WSJ: Name Game in Search of a New North Dakota Mascot

Nothing new here. The title is a bit off as well, UND is looking for a new nickname, the mascot will come later.

Per the Wall Street Journal:

But a committee assigned to identify a new nickname for the school, which first met in March, voted recently by a margin of 7-4 to eliminate North Dakota as an option. Some argued that the state name didn’t actually count as a nickname.

The group will put five candidates—Fighting Hawks, Nodaks, North Stars, Roughriders and Sundogs—to a public vote, though the process and timeline haven’t been determined. The Wall Street Journal reported in March the committee at that time had hoped to come to a final decision on a new nickname as early as May, but the panel recommended waiting until students and faculty return to campus for the fall semester before any vote takes place.

The committee settled on the five finalists after receiving more than 1,000 “appropriate” suggestions from the public, according to Peter Johnson, executive associate vice president for university relations.