Blackburn87

You have a point but but this the second time you have impugned someone's education and/or intelligence if they don't agree with you. By the way, I have a BA and JD from UND. I will also tell you that degrees don't necessarily make anyone smarter than anyone else, either. There are plenty of people without college educations (or who didn't complete college) who can discuss a wide range of topics. Likewise, there are many Sioux fans who may or who may not have attended UND. It still makes them fans nonetheless, with an opintion on this issue. I don't assume you're not educated or intelligent if you disagree with me (well, except MplsBison but even he can suprise me from time to time.) I do recognize these are passionate fans who come to the table with different perspectives, even among Sioux name supporters. I love a good debate as well as anyone, but the minute someone implies that I'm an idiot because I disagree loses the battle with me. Keep the focus, keep the faith... we can save the name and I think that's what the majority on this board want. GO SIOUX!

Thanks for posting this. What powerful letters! I hope the Powers-that-be are listening.

I agree that withholding donations does harm to UND but it also gets a message across. I love UND, I love the athletics, I love the institution. I have always donated at least something every year. I have written my letters, my emails, made phone calls, posted things on FB to other fans and colleagues. What do I have left? With SR officials working this out, where are the leaders of UND? Why aren't they saying, loudly, to give SR some time to work on the issue or pushing the SBofHE to honor their deadlines with the NCAA? There is a dearth of leadership on ALL fronts. I am glad Gov. Hoeven said something, even if it wasn't as forceful as I would have liked. I suspect that no one anticipated the political will to keep the name especially from SR and SL. I also agree that any degrading, nasty language directed to or about Native Americans is counterproductive. The Anti-Nickname types always use racism as their golden ticket in this argument. From this moment forward, let's respect the Native population and stop giving the political fringe anymore ammunition. I will live with whatever SR decides. But please, don't assume I hate UND or I'm a fairweather fan or immature if I elect to make a statement with my pocketbook. When I see some real leadership coming from UND, I will continue donating generously. To me, the Fighting Sioux name is more than a simple moniker. It is a tie between me, my home state, the Native American population, and my beloved UND. This fight matters.

Despite Lloyd Omdahl's column to the contrary, I sincerely hope that the momentum is there to keep the name. I think we all took it for granted and thought commonsense would prevail on this issue. Here's hoping it's not too little, too late!

I sense there is momentum afoot, but it's hard to tell being so far away. What do some of you closer to the action feel is going on right now? I don't think this is over (not by a long shot) but it's damn hard for people in power to admit they have screwed up and need to fix it. Is there the will on the SBofHE to correct their f-up?

Let the letter writing campaigns begin!

I am loathe to suggest anything other than "Sioux" period, but my husband thinks we should be the "Bad Medicine." Now I have to go take a shower.

I am so upset by this that I don't know how to get the word out and not give up... I pledged to give UND $100 a month for the next four months before this bombshell was dropped on us. I love UND and have great memories and received a wonderful education; in addition, I don't want to hurt the students or student athletes. However, I don't think the UND Admin will understand anything else because money talks and BS walks. I'm about ready to call the Alumni Association and rescind my pledge if at all possible and to have them take me off their call list. No one can seriously believe that the SBoHE was the only player in this who acted in bad faith... the UND Admin were complicit in this all long and it's so patently obvious. I guess SR got it right... they had no faith in the SBoHE either. Frankly, the onus of this mess is squarely at the feet of the elite power structure in the world of Academia. I thought better of our leadership and was proven wrong. This is not the North Dakota I know and love. I hope there is still a way to fix this. I hope their is a legislative remedy still available. I would love to see someone, somewhere come to their senses and stop this ridiculous action. I hope SR goes ahead and has a vote, even if it ultimately changes nothing. It will be salve on this old wound if they support the Sioux Name, and the Powers-that-Be end up looking like the Assh*oles I know they are.

Interesting turn of events, but not fatal... yet.... I typically have no faith in the SBoHE to do the right thing, but I hope they will hold off on any decisions this Thursday unless it is to say that they will grant Standing Rock the time it needs to have a vote within the NCAA time parameters. At the very least, no decision should be made until the Supreme Court renders its ruling.

Imagine how insulting it would be to the tribes to get a vote together only to have the SBoHE yank the decision out from under them. I would like to think that wouldn't happen (talk about politically incorrect!) but nothing in this debate would surprise me. However, I'm optimistic a vote on Standing Ropck will happen and the SBoHE will hold off on any action until then.

In Kentucky, March Madness is the real deal. People plan their day around UK Basketball, both personally and professionally. I could get behind Sioux Basketball, even though I'm much more of a hockey fan at heart. Basketball in North Dakota will never reach the fever pitch it does in Kentucky, but I still believe we can have it both ways: Keep the name, build the program. I also don't think the Summit is the end-all, be-all venue for us to achieve it. For whatever it's worth, I'd trade March Madness in Kentucky for post-season UND Fighting Sioux Hockey i North Dakota any day of the week. That's just me.

I think so little of the administration at UND right now, I don't even know where to begin.

I currently live in Kentucky (I know, right?) where I am fortunate enough to get awesome coverage of WCHA hockey every single weekend on Fox Sports. That means I also get to see a lot of UND Hockey to include the original local broadcasts and commercials from WDAZ. When I get to see it, it's like a little taste of home... which I miss very much. I love North Dakota... all of it... and I am so proud to hail from that great state. When I wear Sioux stuff at our local ice arena, I run into a North Dakota/Minnesota transplants every time who love to come up to me and talk hockey or UND sportsin general. The name and logo are instantly recognizable wherever I go. My brother wrestled from UND back in the day and next to hockey, I love collegiate wrestling too. (It's a damn shame Title IX has been used to eviscerate historic men's programs like Wrestling... Cheerleading and danceteams, when competitive, should count as women's sports, but I digress...) UND Wrestling exists only in memory now... a fringe sport that had a small, but fanatical following. We are left with what we have... one hell of a hockey program and other programs with talent and promise and the cyclical ups and downs of college sports. If the name stays, we (Sioux Fans) can still have it all... a loyal fanbase, national exposure in some (gate-producing) sports, and a sense of tradition. It makes no sense to throw it away, right now, even for the Summit League. I think all of us on all sides of this issue can agree that Standing Rock's voice will be final and we will live with whatever it is. GO SIOUX!!!

Me three!

If the SBoHE thought there was blowback when they tried to rush a name change, imagine the backlash if they try to do it when members of Standing Rock are attempting to move this issue forward. If they do so, it will prove the hypocrisy they've actually held all along: That they (the SBoHE) were never truly interested in what any of the Native American tribes had to say, much less what the alums and fans of UND thought about this. Common sense must prevail. Other posters to the various Sioux Name threads have noted that the leadership in Indian Country would move on their timetable, not ours. The current tribal leadership has said as much. Well, there is movement. It may go nowhere; it may lead to a definitive vote. To not let it play out its natural course is insulting to all parties involved. I know I'll get some heat for saying this, but the Summit League can wait. This is an issue with a deadline guaranteeing resolution.

That is a positive story and something that has been mentioned before. Let's hope the momentum keeps moving in the right direction (finally)!

To the Bison fans who feel the need to post on a Sioux Fan board: Lurk much?

Chewey's right on all points. It's not too late, and maybe no amount of humility on behalf of the SBHE would change anything, but a different approach would likely have produced different results. I still believe that the Sioux name is worth saving, but I can hear how many people are weary of the fight and the drama. There will be much regret if the name is gone; there will be little regret if we keep it. If UND is such a hostile environment for the PC crowd such as Leigh Jeannotte and other UND faculty, I've often wondered what made him stay all the years? I mean, to go through the trauma seeing students in Fighting Sioux t-shirts day in and day out must be terrible... not to mention how tiring it is to play the professional a$$ for the cameras and the media all the time.

The one thing I've resented the most is the idea that nickname supporters are racist. It's so much easier to spray that invective around because the PC crowd knows we can beat them with logical arguments, statistics, and cold hard facts. Extreme PC zealots, as a rule, are hypersensitive to any slight, real or imagined. Does anyone remember the ROTC student in the early 90s who was instructed by his women studies professor not to wear his uniform to class because it symbolized violence? (That was at UND, by the way.) It's hard to imagine that the PC crowd would have this much control over NCAA/SBHE/UND, but it does. It hasn't changed in almost 20 years. Leigh Jeannotte has been around at least that long and you think he'd know better. Call out the Supreme Court? Go ahead. We have only one law school in the state, so who does he think will be sitting on the Supreme Court? Scalia? When this whole issue is done and over with, what next? There will be some perceived slight blown out of proportion, just watch.

... and into the gutter MplsBison goes... If you thought calling me a hilljack would hurt my feelings and make me cry, guess again. By the way, I still win.

[ There is no other logic to this. There is only emotion. As it's always been.

Let me preface first by saying that politically, I am a liberal; however, let me take this opportunity to address other liberals for the mistaken stand they have taken on this issue. First, to get anywhere in college politics, particularly in an administrative capacity, you have to reflect the political leanings of the people in power; thus, the leadership UND gets does not reflect the people or the state of North Dakota. Typically, they come from other parts of the country and have no ties to the region. They do reflect the typically far-left leanings of other university administrators and many college professors. When I say they lack the balls to stand up for University athletics and alumni, that's true. I have been spectacularly unimpressed with the powers that be across the board. They have been gutless, to say the least. Hockey is not the end-all, be-all of UND athletics, but it is without a doubt, the showcase sports program. UND could (and should) have handled this differently. It is typical college politics that the Summit is playing as well. It really doesn't want the issue "resolved" for UND's consideration for membership; it wants a forced deadline which in turn will coerce the SBHE and administration to capitulate on this issue. What the NCAA and Summit League has done is essentially emasculate UND (and other colleges) into the same pablum of political correctness. The NCAA is not a government entity, so there's not a First Amendment issue with the name; however, it is downright Un-American to force your will and dictates on people who don't want it. The NCAA surely has bigger issues than this one (cheating scandals, steroids, recruiting violations, etc.) And yet, it chose to focus on a handful of schools with Indian logos and treat them as if they are the worst thing to ever happen to the Native American people. The problem with political correctness is that it presumes to know what's best for everyone, even the people who don't want it. For example, if a Native American claims the Sioux name and logo and wears it proudly, then he (or she) is a dupe and needs to be protected from himself. I would have been more impressed if UND had stuck to its guns, but that was done once they settled with the NCAA. I only hope the lawsuit will extend the timeline the SBHE has forced upon us... and who's to say the people of Spirit Lake don't have standing to argue for keeping the name? I'll leave that to the Supreme Court of North Dakota

All I can say is thank you Spirit Lake members for actually giving a damn about this issue and demanding to be heard. I hope Standing Rock moves quickly, but if not, it won't be for a lack of effort on behalf of Spirit Lake. I also hope that if SBHE sees significant movement in Standing Rock, they'll stand down and not disrespect the tribal members while they sort out their own position on this issue. If you ask me, the SBHE has been incredibly arrogant, patronizing and condescending toward both tribes and Sioux Supporters, which unfortunately mirrors many of the out-there Sioux-name-haters. I also think that the Summit's demand that we "settle this issue" before becoming members is garbage. What dog do they really have in this fight? How does our family squabble affect other schools? It doesn't... it's political correctness and politics clothed in sports affiliations. I guess you can put me down as someone who really doesn't care what the Summit League or anyone else outside of North Dakota thinks about this issue. I can't imagine hockey without the Fighting Sioux name and tradition. It won't be the same no matter what they call us. I just wish the UND administration had the balls to stand up for the teams, the alumni, the students, and the supporters of Sioux Athletics. Clearly, they do not.

As we're getting to the end game of the Fighting Sioux controversy, does anyone have any last-ditch, hail-Mary, efforts we can use to convince the Powers That Be that this name is worth keeping? I'm open to any suggestions... I don't live in North Dakota anymore, unfortunately, but my heart is still with the Sioux!