCAA is a good first step to eliminating all Native American mascots.

"They're degrading to Native Americans and I think they should all be eliminated," Hornbeck said. "Baseball teams, football teams, whatever, should find new symbols."

Boris Higgins, a first-year doctoral student at Utah, agreed with Hornbeck.

"We should respect the wishes of individuals or groups if they are offended by that [Native American nicknames]," Higgins said. "That's a positive thing by the NCAA."

Most Utah fans interviewed by The Salt Lake Tribune, however, thought their mascot is far less offensive than names such as Redskins and the Cleveland Indians' logo, which depicts a Native American with a large smile on his face. The Utes' mascot is a red-tailed hawk named Swoop.

"I don't think it's [Utah's logo] necessarily as offensive as the Cleveland Indians' logo," said University of Utah graduate Brant Tidwell. "They can get rid of Swoop though. That would be OK."

Many Utah fans are hoping the school doesn't get rid of the Utes nickname.

"The Utes are pretty well synonymous with the U. of U.," said former University of Utah runner John Schiefer. "The term Utes is probably as well known as the U. when it comes to sports. Of course, anytime you're talking about race, you've got to be careful."

Changes

Schools that have already dropped Indian mascots:

Syracuse

(Saltine Warriors)

Stanford

(Indians)

St. John's

(Redmen)

Miami of Ohio

(Redskins)

Eastern Michigan

(Hurons)

Marquette

(Warriors)