Other Sports Ever wanted to name a university's mascot? Now's your chance! - Page 15

The University of North Dakota got rid of the Fighting Sioux in 2012, and since that time, they have been simply "The University of North Dakota." No mascot. Fighting Sioux was beloved by the community of Grand Forks largely because of the tradition associated with it in the university's college hockey program, which has been historically and recently one of the top college hockey programs in the NCAA.

The university has finally assembled a committee to look through suggestions and recommend a new mascot to the president of the university. They just need the suggestions. That's where you come in. Simply click the link and fill out the online form: http://und.edu/nickname/

Here are the basic guidelines to consider (from the UND announcement):

Spoiler!

Since I'm originally from Grand Forks, I have connections to people who are abuzz with this process. I can tell you that there are already some favorites being championed:

--Flickertails. This was the university's mascot prior to becoming the Fighting Sioux in the 1930s. Given the university's recent goals of expanding into a tier-one research university, it makes a lot of sense to go with rodentia like their counterparts in the Big 10 (gophers, badgers). North Dakota is also known as the Flickertail State.

--Roughriders. The safest bet. Nothing says North Dakota pride like references to Teddy Roosevelt. Would also still manage to piss off a few people, since Teddy Roosevelt probably killed a few Indians when he was out in the North Dakota Badlands. It largely boils down to whether or not the university is cool with proudly stating to people, "Yeah, you might think of condoms when you hear our name, but we're still going to beat you in hockey!"

--Pilots. UND's aviation research and development program is unanimously known as the best in the country. It's odd to pick a mascot based on the strength of an academic program, but eh... weirder things have happened.

--Green Meadowlarks. This one combines creativity with tradition and old-sounding college mascot nomenclature, but it's also kind of weird. The Western Meadowlark is the state bird of North Dakota, and green and white are the school's primary colors. A problem with this is that I believe the Western Meadowlark is also the state bird of like 20 other states. It's still better than Banana Slugs.

--Keep using no mascot. The most likely option, I think. It's the last method that UND fans have to tell the NCAA to go fuck itself for making the university ditch Fighting Sioux. There's a rule in place that they can't have a racial mascot, but there is no rule that says the school has to have a mascot, just a nice little memo that says, "It would be really nice if your school had a mascot so we could maintain the entire aesthetic of the neighborhood. Smiley face." It would also make the university stand out and be truly unique.

But that doesn't mean you can't play a role in creating collegiate athletic history! So get in there!
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Okay, suggestions are closed, and they've published the judging criteria:

http://und.edu/university-public-aff.../screening.cfm

Screening/Filters For Nickname Suggestions
as requested by the Nickname Committee on April 16, 2015

The following is the combined list of attributes and functional categories that will be used by the Nickname Committee to screen, filter and evaluate nicknames received through the suggestion process. In addition, a scoring system of assigning 1, 0 or -1 points will be used to evaluate nickname suggestions. This combined list was produced at the request of the Nickname Committee at the April 16, 2015 meeting.

1. Be unique, recognizable, inspiring and distinctly UND’s

2. Promote a sense of pride, strength, fierceness, and passion

3. Be representative of the state and region in a way that honors the traditions and heritage of the past but also looks to the future.

4. Be a unifying and rallying symbol

5. Ease of Depicting/Personifying Physical Mascot:

1 - Easy; mascot and fans can easily dress as nickname, e.g. Vikings, Lumberjacks

0 - Moderate; easy to depict graphically and create physical mascot, however fan participation more difficult, e.g. Eagles, Bears

-1 - Difficult; challenging to depict graphically and physically, e.g. Vandals, Tarheels

6. Cheer/Battle Cry Considerations:

1 - “Built-in” cheer, battle cry, e.g. Spartans, Wildcats

0 - More difficult, e.g. Cornhuskers, Lumberjacks

-1 - Difficult, e.g. Vandals, Tarheels

7. Meaning of Nickname:

1 - Obvious, e.g. Eagles, Grizzlies

0 - Moderate, e.g. Vandals, Cornhuskers

-1 - Requires explanation, e.g. Sooners, Hoosiers

8. Linguistic Considerations – Pronunciation:

1 - Easy, e.g. Lumberjacks, Thunderbirds

0 - Moderate, e.g. Hoyas, Zias

-1 - Difficult, e.g. Chanticleers, Gaels

9. Linguistic Considerations – Likelihood of name being abridged resulting in different name or name similar to existing name:

1 - Not likely or not possible, e.g. Bears, Eagles

0 - Possible, e.g. Thunderbirds to ‘Birds,” Bobcats to “Cats”

-1 - Likely, e.g. Catamounts to “Cats,” Chanticleers to “Chants”
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The way I see the scoring for Ermines is:

1. Be unique, recognizable, inspiring and distinctly UND’s

Clearly a +1 and I don't see how it's not the top option.

2. Promote a sense of pride, strength, fierceness, and passion

Clearly a +1

3. Be representative of the state and region in a way that honors the traditions and heritage of the past but also looks to the future.

Certainly meets the first part. Looking forward is tough, but in an age of conservation and ecological awareness, Ermines works.

I think it's a +1, but a skeptic might give it a 0.

4. Be a unifying and rallying symbol

I'm not sure how you decide this without research, but I think its uniqueness works for this. I'd give it a +1.

5. Ease of Depicting/Personifying Physical Mascot:

1 - Easy; mascot and fans can easily dress as nickname, e.g. Vikings, Lumberjacks

0 - Moderate; easy to depict graphically and create physical mascot, however fan participation more difficult, e.g. Eagles, Bears

-1 - Difficult; challenging to depict graphically and physically, e.g. Vandals, Tarheels

Clearly a +1 and it's hard to imagine it not being the top choice based on other suggestions I've heard.

6. Cheer/Battle Cry Considerations:

1 - “Built-in” cheer, battle cry, e.g. Spartans, Wildcats

0 - More difficult, e.g. Cornhuskers, Lumberjacks

-1 - Difficult, e.g. Vandals, Tarheels

I have no idea how to judge this for any mascot. Why is a Vandal difficult while a Spartan isn't? If they're just looking for recognizable nouns, Ermines is clearly a +1.

7. Meaning of Nickname:

1 - Obvious, e.g. Eagles, Grizzlies

0 - Moderate, e.g. Vandals, Cornhuskers

-1 - Requires explanation, e.g. Sooners, Hoosiers

Should be a +1. Maybe some uneducated people would give it a 0, but come on. It's a mammal. We learn mammals in 5th grade.

8. Linguistic Considerations – Pronunciation:

1 - Easy, e.g. Lumberjacks, Thunderbirds

0 - Moderate, e.g. Hoyas, Zias

-1 - Difficult, e.g. Chanticleers, Gaels

Again, we learn mammals in 5th grade. This should be easy. But based on the examples I could see it being a 0 and a critical person might give it a -1.

9. Linguistic Considerations – Likelihood of name being abridged resulting in different name or name similar to existing name:

1 - Not likely or not possible, e.g. Bears, Eagles

0 - Possible, e.g. Thunderbirds to ‘Birds,” Bobcats to “Cats”

-1 - Likely, e.g. Catamounts to “Cats,” Chanticleers to “Chants”

It can't really be shortened, but I could see some heathen opponents using the "vermin" rhyme. This is probably the only weakness of the name, so this might be a -1. But any name is going to be co-opted by opponents. :-), Faiders, Donkey, Dolts ... it's going to happen to any name.

Thoughts? Do you agree or disagree with my assessment?
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