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!
Online suggestions, which must be 25 characters or less (including any spaces), will be accepted from Wednesday, April 1 at 8 a.m. CDT to Thursday, April 30 at 11:59 p.m. CDT. All mail-in submissions must be postmarked no later than April 25.
The Nickname Committee will evaluate submissions based on a list of attributes that the group has developed:
Be unique, recognizable, inspiring, and distinctly UND’s;
Promote a sense of pride, strength, fierceness, and passion;
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; and
Be a unifying and rallying symbol.
Submissions are anonymous; individuals submitting suggestions will not be asked to provide their names. All nickname submissions are subject to North Dakota open records law. Individuals submitting nickname suggestions are not entitled to compensation or anything of value in exchange for the submission, and all submissions become the property of the University of North Dakota.
The Committee will accept suggestions for nicknames only. Drawings, designs, logos, art files, special characters, etc. will not be considered.
Nickname suggestions will be sent directly to PadillaCRT, a group that has national expertise in nickname development and that has been advising the Nickname Committee. Any nickname suggestions known to be trademarked and/or subject to third-party rights or uses may not be considered by the Committee.
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! [Reply]
As appealing as the idea of the University of North Dakota Virulent Pox is, I am fully on board the Ermine Train. I submitted it as first and second, promised to buy a shirt if they select it, and am currently pimping the shit out of the idea on my Facebook page.
Now that this simply HAS to be a reality (the committee can't ignore the numbers on this one), I think it's time to start legitimizing your University of North Dakota Ermines according to the desired attributes of the committee representatives. Copy and paste these if anybody ever asks why you think this is a good idea:
Again, from the UND nickname suggestion form website:
Originally Posted by :
The Nickname Committee will evaluate nickname suggestions based on a list of previously suggested attributes, including:
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.
Well, let's break this down, shall we?
1. Be unique, recognizable, inspiring, and distinctly UND's. Done. Rain Man has already done the research. There are no high schools, colleges, or universities with an ermine mascot. Think about that. There are 26,407 public high schools, 10,693 private high schools, and 4,140 colleges and universities (public and private, 2-year and 4-year institutions) in the United States. I'm not going to do the math, but that's a lot of opportunities to select "ermines" as a mascot. Not a single one has it. Until now. If that isn't unique, recognizable, inspiring, and distinct to UND alone, then I don't know what is.
2. Promote a sense of pride, strength, fierceness, and passion. They eat everything and can take down predators far larger than they are. They have a brilliant and sleek appearance to them as well. So yes, I think we got this covered.
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. The first European settlers in North Dakota were here primarily for the fur trade. As unfortunate as that is to the ermine, they must have been the top-of-the-line animal to get in your trap. Any asshole can collect beaver pelts, but if you've got ermine fur, you're making a shit ton of cash. And it definitely looks to the future-- like I said, North Dakota should follow in the footsteps of Gophers and Badgers in its endeavors to become a tier one research institution. Glory awaits the school both academically and athletically. Well... academically, anyway. Unless we're talking hockey.
The official colors (green and white) are going to look fantastic.
Look at my avatar. Imagine the ermine against a background of a deep, dark forest green. It would look pretty damn sharp, wouldn't it? Well, that deep, dark forest green is already the primary color in UND's color scheme. And then we've got the white of the ermine. We're already covered. UND doesn't have to change a damn thing with its colors.
I can't wait to see this ermine in my avatar on football helmets and at center court/center ice in a college athletic season in the near future. [Reply]
Originally Posted by SNR:
The committee is going to "recommend" a name to the president. I think numbers are the way we're going to get ermines into this thing.
I just submitted ermine for the third time. I'll try to do it every few days. I hope others will, too. We need to feed the committee a steady stream of ermine until the suggestion period closes. [Reply]
Karl Goehring, UND alumnus and former men’s hockey goal tender, Investment Consultant, Alerus Securities, Committee chair (Goehring also served on the previous Task Force, which recommended that the Task Force be represented on the new Committee)
Jazmyn Friesz, UND Health Sciences student, Student Body Chief of Staff, Committee vice chair
Landon Bahl, UND Entrepreneurship and Marketing student
John Bridewell, UND Professor of Aviation
Carla Christofferson, UND alumna, Executive Vice President and General Counsel at AECOM, Los Angeles, Calif.
Diane Hillebrand, CRA (Certified Research Administrator), UND alumna, Grant and Contract Officer for UND’s School of Medicine and Health Sciences, current Past President of Staff Senate and Chair of the Bylaws/Elections Committee
Dayo Idowu, UND Chemical Engineering student and current men’s football student athlete
Dr. Leander “Russ” McDonald, three-time UND alumnus and President, United Tribes Technical College
Chelsea Moser, UND Accountancy student and current women’s volleyball student athlete
Lowell Schweigert, UND alumnus and football letterwinner, long-time Champions Club member, current UND Booster Chair, Financial Consultant and Business Owner, Northern Plains Financial
Dave St. Peter, UND alumnus and President, Minnesota Twins
Susan Walton, UND’s Vice President for University and Public Affairs, serves as project manager for the Committee. Communications support will be provided by University & Public Affairs personnel.
The Nickname Committee will not engage a professional facilitator. However, based on recommendations from the previous Task Force, collegiate branding expert Kelly O’Keefe, who provided branding counsel to that group, will join the Nickname Committee’s meetings by phone to provide counsel and discuss best practices. [Reply]
