Image via WikipediaHere is the latest on the Fighting Sioux nickname, the NCAA is unwavering and re-affirmed their opposition to the Fighting Sioux nickname.I love the Fighting Sioux nickname and I bleed green and white but I am also fed up with political correctness run a muck, none-the-less, I don't see any way that the University of North Dakota can keep the Fighting Sioux nickname without jeopardizing their Big Sky Conference affiliation and short of the Team North Dakota (Berg, Conrad, Hoeven) getting involved, they have shown no interest what so ever getting involved in the fight, I think the transition away from the Fighting Sioux nickname is a done deal.
Chuck Haga; Grand Forks Herald --- UND and state leaders will go ahead with plans to meet with the NCAA this summer despite the NCAA’s rather forceful restating of its position Friday concerning UND’s Fighting Sioux nickname.
The NCAA declared that it has “no intention of changing its position” and sanctions will apply if the name and logo are still in use after Aug. 15. But the association also has indicated to UND that NCAA leaders would receive a North Dakota delegation to discuss the impasse and provided two possible dates for a meeting in Indianapolis in late July.
UND President Robert Kelley, who confirmed that the NCAA had provided his office with the possible meeting dates, said he was “not surprised by the statement, as the NCAA is consistent in their position.”
“I think the issue now is to get our legislative and executive leaders to talk with the NCAA and see if there’s any final opportunity to turn the NCAA in another direction,” Kelley said.
“They’re trying to be as helpful as they can,” he said, “and they understand the difficulty” of UND’s position, caught between a legal settlement requiring that the nickname be dropped and a state law directing that it be retained.
Citing concerns expressed last week by leaders of the Big Sky Conference, which UND hopes to enter next year, the NCAA statement noted that the conference presidents’ position “is consistent with the spirit and intent of the settlement agreement the NCAA reached with the university (in 2007) to retire the nickname and logo.”
If UND follows the new state law and continues to use the Fighting Sioux nickname and Indian-head logo after Aug. 15, sanctions will be imposed, according to the statement.
Grant Shaft, the newly installed president of the State Board of Higher Education, said the language of the statement “is pretty black and white,” but he also said efforts to arrange a face-to-face meeting with the NCAA will continue.
“This really isn’t a change in what we’ve perceived the NCAA position to be all along,” Shaft said. “Shortly after the legislation (on keeping the name) was passed, their comment was they didn’t think the legislation changed their policy. They now make a more formal statement.
“I still think a meeting will take place between the NCAA officials and the North Dakota contingent because the North Dakota legislative leadership believes very strongly that a face-to-face meeting with the NCAA could change their position.
“However, this statement indicates that possibility is pretty narrow.”
