Argus Leader: UND nickname options ranked and analyzed

Mick Garry from the Argus Leader had a few things to say about UND's nickname selection process and ranks the final seven nicknames left standing. Of course, he has Sun Dogs number one. Meh.

Mick Garry, Argus Leader -- At an unbelievably high level I don't care. But the choosing of a new nickname for a college is a unique situation because it doesn't happen every day. So I'm here to grade the efforts of those who are going to re-brand the UND athletic department for what I expect will be all eternity.

They released the final seven options and they are these: Roughriders, Sundogs, North Stars, Nodaks, Fighting Hawks, Green Hawks and no nickname at all.

In descending order of preference:

7. ROUGHRIDERS

6. NODAKS

5. NORTH STARS

4. NO NAME AT ALL
Mark my words: The absence of a nickname will give sportswriters in that area the latitude needed to come up with something else. That's how it all started in the first place, you know. Sportswriters wanted better flow to their sentences. UND will casually become known as the "Nodaks" and 50 years from now, they'll officially adopt that nickname.

3. FIGHTING HAWKS

2. GREEN HAWKS

1.SUNDOGS

STRENGTHS: This isn't a dog, which might be news to some out there who have never experienced a clear blue 20-below January afternoon. And it's not taking the word dog and hammering it up against some other word that makes it sound a little cuter. Sundogs are the visual fruit of sunlight interacting with ice crystals and they are impressive sights. They are symbols of the under-appreciated beauty of winter and life in the north and all the requisite qualities demanded of those who choose to live in places where you get to see an occasional Sundog. Logo-wise we're dealing with what looks like a sun and the marketing and design wizards who will be charging UND Ralph Engelstad-level mountains of cash will be able to come up with things that are genuinely impressive. No reason to dummy-down or angry-up a Sundog.

WEAKNESSES: Nobody knows what a Sundog is and there will be a temptation to put ears and a snout on a mascot to make sure your whining four-year-old sugar-buzzed brat wants to hug it during a time out.

Firs, UND has played without a nickname for three years already. For the most part, it's worked so far. To some, UND was kind of bland.

Sure, at first, it was hard to write, UND, UND, UND and North Dakota, North Dakota and North Dakota. But after a while, you kind of figured it out. Moreover, the Green and White (UND's colors) might suffice if you were stuck. I know this upset some of the UND fans.

Seriously, I don't want to write a gammer using the nickname "Sundogs" in it. Not going to do it.

Finally, UND Alumni, fans, and current students we need to push back before the University of North Dakota is stuck with a very bad nickname. We all know what's driving the nickname "Sundogs" and where it's coming from. Again, we need to take a stand and push back against this horrible, moronic nickname choice unless you want your favorite school to become a mockery. I can live with the other six nickname choices listed above, but "Sundogs" is a nonstarter for me.  It's too egregious to accept.