Current Chief's parents: Whole thing is such a travesty

CHAMPAIGN – It's not an overstatement to say that Tom Maloney bleeds orange and blue.

The 48-year-old Galesburg financial adviser graduated from the University of Illinois, as did his wife, four of his siblings, his father and his father-in-law. And a large portion of his paycheck now goes to the UI, as three of his four children are currently students there.

But Maloney, who also happens to be the father of Dan Maloney, the current Chief Illiniwek, is not his usual Illini-pride-filled self these days.

"I'm extremely disappointed in the way this has turned out, but it isn't over," Tom Maloney said after watching Sunday's UI basketball game from his A-section season-ticket seat.

He's referring to the retirement of the Chief by the UI Board of Trustees, which becomes effective Wednesday.

"It's unfortunate the Board of Trustees didn't have the courage to stand up to the NCAA and fight for something worth fighting for," he said. "The whole thing is such a travesty.

"There still is an appeal. The only thing worse than getting beat in the appeal is not trying."

And this week, he intends to have a talk with his state legislator to see what it would take to return to having UI trustees elected rather than appointed.

"This is what happens when you are not accountable to anyone," Tom Maloney said. "If it was consensus, I don't know of anyone whose opinion was asked. Don't hide behind ambiguous terms like consensus," he said, adding there should have been a recorded vote by each of the trustees to keep or retire the Chief.

Tom Maloney said he and his wife, Carol, are extremely proud of their son and Logan Ponce, the assistant chief, for their willingness to be parties to the lawsuit against the NCAA and the UI trustees in an effort to retain the Chief.

Tom Maloney said they discussed it at length with their son, Ponce's parents and Mattoon attorney Brent Holmes before agreeing to get on board. They don't feel their son or Ponce is being used by Chief backers.

"They did this on principle, because it's a cause worth fighting for," he said, adding that they're not seeking money.

Sporting a shirt with a picture of the Chief on it and the words 'My Son' under it, Carol Maloney echoed how proud she is of her oldest son. Near her was daughter Rachel, a junior in biology, wearing the same kind of shirt with the words 'My Brother' under the Chief.

Son Michael, a sophomore in percussion performance, was also at the game, singing the national anthem at the game's opening with the UI Men's Glee Club. Their other son, Ryan, a high school junior and the only Maloney child still at home, was also there.

Also in attendance was Tom Maloney's younger sister, Linda Maurer, also a UI grad, from Carmel, Ind. They all plan to be there Wednesday as well.

"I'm just a really proud mom and a real protective mom. I'm proud of him for standing up for something he believes in," Carol Maloney said. "When I saw all those people cheering and the cameras, I was overcome."

Carol Maloney said the protective part of her is upset that no one from the Board of Trustees or within the UI administration even bothered to call Dan to let him know the board's decision before releasing it to the media.

"For three years, two years as an assistant Chief and one year as Chief, Dan has put his heart and soul into being a positive ambassador for the UI. He's gone all over the state talking to organizations and promoting the university. They haven't even called him," she said, adding that Ponce still hasn't heard whether he'll perform at the women's basketball games.

"That's the thanks he gets for representing this university," Tom Maloney said, adding that his son notified Dana Brenner, associate athletic director, of their intent to file the lawsuit before releasing anything publicly so that the UI would know what was going on.

"The whole situation is a very sad ending to an honored tradition," Tom Maloney said. "To use a football analogy, it's fourth down, the boys are going to go for it, and the university punted."

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