Kupchella: Self-righteous NCAA deserves lawsuit

[The Sicatoka]

Although hating the NCAA has become as fashionable and vogue as hating Bill Gates' products (and this would just pile on that theme), I still believe the answer is .... Dirty Chuck.

"Go ahead, make his day."

[Chief Illiniwek Supporter]

Lots of applause from me for your President! I'm glad someone just tore the NCAA a new one; the fact that he mentioned a lot of the ideas discussed here and on Illini sites was a bonus for me.

I really wish we had someone in a position of authority at Champaign-Urbana who would support the will of the overwhelming majority of the people.

[WildSioux]

That's what I was thinking...hopefully it continues to get coverage throughout the US. It would be nice for someone like Scott Hennen to let Sean Hannity know what's going on and maybe he could do a piece on his show. Whether you believe in his politics or not, he has one of the largest audience's in the US.

Good point about this letter being a calculated move by Kupchella. I have printed his letter off and have given it to a few of my co-workers. Although they aren't sioux fans, or hockey fans for that matter. They all said it was a great letter showing how wrong the NC$$ is.

I wonder if we emailed Hannity, if he would notice? What about Glenn Beck? He has his regular daily radio show. But he now also has a TV spot on CNN Headline News daily (or is it weekly I forgot). That would get a lot of National and world coverage.

[HardDrinkinLincoln]

Greetings from Arkansas! Just read this letter to the NCAA from Kupchella and wish to register my support. I saw it on the Mississippi State forum. The response from the Bulldog fans has been 100% behind the President of your University. Unlike those who suspect that fighting this self-righteous exercise in mental masturbation from the NCAA will damage you nationwide, I strongly believe that UND will come out in a far stronger position by means of litigation over compliance.

The NCAA is by no means invincible as it regards issues that fall outside their traditional capacity to regulate athletic events. When I was living in Georgia as a child, the Universities of Georgia and Oklahoma took the NCAA to court over their monopoly on television rights. It took some time, but the two schools triumphed over the NCAA, their dollars, and their legions of lawyers.

Your issue is much more relevant in my mind. The NCAA can dictate to its member institutions the number of scholarship players it can carry, the number of games in can play, and it can even dictate to member programs the size of their media guides. But they have never had control over how a program or a University chooses to identify itself. It is a power that goes beyond their mission statement and regulations and it would not stand up in any court regardless of how many lawyers they possess in their retinue. Where would such a power grab lead? Would the NCAA be able to threaten a University with sanctions whenever it deemed the policies of an institution harmful to a certain segment of the population? Could they force Baylor, Carson-Newman, Oral Roberts or Mercer to end their association with "Born-Again" Christianity because they disagreed with the positions held by those Chrisitian organizations? This is a slippery slope.

Your President and quite a few posters on this thread made a great point referencing the NCAA's McCarthy-like broadbrush of UND. They have deemed your logo racist and offensive, as if UND harbors an environment harmful to minorities. If you give in, then you have essentially admitted that they were right. Considering all the good that you offer for Native Americans within your state and region, such an admission would be an intellectual desecration of UND. You can't let that stand unchallenged.

The money expended in such a fight would be considerable, but I believe that the public relations benefits from taking the fight to these would-be social engineers in Indianapolis would more than make up for it. Such a lawsuit would force an actual consideration of the strength of UND's programs for Native American students, its efforts to seek consultation from the Sioux on the presentation of their athletic programs, and the tasteful manner in which your program conducts itself on the field (As your President noted in comparison with Florida State University.). Not only would you win the lawsuit, but you would also win considerable national regard for your programs. The NCAA would come off as an ignorant bully as your reputation gained by the courtroom comparison.

Apologies for the long-winded post. You are not backing down, nor should you ever do so. You have more support outside North Dakota than you'll ever know. That support will only grow if this case ever gets to trial.

[WiSioux]

Apologies for the long-winded post. You are not backing down, nor should you ever do so. You have more support outside North Dakota than you'll ever know. That support will only grow if this case ever gets to trial.

Thanks for the post! It's always great to hear that we have support from "outsiders" as well. I am curious as to how a copy of his letter got on the Mississippi State forum...

[PCM]

Thanks for taking the time to express your thoughts on this issue. We appreciate your support.

[82SiouxGuy]

Greetings from Arkansas! Just read this letter to the NCAA from Kupchella and wish to register my support. I saw it on the Mississippi State forum. The response from the Bulldog fans has been 100% behind the President of your University. Unlike those who suspect that fighting this self-righteous exercise in mental masturbation from the NCAA will damage you nationwide, I strongly believe that UND will come out in a far stronger position by means of litigation over compliance.

The NCAA is by no means invincible as it regards issues that fall outside their traditional capacity to regulate athletic events. When I was living in Georgia as a child, the Universities of Georgia and Oklahoma took the NCAA to court over their monopoly on television rights. It took some time, but the two schools triumphed over the NCAA, their dollars, and their legions of lawyers.

Your issue is much more relevant in my mind. The NCAA can dictate to its member institutions the number of scholarship players it can carry, the number of games in can play, and it can even dictate to member programs the size of their media guides. But they have never had control over how a program or a University chooses to identify itself. It is a power that goes beyond their mission statement and regulations and it would not stand up in any court regardless of how many lawyers they possess in their retinue. Where would such a power grab lead? Would the NCAA be able to threaten a University with sanctions whenever it deemed the policies of an institution harmful to a certain segment of the population? Could they force Baylor, Carson-Newman, Oral Roberts or Mercer to end their association with "Born-Again" Christianity because they disagreed with the positions held by those Chrisitian organizations? This is a slippery slope.

Your President and quite a few posters on this thread made a great point referencing the NCAA's McCarthy-like broadbrush of UND. They have deemed your logo racist and offensive, as if UND harbors an environment harmful to minorities. If you give in, then you have essentially admitted that they were right. Considering all the good that you offer for Native Americans within your state and region, such an admission would be an intellectual desecration of UND. You can't let that stand unchallenged.

The money expended in such a fight would be considerable, but I believe that the public relations benefits from taking the fight to these would-be social engineers in Indianapolis would more than make up for it. Such a lawsuit would force an actual consideration of the strength of UND's programs for Native American students, its efforts to seek consultation from the Sioux on the presentation of their athletic programs, and the tasteful manner in which your program conducts itself on the field (As your President noted in comparison with Florida State University.). Not only would you win the lawsuit, but you would also win considerable national regard for your programs. The NCAA would come off as an ignorant bully as your reputation gained by the courtroom comparison.

Apologies for the long-winded post. You are not backing down, nor should you ever do so. You have more support outside North Dakota than you'll ever know. That support will only grow if this case ever gets to trial.

Thank you for the great post. It is good to get a different point of view from someone that doesn't have an active interest in the debate. Especially from a different part of the country. This is becoming so much more than an argument about the merits of a specific nickname for sports teams. And you may be right about the public relations benefits. Win or lose in the lawsuit, this may be a great opportunity to show off the strengths of our fine University to the rest of the country.

[The Sicatoka]

Where would such a power grab lead? Would the NCAA be able to threaten a University with sanctions whenever it deemed the policies of an institution harmful to a certain segment of the population? Could they force Baylor, Carson-Newman, Oral Roberts or Mercer to end their association with "Born-Again" Christianity because they disagreed with the positions held by those Chrisitian organizations? This is a slippery slope.

You ask a good question. The NCAA's "catalyst for social change" monger has already hinted at some potential targets. They are covered in this long-winded thread on another board. If you want to save time, just read posts #1 and #8 in that thread. They'll cause you to look at the rest.

[HardDrinkinLincoln]

I appreciate the responses. I want to share with you the thread on the Mississippi State forum that caught my attention. I'm not a regular poster on that forum. I'm just a fan of SEC football who likes to keep an eye on what is going on within the member schools. Apparently, many of their fans are keeping an eye on what you're doing up there in North Dakota:

From the MSU "Six Pack" forum

Now there is a great sense of empathy for your cause down south. The NCAA threatened Mississippi with the loss of tournaments if the state didn't change their flag. The flag, with a Confederate Battle Flag inserted on the upper left corner, has been in place since the 1880s. It was established to honor the sacrifice of Mississippi's Confederate soldiers in the Civil War (This distinguishes it from Confederate flags placed on top of government buildings in Georgia and South Carolina in response to Supreme Court Civil Rights decisions in the 1950s.). This did not matter to the NCAA. Get rid of your flag, they warned, or lose any hope of fielding NCAA tourneys.

Mississippians responded by retaining their state flag in a public vote. NCAA-sanctioned events still take place in Mississippi, the latest being a baseball super-regional in Oxford. The threats were hollow because the NCAA knew they couldn't win if legally challenged by one or more of the Mississippi-based schools.

[HardDrinkinLincoln]

Here is a thread from an Alabama forum:

Tide fans backing UND

I could go on. But people are increasingly aware of what is going on with UND and the NCAA and the vast majority are backing you.

[Sioux-cia]

Thanks for the support!!!!

[Siouxmama]

OrygunSue,

You think this whole thing is embarrassing to UND and the State of ND? Take a look at the sites that have been posted by HardDrinkinLincoln and The Sikatoka. You may be the one being embarrassed for your original post on the matter.

[Siouxmama]

Thanks to you, HardDrinkinLincoln, for providing us with the view from another part of the country. We appreciate the support.

[HockeyMom]

Thanks to you, HardDrinkinLincoln, for providing us with the view from another part of the country. We appreciate the support.

Thanks for your support.

[HardDrinkinLincoln]

In the long-run, Siouxmama and HockeyMom, the rest of the nation will be thanking you for pursuing this course (If you have to take it.). Here is a thread from the main Texas Longhorn forum:

Texas support for UND stance

If you decide to sue, and private funds are necessary to pursue such a suit, then you will surely find that there will be a number of folks in this part of the country who will chip in to help deliver a well-needed kick in the posterior to the NCAA. I hope the powers-that-be at UND will set up a website to allow for donations to the cause.