Colonel Reb was the official mascot of Ole Miss Rebels, the collegiate athletic teams of the University of Mississippi ("Ole Miss") in Oxford, Mississippi. Designed in 1936, the Colonel served as the teams' official sideline mascot from 1979 until 2003. The university replaced him in 2010 with a new on-field mascot, Rebel, the Black Bear, who was replaced with Tony the Landshark in 2018.
As was the trend among many American colleges and universities during the 1970s, the university adopted a costumed mascot, based on its popular "Colonel Rebel" design. Thus, in 1979, Colonel Reb advanced from his 40-year history on paper to a living caricature on the field. The role was filled by a male cheerleader, and the character was first called "Johnny Reb." 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." in his first year, and he also helped lead the Rebels to third- and first-place distinctions by the National Cheerleading Association ("NCA") and the Universal Cheerleading Association ("UCA"), respectively, among 99 competing universities.The Colonel was also on hand to welcome former President Gerald Fordwhen he visited the University of Mississippi in 1981.
For a brief period during the early 1980s, the Colonel also joined members of the Rebel cheerleading squad in traveling to several NBA games to perform at halftime shows, in which the group would use mini-trampolines and perform flashy, acrobatic slam-dunks and other basketball stunts. (This group, which featured Colonel Reb in its earliest performances, was originally known as the "Dixie Daredevils," but it eventually rebranded as the "Bud Light Daredevils" after obtaining a sponsorship from Budweiser.)
The Colonel would continue to turn in strong performances throughout the 1980s: in 1986, he earned "SEC Mascot of the Year" honors and was named the Runner-Up for "National Mascot of the Year" (finishing only behind Cocky of the South Carolina Gamecocks). During that same year, he was also honored as the "National Mascot Fundraiser Champion" for his fundraising efforts for juvenile diabetes research and charitable appearances for United Way.