After a seven-month controversy, the president of San Diego State University in California announced that campus mascot Monty Montezuma will be renamed and given a new regalia and demeanour "more fitting his position as emperor". President Stephen Weber said the person playing Montezuma will no longer run along the sidelines at football games carrying a flaming spear and exhorting fans to cheer. Gone too is the name Monty the Mascot.

Instead, Montezuma, the San Diego State ambassador, will sit regally and observe the team, which will retain the name "Aztecs".

Weber said he supports the use of Montezuma to represent the university's celebration of Aztec culture. "It is perfectly fitting that he be present at athletic contests as an expression of that pride," Weber said. "He will not, however, fulfill the cheer-leading role of a university mascot."