autonomy. On November 11, 2005, the NCAA, stating that it had "found no new information relative to the mascot, known as 'Chief Illiniwek' or the logo mark used by some athletics teams that depicts an American Indian in feathered headdress," upheld the ban on the University of Illinois. However, it did allow the continued use of the nicknames "Illini" and "Fighting Illini" by the university because they are based on the name of the state and not of American Indian descent. The university appealed the decision again on January 30, 2006, mere days before the deadline. While the NCAA Executive Committee granted an extension to April 28, the committee's next meeting, to other schools affected by the ban, the University of Illinois requested a longer stay until May 15, the end of the current semester. The Executive Committee ignored the request for a longer stay and denied the university's second appeal while indicating that no further appeals would be entertained. The Chicago Sun-Times reported on August 31, 2006 that Chief Illiniwek would "no longer be an official university mascot" after the 2006–2007 basketball season. The paper also reported that the ownership of the Chief would be transitioned to an organization called the "Council of Chiefs" and made up of a number of people who have previously portrayed Chief Illiniwek. The next day, however, the university disputed the Sun-Times report. University sources confirmed that several former Chiefs had met with University officials to discuss preserving the mascot's tradition but stated that the so-called "Council of Chiefs" did not exist as a formally organized group. A University spokesman stated that "no decisions have been made" regarding the mascot's fate. Chief Illiniwek and the Fighting Illini Some have incorrectly linked Chief Illiniwek with the nickname Fighting Illini. Though many assume that both are based on Illinois' American Indian traditions, the name Illini was first associated with the school by the student newspaper, which in 1874 changed its name from The Student to The Illini. The addition of the adjective "fighting" originated about five years before the appearance of Chief Illiniwek, as a tribute to Illinois soldiers killed in World War I. Similarly, the on-campus football venue, Memorial Stadium, was named in honor of those fallen soldiers. As stated above, the NCAA has exempted the names "Illini" and "Fighting Illini" from its ban on American Indian imagery, as these names are purely based on