Higher ed board stops process to drop UND nickname bill

In case anyone is keeping track or watching this issue. Personally, I think that the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education is going to step back and plan their next move and I have a feeling that we will see them again. You can almost bet on it, I can't see them letting this go without a fight.The Fact that UND is in the transition from Division II to Division I still probably plays a factor.

BISMARCK — The North Dakota Board of Higher Education voted 5-3 today to ratify the chancellor’s recommendation to continue merchandising of Sioux nickname apparel for the 2011-12 season.

The board also voted 7-1 to direct the University of North Dakota to cease transitioning away from the Sioux nickname and logo.

Board President Jon Backes said he expects the board will discuss at its June meeting whether it’s appropriate for the board to challenge the action taken by the Legislature requiring UND to keep the Sioux nickname.

“We have a state law and that state law is presumptively valid until it is determined to be otherwise,” Backes said.

Another perspective on the Fighting Sioux nickname and the NCAA...

I really like what this guys says and it would appear that there is a growing dislike for how the NCAA has handled this situation.

David Coulson, Executive Editor/Managing Partner College Sporting News --- Emmert was a breath of fresh air that afternoon as he outlined his plans for a more forthright NCAA. The one-time Montana State administrator even stayed around to watch Eastern Washington beat Delaware in the championship game.

But after reading about how the NCAA is treating the University of North Dakota, it looks like things are pretty much status quo for this most frustrating of organizations.

Let me get this straight, the NCAA cannot find a way to stand up to Cam Newton as his father tries to sell him off to the highest bidder, but it thinks it is important to bother UND about its supposedly politically insensitive nickname of the Fighting Sioux.

Nothing bothers me much more than hypocrisy and no organization epitomizes that term more than the NCAA, just as it has since the days of its first president, Walter Byers.

Its previous leader, the late Miles Brand, might have accomplished a lot during his tenure, particularly in the area of academic reform, but one of the biggest wastes of time during those years was the NCAA's attack on Native American nicknames.

And it appears this Gestapo-like siege isn't going to change under Emmert, the organization's fifth executive director.

Some petty, dipstick of a bureaucrat named Bernard Franklin — officially an "executive vice president" with the NCAA — announced this week that it didn't matter that the state of North Dakota had passed legislation requiring North Dakota to use its historical nickname of the Fighting Sioux, because the NCAA was ready to penalized UND anyway.

First off, as a means of full disclosure, I have some Cherokee blood running through my veins, so I know from history what it means to have a Native American group face discrimination.

If a team in North Carolina, or some other state with historical status wants to honor my Cherokee roots with a team moniker, I have zero problem with it, just as I don't mind Notre Dame honoring some of my other ancestors by calling themselves the Fighting Irish.

Former ND AG Alen Olson tees off on NCAA...

It’s about time someone with some political clout said something in response to the NCAA. So kudos to former ND Governor and Attorney General Allen Olson for taking the NCAA to task.

Grand Forks Herald --- Allen Olson served two terms as North Dakota attorney general before he was elected governor in 1980. In the early 1990s, former UND President Charles Kupchella asked him to serve on an advisory committee concerning the nickname, and last year Kelley named Olson to his nickname “transition cabinet,” to help guide a respectful retirement of the popular name and logo.

“What bothers me the most about this … I see the politics of it,” Olson said.

“Setting aside the emotions of the Native American and non-native relationships of this issue, it was an easy way for the NCAA to offset the legitimate criticisms they had received for years about the extraordinary amounts of money involved in collegiate sports,” he said. “It seemed to me it was an easy way for the NCAA to use a serious and significant issue that deserved serious attention but turn it to their advantage and use their monopoly power” to force a change.

“I wish I had more respect for the NCAA,” Olson said. “It is a flawed organization.”

Citing NCAA controversies over money in collegiate sports and other matters, Olson said the association “certainly (has) been humbled. In the past few years, they’ve been forced to feel the heat over some irrational policies.

“My sense is (the campaign against member schools’ use of American Indian names and logos) was a way to respond to the academic intelligentsia critics on NCAA member campuses where they were under continuous criticism,” he said. “It was a convenient and easy way for them to claim credibility.”

NCAA officials, provided a synopsis of Olson’s comments, responded tersely.

“Mr. Olson is entitled to his opinions,” Bob Williams, NCAA vice president of communications, wrote in an email, “but they have no basis in fact.”

Spirit Lake Member not invited to April 22nd Meeting.



According to the Grand Forks Herald, ND State and UND officials will meet with the president Mark Emmert of the NCAA on April 22 in Bismarck at site to be determined whether the athletics association is open to revising its position regarding the Fighting Sioux nickname and Indian-head logo. The Spirit Lake tribe has not been invited to this meeting, this is unacceptable in my opinion, I want the NCAA to tell the Spirit Lake Member that supported UND’s use of the Fighting Sioux logo by a 67% margin tell them that the Fighting Sioux Logo is hostile and abusive.

Tribes not invited, but maybe later

When the law was passed, NCAA officials said the policy on usage of American Indian names and imagery stands and the North Dakota law was a “state matter,” and they declined further comment. But many nickname champions have suggested that the NCAA may be willing to reevaluate UND’s status in light of the legislative action, the Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe’s endorsement and evidence of strong support for the nickname among some of the people at Standing Rock.

After Shaft said on Wednesday that he was trying to arrange a meeting with the NCAA and the state and UND officials, several nickname supporters asked why representatives of Spirit Lake and Standing Rock would not be included.

“Until we have these initial contacts and learn where the NCAA stands now, what opportunities there may be for something different, this is not the time to have the tribes at the table,” Shaft said today. “But if there does appear to be room to work with the NCAA, then we will engage the tribes in the talks.”

UND President Kelley on the Fighting Sioux Nickname.

UND President Robert Kelley who has tried to appear neutral in the past on the Fighting Sioux Logo and nickname, let his feeling be known for the media yesterday, Kelly said that he “would have urged the committee to oppose the bill. ” I don’t think any of us are all that shocked that a college professor that gradated from liberal Cal Berkley is against the Fighting Sioux nickname.

Grand Forks Herald --- UND President Robert and other officials sat through the four-hour morning session, waiting their turn, but time ran out before they and several others on both sides could testify. “We covered a lot of the same ground” as was presented before the House Education Committee, Kelley said, “and I think the chairman balanced the testimony effectively. I had a testimony, but I wanted to give our students a chance to speak. Also, I knew the board (two members of the Board of Higher Education) would testify effectively.”

Kelley said he “would have urged the committee to oppose the bill” because he’s increasingly concerned about the “uncertainty” it raises for the university as a whole.

Dalrymple mum on Sioux bill

Grand Forks Herald Picture

 I think it would be bad move politically and possible political suicide if Governor Dalrymple he doesn't sign the bill if it is approved by the House and Senate, especially with how much support it has from the people of North Dakota.

Bismarck, ND --- Gov. Jack Dalrymple said Thursday that he’s asked Lt. Gov. Drew Wrigley, a former U.S. attorney, to “thoroughly” study a bill in the North Dakota Legislature that would require the University of North Dakota to retain its Fighting Sioux nickname.

But he’s keeping mum about what he will do if the legislation gets the approval of the Senate and comes to his desk for a final signature.

He told the Grand Forks Herald’s editorial board that he needs to know “exactly what it does” before making a final decision. House Bill 1263, which easily passed the House in a 65-28 vote last Monday, could be changed in the Senate.

Another issue is that the North Dakota Constitution doesn’t allow the governor to threaten a veto, he said.

Dalrymple said he told Wrigley to look over the legislation and study the issues behind this bill as it heads to the Senate.

“I want him to totally understand all of the legal arguments on both sides and keep an eye on it,” he said. “But we think that it’s very possible that we could see an amendment or two in the Senate. I’m not going to say anything about it until I see what I’m being asked to sign.”

NCAA approves of UND plan to retire nickname, logo

I am sure that UND President Robert Kelley and Athletic Director Brian Faison are ecstatic that the NCAA has approved the North Dakota Board of Higher Education's surrender.

Grand Forks Herald ----- The NCAA said Friday it was satisfied with UND’s plan to retire its Fighting Sioux nickname and logo, an important step officials say will help the university as it schedules athletic contests and works to get accepted into the Summit League.

In a Friday statement, the NCAA cited an April 8 decision by the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education to direct UND President Robert Kelley to officially retire the nickname and logo.

“Therefore, UND has been removed from the list of schools subject to the policy regarding Native American nicknames and imagery at NCAA championship events,” the statement said.

Athletic Director Brian Faison said Friday it was “the next step” for the NCAA after the state board’s decision earlier this year.

“We’ll be communicating that to our head coaches and be moving forward,” he said.
‘A matter of when’

Faison said the announcement resolves scheduling issues with several institutions across the country, including the University of Minnesota and University of Iowa, which would not arrange anything except hockey games (Minnesota) against UND until the university was taken off the list of schools that violated the NCAA policy.

“This will open up the opportunities to schedule, and will be a big help for some of our programs,” he said.

The NCAA statement says no member institutions “should use the policy and its prior application to UND as a factor in scheduling.”

UND and 17 other schools were added to the list of institutions subject to new policies in 2005 after the NCAA banned the use of American Indian nicknames and imagery it considered to be “hostile or abusive.”

Hoeven: Give everybody time to speak

Governor soon to be North Dakota Senator John Hoeven has finally manned up and stepped into the nickname process. This is the right decision. Frankly, I have wondered what has taken Hoeven so long? I wish some of the states other political leaders would have stepped up earlier in this matter.

Gov. John Hoeven has advised the chancellor of the North Dakota University System to “give due consideration to any vote by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe” regarding the UND Fighting Sioux nickname if it occurs before Nov. 30.

In his letter to Chancellor Bill Goetz, dated Tuesday, Hoeven noted that the state Supreme Court recently affirmed the State Board of Higher Education’s “authority and responsibility to decide on the use of the logo” subject to a lawsuit and settlement agreement involving UND and the NCAA, which considers American Indian nicknames and logos hostile and abusive.

The board on April 8 directed UND to begin the transition away from the 80-year-old nickname.

“It is important, however, that all involved in the process of deciding whether or not to retain it feel that they have been adequately heard,” the governor wrote.

Hoeven was asked last week by nickname supporters at the Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe to use his influence with higher education officials to allow the people of Standing Rock to speak to the issue. He forwarded a copy of that appeal, from the Spirit Lake Committee for Understanding and Respect, to Goetz and to Richie Smith, president of the higher education board.

Under terms of the lawsuit settlement between UND and the NCAA, the university had until Nov. 30 to win the blessing of the two namesake tribes or begin retiring the nickname and logo.

Spirit Lake voters gave their support last year, but the Standing Rock Tribal Council, citing procedural hurdles and calling such a vote a low priority, has not scheduled one despite the presentation by nickname supporters on the reservation of petitions containing more than 1,000 signatures.

Tribal officials have said they are looking into what would be required by tribal law and the Standing Rock constitution to hold a plebiscite on the nickname.

Eunice Davidson, one of the signers of the Spirit Lake appeal, said that she and others on her committee “would have liked a more forceful response” from the governor.

“But I think he responded the best he could, and we are grateful for the governor’s statement,” she said. “I believe it leaves the door open, if Standing Rock does have their vote, for the Board of Higher Education to revisit their decision.”

Duaine Espegard, a member of the state board from Grand Forks, said today the board “absolutely” would revive the nickname issue if Standing Rock votes and offers its support.

“It appears the governor agrees with what we’ve been saying,” he said. “Should they vote at Standing Rock, and it is positive (toward continued use of the nickname), we would certainly give them consideration — and beyond that, go with them.”

So far, “no progress has been made” on arranging a vote at Standing Rock, Espegard said. “But if they do vote, and they give approval and a long-term agreement, absolutely I’ll bring it back,” he said.

“It’s what I anticipated the governor would say,” board member Grant Shaft, also of Grand Forks, said.

“We all agree it would be the best scenario if Standing Rock members were able to vote,” he said. “That’s what we’ve been asking for for 2½ years. And if they do vote, the board should give that due consideration.”

Standing Rock Tribal Chairman Charles Murphy and Jesse Taken Alive, a council member who opposes UND’s use of the nickname, were not immediately available for comment.

Davidson said she has talked with Archie Fool Bear, a leader of the Standing Rock petition drive seeking a vote there. “I think a thousand people, their signatures on a petition — that says a lot,” Davidson said. “So I hope they (members of the tribal council) allow them to have a vote. They should.” [Grand Forks Herald]