Original sentence: Chief Illiniwek predates the use of mascots by most sports teams, making him one of the first.Chief Illiniwek was the mascot (often referred to by supporters as the "symbol") of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (UIUC), associated with the University's intercollegiate athletic programs, from 1926 to February 21, 2007.In the final years he did not perform at road games, since other Big Ten universities refused to allow the character to perform at their home games, citing him as offensive.Since he performed many of the functions of other schools’ mascots, Chief Illiniwek is generally referred to as the university’s mascot in media reporting and academic sources regarding the controversy
Edited sentence: Chief Illiniwek is/was the symbol of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (UIUC), associated with the University's intercollegiate athletic programs, from 1926 to February 21, 2007.Since Chief Illiniwek did not perform the functions of other schools’ mascots, Chief Illiniwek is generally referred to as the university’s Symbol