I too will hold out hope, however, if UND doesn't even support keeping the name, it is unlikely the NCAA will do anything. Look at the current administration; people like Robert O'Kelley were brought in for the specific reason of retiring the nickname. He has no ties to the people/area/history of North Dakota and could care less about keeping the nickname. For him it's all about moving to division 1 and new marketing efforts.
None of North Dakota's politicians had any say on the matter until nearly the very end. (Even then Hoeven could have come out much stronger on this issue.) At least he wasn't mute on the subject like the rest of the state's so called leaders.
It's easy to look back and say people could have done more. Unfortunately the decision has been taken away from the people that value it the most.