Idalski - Recruits' concern real.

University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux athletic logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Next Tuesday "North Dakota" voters will go to the polls to vote on four ballot measures one of the measures is the Fighting Sioux nickname ballot measure 4. My advice to you is to vote with your conscience but there are a few things to remember going forward.

Do not believe the false rhetoric that the sanctions from the NCAA are minimal and or overblown. If the Fighting Sioux nickname is not retired the first team to suffer from the NCAA Sanctions will be the UND Women's Hockey team.

The Fighting Sioux women's team is going to be one of the top teams in Division I hockey during the 2012-13 season - the UND Women have a legitimate chance of winning their first NCAA title based on who is returning to Idalski's squad - they will be hard pressed to make the Women's Frozen Four if they have to travel instead of hosting a quarter final series. The sanctions have more teeth than some want to believe.

Marino Eccher, INFORUM --- They said they wanted to speak out to counter claims by nickname supporters that the consequences of keeping the nickname are overblown.

Idalski said the consequences of the sanctions hit home for him when they came up while recruiting a blue-chip recruit from Canada.

“Her family called me and asked, what does this mean for us?” he said. “Their concerns were very real.”

Before you think about attacking Brian Idalski, or think that he has been told to get in line by the UND Administration, think again, Idalski was speaking out about the NCAA sanctions before the Measure 4 movement became hot and heated -  Idalski has discussed this issue before at the Wednesday press conferences and he voiced his concerns about the consequences of the NCAA sanctions and what they meant to his team. As long as UND is known as the Fighting Sioux UND will never be able to host an NCAA tourney event in anything.

That being said, Idalski has been consistent on this issue - the woman's head coach is a realist - he knows that his team will suffer very soon if the name if the Fighting Sioux nickname is not dropped. This isn't a scare tactic or some over blown pontification.

For the record; all of UND's teams were conforming with the settlement  and the woman's team was in was the first UND hockey team to wear the new jersey's that said "NORTH DAKOTA" on the front of them, the men's hockey team had to wait a little longer and received their new jerseys right before the West Regional.

None of us want to have to drop the Fighting Sioux nickname - but the cost to the University is good big - teams will not play UND as long as they are under NCAA sanctions. Contrary to what some politicians think, the NCAA is not going to budge from their opinion - the NCAA doesn't care how Sioux Country is going to vote - the NCAA has a signed settlement that was signed by the Attorney General of North Dakota. Al Carlson is clueless if he thinks other wise - before you try to call me a democrat or a liberal think again,  think again, I am life long registered republican and I wouldn't vote for Al Carlson, under an circumstances, even if it meant the house or senate would turn from blue to red. I would vote for the Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck instead. My question is; where were this people five years ago when we could have saved the Fighting Sioux nickname?

Here is the Ballot measure again.

The measure as it appears on the ballot reads: This referendum measure concerns Senate Bill 2370 as passed by the Legislative Assembly in the November 2011 special session (Session Laws, Chapter 580). Senate Bill 2370 repealed section 15-10-46 of the North Dakota Century Code, which required the University of North Dakota to use the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo.

YES – means you approve Senate Bill 2370, the effect of which would allow the University of North Dakota to discontinue the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo.

NO – means you reject Senate Bill 2370, and would require the University of North Dakota to use the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo.

Earl Strinden, Grand Forks, letter: ‘Yes’ on 4 to protect UND

One of UND’s most prominent Alumni Earl Strinden had this to say today on Measure 4. For those that don’t know Strinden – he is the former President of the of North Dakota Alumni Association and one of the heavy hitters around everything UND.  So when Earl talks people listen.

GRAND FORKS — I have admiration and great respect for the members of the Committee of Understanding and Respect and the Spirit Lake citizens who voted their support for the UND Fighting Sioux name and logo, as well as for those at the Standing Rock reservation who worked to give their members a vote.
The long debate and controversy on this issue has evolved to a situation where I believe it is in North Dakota’s best interest for there to be a “yes” vote on Measure 4 supporting the Legislature’s action returning control of this issue to UND.

The fallout of the limited NCAA sanctions is contagious as other universities such as Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa are boycotting UND athletic teams for athletic competition. A few weeks ago, the UND track team was disallowed from a prestigious track meet in Iowa. My low regard for this individual university action is irrelevant. We must deal with reality.

We carried this fight as far as we could without doing damage to UND, North Dakota and the Sioux people [Read the rest of Earl's letter]

Election day is June 12th - The measure as it appears on the ballot reads:  

This referendum measure concerns Senate Bill 2370 as passed by the Legislative Assembly in the November 2011 special session (Session Laws, Chapter 580). Senate Bill 2370 repealed section 15-10-46 of the North Dakota Century Code, which required the University of North Dakota to use the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo.

YES – means you approve Senate Bill 2370, the effect of which would allow the University of North Dakota to discontinue the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo.

NO – means you reject Senate Bill 2370, and would require the University of North Dakota to use the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo.