GRAND FORKS, N.D.
The state Board of Higher Education settled a lawsuit with the NCAA over the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux nickname, giving the school three years to get tribal approval to keep it.
The board voted unanimously Friday to approve the settlement after a closed-door briefing from Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem. If the school does not get approval from the Spirit Lake Sioux and Standing Rock Sioux tribes by Nov. 30, 2010, it will have to change to a new name and logo.
“The settlement confirms that the Sioux people and no one else should decide whether and how their name should be used,” Bernard Franklin, an NCAA senior vice president, said in a statement.
The NCAA in 2005 banned the use of the nickname in postseason play, labeling it hostile and abusive. UND sued to challenge the ban last year and got a temporary order allowing the use of the nickname and logo while the case moved through court.
The NCAA compiled a list in 2005 of 18 schools using offensive American Indian nicknames and logos. Some schools made changes while some won appeals with support from area tribes.
“I think it’s important to remember that without this lawsuit, we would have been immediately subjected to the NCAA restrictions,” Stenehjem said. “We had no options but to proceed to court.”
