The official mascot of the Ole Miss Rebels, the collegiate athletic teams of the University of Mississippi, has changed over the years. The first mascot was "The Flood" in 1929, followed by "Rebel the Bear" in 2010, and then "Tony the Landshark" in 2018. However, the original mascot was "Colonel Reb," a white-bearded man with a cane and red coat, based off of a "Blind Jim," a man who joined the team as the mascot in 1896. The university replaced Colonel Reb in 2010 with Rebel the Black Bear, who was replaced with Tony the Landshark in 2018. The university retired Colonel Reb due to the Confederate imagery associated with the mascot, which drew controversy to Ole Miss football.