Grand Forks Herald: Many Oppose UND's Decision to Pick a New Nickname

The Herald has a nice article about fans not wanting to let go of the Fighting Sioux nickname.

Anna Burleson, Grand Forks Herald -- Aaron Rients' plan after his UND graduation in December was to get a job at a local accounting firm, find a nice girl and start a family, but with his school looking at replacing its former Fighting Sioux nickname soon, he's having second thoughts about staying in Grand Forks.

"It's stupid that it means this much to me but really, just the thought of being something else doesn't seem right," he said. "I'd have to look at that new logo all day if I lived here."

Rients is one of many in the community and across the country who are vehemently against UND picking a different permanent nickname after retiring its former Fighting Sioux name in late 2012 and playing simply as UND and North Dakota after the NCAA threatened sanctions.

UND President Robert Kelley has remained firm since December 2014 when he said going back to the old name was not an option.

This newspaper article stirred quite a bit of discussion on twitter this morning.

I think most of us know that the University of North Dakota can't go back to being the Fighting Sioux. Doing so would jeopardize their status in the Big Sky Conference. I do like UND being in the Big Sky Conference and there's no way that UND can play as an independent.

We have to look at the big picture. With the Fighting Sioux nickname, UND wouldn't have been able to host the West Regional. this past spring.

I think that most UND fans are worried about the unknown. My biggest concern is that we will end up with a stupid nickname like Sundogs or Flickertails. I can't think of a worse nickname for UND to transition to.