GRAND FORKS, N.D.
The University of North Dakota still may not use its Fighting Sioux nickname and American Indian head logo during NCAA post-season tournaments, although it will still be allowed to host a regional hockey competition, an NCAA committee says.
The tournament is scheduled for the Ralph Engelstad Arena, which is festooned with thousands of logos the NCAA has said it considers “hostile and abusive” to American Indians.
The decision by the association’s staff review committee, which was announced this week, may still be appealed to the NCAA’s executive committee.
David Gipp, president of the United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck, called the decision “the right thing, the correct thing, the ethical and the moral thing to do.”
The university should now take the step of getting rid of the nickname and logo entirely, Gipp said in a telephone interview.
“It allows the University of North Dakota to begin to make the transition that is necessary,” Gipp said. “This is something that begins to set the road straight … This begins to right the wrongs of history.”
