[2] One theory proposes that Billy Hix, the art editor for the 1936-1937 Ole Miss yearbook in which the Colonel first appeared, created the image as an illustration for the university's new athletics sobriquet.

Ivy was very much a part of the university scene when the editor of the school newspaper, The Mississippian, proposed a contest in April 1936 to produce a new nickname for the Ole Miss athletic teams.

The Mississippian received many entries and subsequently placed several names–including Rebels, Raiders, Confederates, Stonewalls, and Ole Miss (without a nickname appendage)–in the hands of 21 sportswriters.

The earliest and most widely recognized version of the “modern” Colonel, however, appeared on the 1946-1947 Ole Miss, adorning the cover in full color and in much more detail.

Ole Miss campus bookstore owner Carl Coers and famous New Orleans cartoonist John Churchill Chase may have also had a hand in revising and modifying the Colonel image during those early years.

[9] The California company Angelus Pacific also claims that it designed the Colonel; during this era, ex-Disney artist Art C. Evans illustrated dozens of collegiate mascots that became hugely popular across America and are still widely recognizable today.

One year later, in 1990, Roy Lee "Chucky" Mullins, the Rebel athlete who suffered a devastating football injury in 1989 that left him a quadriplegic, was elected "Colonel Reb" by the student body.

Throughout the early 1980s, the Ole Miss cheerleading team gained widespread recognition as one of the "top squads" in the nation: the Colonel was named "Best Mascot in the S.E.C."

[16] In 2003, the administration–concerned about some members of the public who perceived a connection between the character and the Old South–removed Colonel Reb from the sidelines at Ole Miss athletic events as the official on-field mascot, though he was allowed at tailgates and other unofficial university functions.

[18] After months of analyzing responses and feedback, including the final poll, the committee ultimately selected the Black Bear as the new on-field mascot and named it "Rebel".