The Board of Trustees at Alabama State University voted two weeks ago to remove all mentions of one trustee, Joe L. Reed, from the university’s 7,400-seat basketball arena. Within hours university workers had chiseled large, metallic letters from the side of the former Joe L. Reed Acadome and removed several plaques bearing his name and likeness, the Montgomery Advertiser reported. (Video of the removal can be seen here.)

The university might want to hold on to the letters, however, as Mr. Reed and his supporters are fighting to restore his name. On Tuesday an estimated 200 people, including several state lawmakers, rallied to denounce the board’s action.

“One thing I know for sure: My name will be back on that building,” Mr. Reed told the newspaper. “It might not be this board that does it, but it will be done.”

Mr. Reed, the most prominent of the board’s 10 members, has publicly clashed with his fellow trustees and university administrators, including the departing president, Joe A. Lee. In a 10-point resolution, the board detailed its problems with Mr. Reed, asserting that he had generated negative publicity and multiple “frivolous litigations” involving the university.

And in a final snub, the board said: “Joe L. Reed never played basketball and never actively supported the ASU basketball program in any way or form, financial or otherwise.” —Paul Fain