Leland Mitchell, a member of...

...the 1963 Mississippi State basketball team, died at age 72. From his obit in the Times:

In the game, all-white Mississippi State took on a Loyola team with four black starters. The Mississippi team was named the Maroons, an old Southern term for runaway slaves, which eventually gave way to Bulldogs.

According to Wikipedia, MSU adopted the new nickname in1961, when I was only two. I get it: the South used to be racist but isn't any more. In fact, the whole country has changed a lot since then.

So how come the marching band is still known as the "Famous Maroon Band"?