Redwing77's Take on the New Logo...

by Redwing77

As Eric said, it's getting mixed reviews and from what I read, I understand it.  The ONLY thing UND has done correctly in this whole affair is to seek advice from its staff, students, faculty, and alumni.

After that, it simply disregarded what those groups were saying in favor of the overriding political mantra "We can't do what you want because we're acting for the greater good and you're too stuck in the wrong to notice."

I don't recall a time (in more facets that mere athletics) where the "greater good" was so corrupted by agendas than the last 10 years or so.

In any case, here's my take on the new logo.

If this logo had been the winning submission from a community outreach program, such as a contest, I think it would be more palatable than the reality of the situation:  We paid millions of dollars for what was correctly deemed to be an overly simplistic, almost canned generic font for the ND and as for the "hawk..."  Gosh if that doesn't look like a slightly modified version of:

Just remove all of the blue and add black highlights and black dots for eyes and well...

My problem isn't that it is ugly.  It's not a good looking logo, but it's not ugly either.  My problem is that we wasted a LOT of money on a logo that surely will become the crown jewel of wasted taxpayer money (whether or not it was taxpayer money or otherwise).

Nevertheless, I argue that UND couldn't win this logo idea anyways.  The only way UND would have come out of this debacle looking at least ok is if they would have allowed the no nickname option on the ballot.  Sure, the PC crowd wouldn't have been happy but that would have constituted less than 40% of the UND greater community (I would assume).

However, people are already forgetting the silver lining:  a logo isn't static.  Many MANY teams have alternate logos.  It would be very easy for UND to alter or change their logo after a year or so and relegate this new one to an alternative jersey format or, if Coach Schweigert likes it so much, it could be football only.

If I were the new UND President, whomever that is, I'd turn to UND's art department, alumni association, and perhaps even the greater UND community and hold a contest to design the new logo much like what got us the final Sioux logo.  The University can stipulate what would constitute a legal submission and what would not.

For example, the hawk can not have any feathers even remotely resembling an eagle feather simply due to the fact that the Native Americans hold a de facto copyright on ALL such representations.

It's doable and I'm fairly certain that, at this point, they will strongly consider it.

Fighting Sioux fatigue and the quest for a new nickname

Are you tired? Because I’m exhausted. For the past few years the University of North Dakota has been preparing itself for a transition from the Fighting Sioux moniker into a new nickname.

Before and during the transition period there have been multiple times when I’ve said several “unladylike” curse words in frustration. That time when the North Dakota legislative body thought it knew better than UND. An alumni who took out trade-names in an attempt to derail UND from using said names. The weak attempt at a lawsuit to stop voting from happening. The list goes on.

I knew the transition would be difficult, but I didn’t think it would come to the ridiculous lengths that it has to some extent. Admittedly, there were times that I was surprised at the lengths groups and individuals were willing to go. I will also admit that, although, I might not agree with any of the attempts to prolong this battle, I respect the passion and interest in fighting for what one believes in.

I’ve been ready to move forward since the state legislative body decided that, after UND had decided to transition, it would have to go back to using the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo. At that time, the university’s Athletics department was already running under the North Dakota moniker. In full disclosure, I worked in the Athletics Department as a student assistant at the time. It was more than frustrating. Since that time I have commonly said that I have Fighting Sioux Fatigue.

As I’m sure many of you have, I followed the new nickname and logo process. I was a participant in one of the ‘conversation cafes’ that was established by UND last year. I voted in the first round and will vote in the second (and third, heaven forbid that it comes to that).

I’m frustrated with the final name selections because I’m not convinced that they truly exhibit the findings that were outlined in the conversation cafés hosted to field what might be a good fit for a new nickname. The nickname selection committee was ultimately responsible for whittling down the massive list.

I foolishly believed that after the first vote I would be one vote away from moving toward closure. When news broke yesterday evening that there would be three, not two names on the next ballot, it was one of the first times I’ve felt truly betrayed by the process. I understand the rationale to some extent, but I wonder if it was the ‘right thing to do.’ Selecting three names to move forward went against the initial process that was outlined and could cause another vote, prolonging the agony. 

Perhaps time and this process has broken me down a bit, but I have decided that I will learn to live with whatever is selected by the majority and that I will continue to support UND. And I truly believe that those of you that love UND as much or more than I do will continue to support the institution and athletics no matter what the final decisions is.

You will not, however, catch me wearing any Roughrider gear if that is what the fates allow.

North Dakota Wins.... Developing

So, were told by some folks that simply being "North Dakota" isn't a popular option, and should be squashed.

Apparently, that's not the truth, at least with current UND students. Based on the results, I think that President Robert O. Kelley has no choice but to include the option North Dakota as a choice for UND's new nickname.

Per the Grand Forks Herald and Say Anything Blog:

Results released by Student Body President Matt Kopp show when asked if they wanted UND/North Dakota included in the vote, 68 percent said yes, 24 percent said no and 7 percent said they were “not sure.”

The survey was sent out Tuesday and drew 3,262 responses over the two days it was open which, using enrollment data from the 2014-2015 school year, is 22 percent of the student body.

Since the NCAA threatened sanctions and the old Fighting Sioux nickname was retired at UND in late 2012, the school has played simply using an interlocking “UND” logo, going by either UND or North Dakota.

It will be interesting to see how this turns out. Thoughts?

Students want 'North Dakota' as UND nickname option, survey says http://t.co/jrDqNEq2pH #UNDnickname @myUND pic.twitter.com/jQEZRw2UdC

— Grand Forks Herald (@gfherald) August 13, 2015

Sifting Through the Nickname Recommendations

The's 63 nicknames to choose from. Some of them are down right horrible. In breaking down the names that are still on the list, I find very few that are acceptable.
Aeronauts - I say not.
Aeros - I find this acceptable.
Arctic Blaze - where not in the Arctic.
Arctic Force - Redundant, - where not in the Arctic.
Aurora - This is just as bad as Sundogs.
Aviators - Yep, works for me. Favorite of RWD.
Badlanders - Meh!
Big Green - Hum. That one could work.
Bison Slayers - Ha! I find this one amusing.
Blackhawks - We already play Chelsea Dagger when UND scores. I guess we could take their name, too.
BLAZE - Blaze up eh.
BLAZING STARS - How about Blazing Saddles? Nope.
BLIZZARD - Okay.
Blizzard Dogs - Checking goggle.com, there's already  a Newfoundland Blizzard Dogs
Bombardiers -- bomb, bomb, bomb. Could have possibilities.
Bombers - Okay, works for me.
Cavalry - I wonder if this would fly?
Charging Nokota - A Nokota Horse could be an acceptable mascot for me.
Drillers - Yeah, one has to think of the warped possibilities. I am going with not. 
ENERGY - Boring.
Explorers - Meh.
Fighting Green - Why not just go with Gang Green?
Fighting Greens - Yuck!
Fighting Green Hawks - What's with the Hawks.
Fighting Hawks - Of the Hawks suggestions, the one is probably the most acceptable. That and Blackhawk.
Fighting Sundogs - I want to put an  EF-Bomb here.
Fire - Nix!
Flame - Nine!
Flames - Nay! This should be obvious. We would be copying the Calgary Flames.
Flickertails - I just threw up in my mouth a bit.
Fliers - Whatever.
Force - We already have the Fargo Force.
Force of North - I could live with this.
Global Hawks - Catchy, named after the drones.
Green Bombers - Whatever floats your boat.
GREEN HAWKS - I suppose we could come up with a badass logo for that. Or not.
GREEN PRIDE - Horrible idea.
'Grey Hawks' - What's with all the hawk names?
 Night Hawks - Another nickname with hawk in it.
Nighthawk- We could use a ____ as the mascot?
Nighthawks - Is there such a thing? There is.
Nodak - Again, whatever.
Nodaks - Like Charlie from Hockey Bias said, this could be clumsy.
North Dakota - My first, second and third choice. ******
North Force - This is kind of clumsy, too.
North Stars - I could get behind this one.
Northern Lights - This doesn't do it for me.
Prarie Hawks - Okay.. Whatever.
Pride -  Yuck! And hell no!
Riders - There's already a high school in town that's named Rider or Roughriders.
roughriders - Same thing applies here.
SNOW DOGS - Yuck! Again, another bad name. What's the mascot going to be?
Snow Leopards - Only cats we have in ND is a Mountain Lion.
Spirit - No THANK YOU!  Next.
STORM - Better than Sundogs and Flickertails.
Sundog - Oh hell no.
Sundogs  - I just threw up in my mouth a bit more.
Thunder Hawks WTF?
Warhawks - There's some possibility with this one.
Warriors  - I am surprised this one made the list.
Warriors of the North - In honor of the men and women from GFAB.
Wings - Green Wings?
 Wooly Mammoth - This one is amusing.

Herald Opinion: UND should get after a new nickname

#111873157 / gettyimages.com

From today's local fish wrapper, err, Grand Forks Herald. But what else would you expect from them? I have always said, outside of the sports page, which is awesome, this news paper disappoints me.

I have to respectfully disagree with Tom Dennis. There’s really no need to hurry picking a new nickname. Nicknames are something that we’re stuck with for a very long. If the University makes a hurried, hasteful decision, the University is going to be stuck with some stupid nickname that no one can get behind, or want on the front of their jerseys and t-shirts... Then what? I am dead serious here. Honestly, I could see this happening. One of my biggest fears is that the University will be pressured into picking some stupid nickname like Sun Dogs or Flickertails.

Let’s slow down, get together and move forward with a purpose. Let's not do this willy-nilly. Moreover, let’s not just pick a nickname, just to pick a nickname. Let’s select something that’s not going to alienate a lot of people, especially alumni.

Also, UND can’t even pick a new nickname until 2015. It’s not like UND is going to order new uniforms for their sports teams half way through the year. This is not going to happen.

The first thing that we need to address is the committee/mechanism that chooses the new nickname. Who will be on this committee that picks the new nickname? Obviously, this committee that doesn’t exist yet. The major question is who’s going to help choose this new nickname? Again, if the alumni think that the “wrong” people are part of the process, or if a block of people are left out of the process, you’re going to alienate your alumni base. The University can’t afford to alienate their loyal alumni base.

Tom Dennis, Grand Forks Herald – “We want to emphasize that the work of this group will be to establish a process, not to select a new nickname or logo,” said one administrator. And even that tepid description sounds fiery next to this one, which another official offered:

“We don’t have a process yet, but what we’re doing is preparing to create a process.”

In our view, this timidity on the part of UND’s administration is a mistake. The university has a lot to gain and not a whole lot to lose by striding confidently toward its goal, which is to line up lots of nickname suggestions, choose the most exciting one and then announce that choice with trumpets and confetti.

Dennis goes on…

Sorry, but the current “University of North Dakota” moniker just isn’t enough. Harvard has the most recognizable academic name on the planet; but Harvard doesn’t call its sports teams, “Harvard.” They are the Harvard Crimson.

The Yale Bulldogs, University of Michigan Wolverines, Ohio State Buckeyes … the list goes on. In fact, it goes on forever, as virtually every other college in America has a team nickname, regardless of how famous the institution is.

Contrary to some’s point of view, no nickname works just fine. This has worked for a year already. Sure, it takes time blending UND into blog posts and game reports, but this is a minor issue.