University of North Dakota Is Down to Five Nicknames
Our neighbors to the northwest, some of us just the west, are in the middle of a nickname pickle. The University of North Dakota and their sports squads have been nickname-less since 2012 once the school stopped using the Fighting Sioux nickname. The nickname committee has brought the tally down to five options after recently eliminating one.
The no nickname option was eliminated recently. The no nickname route has been what North Dakota has been doing since dropping their old name with the team only being referred to as ‘North Dakota’.
Many seemed to be in favor of the no nickname option for multiple reasons. Some thought it kept them closer to the Fighting Sioux nickname, that without a nickname the Fighting Sioux might come back and as Minnesota Twins President Dave St. Peter, a member of the nickname committee, told the Star Tribune, some saw it as a very cool nod to the state with no other teams in collegiate sports being recognized only by the school’s name.
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The nicknames left in the running are the Fighting Hawks, Nodaks, North Stars, Roughriders and Sundogs.
It is reported that a vote will be held to bestow a new nickname on the school. The election is expected to be held sometime after the general school population returns to campus in a little over a month for the fall semester.
A quick personal breakdown of the names: Sundogs would be a cool name, but I don’t think that will win or go great with the UND green and black. Nodaks is too unoriginal, it’s the lesser option between that and no nickname. Roughriders is nice and if a college campus is voting on this, well, they might think of something they might do in their dorm room with a friend. North Stars is compelling, but do they really want to steal the name of the former Minnesota NHL team? Fighting Hawks is what I’d say is the odds on favorite to win due to the fact the Fighting Sioux logo looks like the Chicago Blackhawks logo and if you shorten Blackhawks… you get Hawks.
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