And then there were three....

[Let'sGoHawks!]

The remaining 3 names are all acceptable.  I'm happy that Sundogs and Northstars have been laid to rest, and don't buy these conspiracy therories.  We need a name and new identity, that is the situation...we need to put this debate behind us and grow as an institution.  (Which has been said many times before I know, but it's true!)

UND Roughriders

UND Fighting Hawks

UND Nodaks 

It doesn't matter which one, we will get behind it and show the haters it doesn't matter what name we have, we will still kick your ass!!!

[Cratter]

650 Roughriders?

Rough Riders

Roughriders

RoughRiders

RuffRiders

Ruff Riderz

Just 645 to go...

  

The quote wasn't mine its the Grand Forks Heralds.

I think they meant "or variations of it." 

You'd have to ask them.

[bigskyvikes]

I believe this is an underhanded, sneaky attempt to stop Roughriders from winning. I also think Kelley wants Fighting Hawks to win so that the consultant they hired looks like a good investment. Finally, putting Nodaks on the final ballot is throwing a bone to the Fighting Sioux Hardliners and the Hockey-Only crowd so they couldn't scream "conspiracy". Leading by not leading, that's the Kelley way.

Man you're funny. Didn't you say Kelley wanted North Stars about a month ago? Or was it Sundogs?

The GF Herald says RR would be the hardest name to market because so many teams own the name.

 

UND legal counsel said in July Roughriders would be one of the most difficult names to trademark because it’s used athletically across the country

 

Edited October 26, 2015 by bigskyvikes

[MafiaMan]

I believe this is an underhanded, sneaky attempt to stop Roughriders from winning. I also think Kelley wants Fighting Hawks to win so that the consultant they hired looks like a good investment. Finally, putting Nodaks on the final ballot is throwing a bone to the Fighting Sioux Hardliners and the Hockey-Only crowd so they couldn't scream "conspiracy". Leading by not leading, that's the Kelley way.

So you're claiming it's a Kelley conspiracy to foil Roughriders? 

[SIOUXFAN97]

So you're claiming it's a Kelley conspiracy to foil Roughriders? 

yes. bc if its RR v FH head to head you have the students v everyone else pretty much... rr probably wins...RR v FH v nodaks i don't like RR chances...unless some lawyers get involved.

Edited October 26, 2015 by SIOUXFAN97

[MafiaMan]

The quote wasn't mine its the Grand Forks Heralds.

I think they meant "or variations of it." 

You'd have to ask them.

Well, you were citing their number to claim how popular the name was in comparison to Fighting Hawks, so there's that...

[UNDhoops]

Man you're funny. Didn't you say Kelley wanted North Stars about a month ago? Or was it Sundogs?

The GF Herald says RR would be the hardest name to market because so many teams own the name.

 

UND legal counsel said in July Roughriders would be one of the most difficult names to trademark because it’s used athletically across the country

 

that is a ridiculous argument 

[MafiaMan]

yes. bc if its RR v FH head to head you have the students v everyone else pretty much... rr probably wins...RR v FH v nodaks i don't like RR chances...unless some lawyers get involved.

So now the claim is that almost 50% of current students voted - and all of them voted for Fighting Hawks?  

No way.

[90siouxfan]

November 6th, 11:40pm.  NCAA calls Kelly,  Bro, we were just kidding, call it off.

[bigskyvikes]

that is a ridiculous argument 

Im not arguing for it, or are you saying he is?

[UNDhoops]

Im not arguing for it, or are you saying he is?

I'm saying whomever from und gave that quote is wrong

[bigskyvikes]

I'm saying whomever from und gave that quote is wrong

This is NOT my claim, I'm saying siouxfan is crazy about this conspiracy stuff. Here it is.

 

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/local/3868580-updated-und-nickname-options-narrowed-3-runoff-vote

 

[MafiaMan]

I'm no fan of Rough Riders, but if the SEC can successfully market 3 Tigers and 2 Bulldogs, then I'm guessing UND could figure out how to differentiate itself from a CFL team in Saskatchewan, a local high school, and a minor league hockey team in Iowa.

[ScottM]

I'm no fan of Rough Riders, but if the SEC can successfully market 3 Tigers and 2 Bulldogs, then I'm guessing UND could figure out how to differentiate itself from a CFL team in Saskatchewan, a local high school, and a minor league hockey team in Iowa.

Not to mention a high school in Des Moines.

[fightingsioux4life]

Man you're funny. Didn't you say Kelley wanted North Stars about a month ago? Or was it Sundogs?

The GF Herald says RR would be the hardest name to market because so many teams own the name.

UND legal counsel said in July Roughriders would be one of the most difficult names to trademark because it’s used athletically across the country

No, I haven't been saying Kelley wants North Stars or Sundogs; those are conspiracy theories that have been thrown around this forum for months now by various other posters. But not me.

Think about it: Why else would Kelley change the rules at the last minute to allow three names into the run-off instead of just two and then remove the majority requirement for a name to win? There is obviously some calculating going on behind closed doors.

Roughriders was deemed to have a "double-negative meaning" by Mr. Nickname Expert (a.k.a. the consultant).

Fighting Hawks, on the other hand, was basically promoted by said consultant and is a safe, PC choice, which Kelley and a lot of Fighting Sioux opponents would approve of. It also would justify the money that UND spent on said consultant.

And by including Nodaks, Kelley is inoculating himself from the wrath of the Fighting Sioux Hardliners and the Hockey-Only Crowd from a repeat of the same backlash he got when he didn't include "UND/North Dakota" as an option on the first ballot.

I believe that Kelley was afraid of Roughriders winning, so he is changing the rules of the game to get the result he wants, which I believe is Fighting Hawks. He should have just left the rules alone.

[MafiaMan]

Not to mention a high school in Des Moines.

Oh, now that it's four, forget it.  Marketing disaster!  

[Westside]

The students seemed to have carried the Fighting Hawks name.  I may decide to go that route.  I think I would rather the students get the name they want.  

These current students won't be students forever...  Hell, 40-50% of them won't even earn a degree from UND.  Just saying their vote & preference is no more important than any of the other eligible voter groups.

[NoiseInsideMyHead]

I'm no fan of Rough Riders, but if the SEC can successfully market 3 Tigers and 2 Bulldogs, then I'm guessing UND could figure out how to differentiate itself from a CFL team in Saskatchewan, a local high school, and a minor league hockey team in Iowa.

Differentiate? Incrementally, perhaps. But there's a lot of "noise" out there, and anything less than a unique name or concept presents problems. Add up all of Cedar Rapids' logos, all of Saskatchewan's logos, all of Frisco's logos, subtract those from the universe of ideas, and that's your starting point for Rough Riders.

Hawks is obviously much worse, as you're relegated to the bird world.

Collegiate nicknames are often decades old. I doubt that a big time SEC power would choose Bulldogs or Tigers if it was starting from scratch in 2015 with what licensing has become.

It's easy to count up the number of instances of nickname overlap in sports and say "we can make it work"; what is hard is trying to figure out whether there is a better way to go. No easy answers, but the committee painted UND into some corners.

 

[nodakhoops]

The remaining 3 names are all acceptable.  I'm happy that Sundogs and Northstars have been laid to rest, and don't buy these conspiracy therories.  We need a name and new identity, that is the situation...we need to put this debate behind us and grow as an institution.  (Which has been said many times before I know, but it's true!)

UND Roughriders

UND Fighting Hawks

UND Nodaks 

It doesn't matter which one, we will get behind it and show the haters it doesn't matter what name we have, we will still kick your ass!!!

I can get behind this, still not big on Nodaks but could live with it, but here is the issue. By not going with the original plan and saying the top two names go to a final vote we could have a situation where a name gets 35% of the vote and wins.....Let me repeat that, A NAME WITH 35% OF THE VOTE COULD BE OUR NEW NAME. 

Does Kelly or anyone else not see anything wrong with this??? Final vote should be 2 names which guarantees one will have 50% at least. 

I fully agree with everything else you said but this has to only be 2 names to vote on. I would much rather have a vote where 60-75% is the winner not 35-40%

[Cratter]

Heres the headlines we're seeing:

UND changes the nickname voting rules when establishment favorite "Nodaks" doesn't poll in top 2.

[SWSiouxMN]

Heres the headlines we're seeing:

the irony in this is strong.

[SIOUXFAN97]

of the with only 20 percent or so people voting it might show how far out of touch UND/kelly is with the alumni...looks like a strong student turnout but the alumni had a chance to step up but they didn't.  and now i don't blame them and und might have lost them forever?

[MafiaMan]

I can get behind this, still not big on Nodaks but could live with it, but here is the issue. By not going with the original plan and saying the top two names go to a final vote we could have a situation where a name gets 35% of the vote and wins.....Let me repeat that, A NAME WITH 35% OF THE VOTE COULD BE OUR NEW NAME. 

Does Kelly or anyone else not see anything wrong with this??? Final vote should be 2 names which guarantees one will have 50% at least. 

I fully agree with everything else you said but this has to only be 2 names to vote on. I would much rather have a vote where 60-75% is the winner not 35-40%

Well, given that an overwhelming majority of eligible voters don't appear to care what the new nickname is, I guess we deserve whatever fate befalls us, don't we?

[Siouxperman8]

of the with only 20 percent or so people voting it might show how far out of touch UND/kelly is with the alumni...looks like a strong student turnout but the alumni had a chance to step up but they didn't.  and now i don't blame them and und might have lost them forever?

This is a reach at best.

[The Sicatoka]

Dr. Kelley needs to step back and follow the process he defined and just go with two. 

Otherwise how are we to not believe that he'll change the rules again this round? 

He needs to maintain the integrity of his own process. 

Edited October 26, 2015 by The Sicatoka