Despite pressure from the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the University of North Dakota has been fighting an ongoing battle to keep its school logo and mascot, the Fighting Sioux, intact.

UND has faced controversy since 2005, said Peter Johnson, executive associate vice president for university relations, when UND and 18 other schools were listed by the NCAA for having mascots that were deemed hostile and abusive.

The NCAA threatened that the schools would be barred from hosting postseason tournaments if they did not change their mascots, Johnson said.

The UND logo and mascot is a profile of a Sioux Native American man wearing feathers and streaks of paint on his face.

‘We didn’t care much for what the NCAA was saying,’ Johnson said. ‘We just didn’t think it rang true for our institution and we didn’t think we should have to change.’

The dispute was settled in fall 2007 when the NCAA agreed to let the university keep its logo as long as they could get approval from the two Sioux reservations in North Dakota, Johnson said.

UND was able to obtain the approval from the Spirit Lake Tribe reservation, but the Standing Rock Sioux reservation was pretty consistent in its opposition to the university’s mascot, Johnson said.

The university was preparing to change its logo and mascot until April 2011 when North Dakota legislators introduced House Bill 1263, which would require the university’s mascot and logo to remain unchanged, according to an Aug. 24 CNN article.

The bill was passed Aug. 1, Johnson said.

‘After the bill was passed, we faced further problems as to whether or not we should disobey our state’s rulings or face the sanctions of the NCAA,’ Johnson said.

Johnson said UND currently plans to follow the law set by its state until further negotiations are discussed between the NCAA and the State Board of Higher Education, but it is still planning a logo change for the time being.

The NCAA’s sanctions came into play Aug. 15. The sanctions placed on the school prevent the school from hosting postseason events and wearing the logo during postseason play, Johnson said.

While many of the students are proud of their mascot and do not want to see it go, the UND community is ready to see an end to the controversy, Johnson said.

‘Most of the community would prefer to see the logo go away at this point,’ Johnson said. ‘As much as we don’t want it to change, it’s hurting our institution.’

UND is in the process of becoming a Division I school and the conflict with the school’s logo is holding back the growth of its sports program, Johnson said.

‘Schools are not willing to compete with us in various sporting events because they are afraid of bringing protests and problems to their campuses,’ Johnson said.

Tom Connelly, a junior communications major at UND, said the student body is frustrated with the ongoing debate surrounding the school’s logo. He said that while most students are sad to see it go, they are ready to see the whole argument end.

Although the physical logo might change, Anthony Moe, a senior at UND, said the spirit of the school’s mascot will still remain on campus.

Said Moe: ‘Despite the fact that the logo might retire, I know for a fact that the majority of the campus will still be sporting the name and wearing Fighting Sioux memorabilia to sporting events.’

adhitzle@syr.edu

Published on August 31, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Alexandra: adhitzle@syr.edu | @LexieHitzler