Grand Forks Herald: UND nickname task force hands plan in for final edits

This was an article that was in today's Grand Forks Herald. article that was in today's Grand Forks Herald. So, we move forward in the process of selecting a new nickname.

Yippy skippy, right?

One of the option to come out of the nickname taskforce has been the option to be simply being UND or North Dakota. It will be interesting to see the reception that this option receives. I have talked to many that like that option. There are those people that have criticized that option saying that it's nothing more than an attempt at clinging to the old Fighting Sioux nickname.

Anna Burleson, Grand Forks Herald – While it isn't official yet, the task force plans to recommend appointing a new 15-person committee that would begin work as soon as possible.

That committee would gather input and nickname suggestions from the general public that would then be narrowed down based on qualifications the public voted for in a November survey, including that a permanent name should be inspiring, unforgettable, honorable and representative of the region.

Depending on the number of nickname suggestions the group ultimately ends up dealing with, a series of public polls and votes would narrow down options until the task force could choose a permanent name from a small number of possibilities. The plan recommends keeping the school's current title, "UND/North Dakota," as a permanent nickname option. The school has been using the name since the controversial Fighting Sioux name was retired in December 2012 after a drawn out legal battle and the NCAA threatened sanctions.

"Rather than saying 'new' nickname, we want to finalize a name," task force co-chair and UND alumna Sheri Kleinsasser Stockmoe said.

If you're keeping up with the nickname issue, this past week, ND House Decisively Defeats UND Nickname Moratorium Bill, 21-62. That result didn't really surprise me, I think that there are many in North Dakota that just want to move on.