The University of North Dakota said on Wednesday it will adopt the “Fighting Hawks” as its new nickname after retiring the “Fighting Sioux”, which was banned under a national college sports policy that deemed such names and symbols racially offensive.
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It has been a three-year journey to replace the controversial Fighting Sioux nickname at the university.
The Hawks received slightly more than 57 percent of the 27,378 votes cast.
University officials say the new moniker will take seven months to fully implement, and that there are still a few details to work out (like logo design, for instance). Meanwhile, the teams’ interlocking “ND” logo will remain until a new logo is developed, expected by mid-summer 2016.
In May, a committee began debating about 1,200 nicknames that had been approved by a consultant after a monthlong campaign to solicit suggestions from the public. The university attempted to gain approval from North Dakota’s two state tribes: the Spirit Lake Tribe and the Standing Rock Sioux. State residents voted overwhelmingly in early 2012 to dump the nickname and American Indian head logo that was first unveiled in the 1930s and redesigned by a Native American UND alumnus in 1999.
In the meantime, the University has adopted transitional guidelines for using the new nickname.
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“We understand that that absolutely represents a significant expense”, Walton said.
