Benny Baker

New nickname or no nickname, the Fighting Sioux ain't goin' anywhere! We're kidding ourselves if we actually think that the adoption of a new nickname will result in Fighting Sioux fans putting away their Fighting Sioux gear or not referring to UND athletics as the Fighting Sioux.

Thank you. Contrary to popular opinion, the support for "no nickname" doesn't always imply a desire to keep "Fighting Sioux", but rather an effort to prevent UND from adopting some of the laughable suggestions we have all seen. While I personally don't oppose the idea of a new nickname, I do believe that simply using "University of North Dakota" is entirely unique and brings recognition to who we truly are---North Dakota. Reasonable minds can certainly disagree on this.

University of North Dakota Prairie Knights.

You're right. I accidentally wrote "actually" instead of "acting" on an internet message board. Thank you for taking the time to point that out, and keep up the good work! While there may be better options, when it comes to North Dakota history, there is nothing inaccurate about honoring Teddy Roosevelt. Nothing at all.

Well, we could always just take it from them, like we did with Zach Parise.

Right. This is obviously why Red River has its nickname. Some people need to stop actually so intentionally obtuse. Everyone here knows that the Roughrider nickname derives from Roosevelt's nexus to North Dakota and not out of some misunderstanding or devotion to cavalry men from the southwest. Red River's logo is literally that of Teddy Roosevelt, himself. But, apparently every school district in North Dakota needs a history lesson then: Central Knights; Fargo North Spartans; Century Patriots; Bismarck Demons; etc. What does those nicknames have to do with North Dakota?

I don't think anyone said or meant to imply that he's better than those players right now. But the general consensus from literally everything I've heard is that he's the top NHL prospect in the last decade.

Right. If I recall correctly, the NHL owns the trademarks for all of its old/retired franchises. I do know for a fact that the NHL owns the Minnesota North Stars trademark though.

Thanks for the article, I wasn't aware of this. I do believe Powers is incorrect, however. If push comes to shove, I can get a source saying that the NHL owns it. The Winnipeg Jets own the trademark to the Winnipeg Jets.

Yes, it would be extremely odd if the UofM Golden Gophers were named after their neighboring Flickertail state and if UND North Stars were named after their neighboring North Star state.

I'm not disagreeing with you, but just wanted to add that this is another example where its fine to use another team's general nickname (New England Patriots), but not another team's trademarked logo (Calgary Flames).

I am not familiar with that whole issue at all. My assumption is that Dallas had nothing to do with it, but rather the league, which owns the trademark, did not authorize it..

One other thing. The NHL owns the Minnesota North Stars trademark. The Dallas franchise does not.

The Dallas Stars do not own the rights to the word "Stars", but they have every right to prevent a team from using their trademarked logos or the word "Stars" in connection with their trademarked logos. University of North Dakota absolutely can adopt Stars or North Stars for the new nickname. If they want to use "Stars" or "North Stars" with the Stars logo or the North Stars logo, they need a license or other type of agreement, which has been in the works for awhile now.

Right. The idea from what I was told is that UND would acquire and adopt the old Minnesota North Stars logo, but continue to use the same green, black, and white color scheme.

You're right. That's exactly why I never said that nicknames can't be trademarked. Instead, I appropriately limited my statement to "UND could go with 'Stars' or 'North Stars'. No one owns exclusive rights to those words." Trademark laws are nuanced and riddled with exceptions that www.legalzoom.com may not discuss. I can't trademark the word "pizza" and then sue every pizza delivery place in the United States for trademark infringement. These general words are not subject to trademark in isolation. Do a google search and see how many businesses around the country use "North Star". In the sports arena, that's why the San Antonio WNBA team, which is just south of Dallas, can be called the "Stars". The Dallas NHL franchise does not have the exclusive rights to the word "Stars". Trademarked ogos, which is what everyone else is talking about in the first place, is a different ballgame. For other examples: Winnipeg Jets and New York Jets--same name but different logos. Carolina Panthers and Florida Panthers---same name but different logos. New York Rangers and Texas Rangers---same name but different logos. LA Kings and Sacramento Kings--same name but different logos. Edmonton Oilers and former Houston Oilers--same name but different logos. New York Giants and San Francisco Giants---same name but different logos. St. Louis Cardinals and Arizona Cardinals--same name but different logos. And these are just the professional sports teams that I can rattle off the top of my head. This list would be endless if I looked it up or included college teams. Now, if UND was using the old Minnesota North Stars jersey and logo or the current Dallas Stars jersey and logo without a license or other type of agreement, then UND will run into a problem. But to clarify some of the confusion for everyone else: UND absolutely can use general words like "Stars" and "North Stars" for a new nickname. If UND wants the old Minnesota North Star logo, they need to acquire the rights to use that trademark.

Actually, UND could go with "Stars" or "North Stars". No one owns exclusive rights to those words. Hence, the plethora of sports teams around the country with the same nicknames. On the other hand, trademarked logos are another issue.

No joke. I'm also not saying that UND will absolutely become the "North Stars". But I will go to my grave saying that Karl Goehring and UND have been attempting to acquire the Minnesota North Stars trademark. This, I do know for a fact.

It's going to be the University of North Dakota North Stars, anyway. For any follow up questions, ask Chairman Goehring about UND's efforts to purchase the Minnesota North Stars trademark.

Stop it already. UND did not face any challenges; UND is North Dakota. Who do you think sued the NCAA in the first place? North Dakota would not allow any transition to a new nickname for three years. How on earth can anyone possibly interpret a North Dakota law that expressly prohibits the transition to a new nickname as North Dakota's effort to transition to a new nickname?!?! The NCAA cannot enforce an August 15, 2011 deadline to adopt a new nickname, when the subsequent September 2012 addendum, which says that the University of North Dakota [no nickname] was in compliance, controls and supersedes the original settlement agreement. Stop misinforming people.

"How can it be both?" I never said the addendum put UND "in compliance". I did say that the addendum says that UND must "remain in compliance". By "remain", UND already was in compliance because it retired its nickname. In other words, UND was in compliance when it retired its nickname. Again, wasn't that the whole point; i.e., to retire hostile and abusive nicknames? The August 15, 2011 date had come and passed by the time the addendum was signed. It doesn't matter anymore. Most importantly, the addendum supersedes and controls the settlement agreement.

Just because I'm explaining what a settlement agreement states does not mean I have any preference on what UND does going forward with respect to a new nickname. Since I answered your question, please cite to a post where I have been adamant that UND remain nameless.

Regarding student athletes, I know that most of the hockey players are on record as wanting the "Fighting Sioux" name back, if that helps.

No they weren't. The only reality is that the state of North Dakota, which UND is a part of, created a law refusing to allow any transition towards a new nickname for three years! I understand that this may just be your "take" but its clearly based upon unsupported assumptions and falsehoods. But in all of your other posts, your position misinforms all of the posters on this message board. Stop spreading this myth.

No, but you're misunderstanding it. To "remain in compliance" means that UND was in compliance with NCAA's policy in September 2012 even when it did not have a nickname. One cannot "remain in compliance" with a rule if one is not already complying with the rule. The rule, the settlement agreement, did not contemplate or consider any/grace period after August 15, 2011. You people are just making up some theory that the NCAA has allegedly allowed UND some sort of quasi-indefinite grace period, and that the NCAA might drop the hammer at any time. Absolutely not! UND was legally prohibiting from doing ANY transition during this time. I know you know that. More importantly, you also know that the deadline for a transition, if any, was August 15, 2011. UND did not make any transition by then; yet, the NCAA agreed that UND was in compliance on September 24, 2012 when it retired "Fighting Sioux".