The Fighting Sioux logo was first introduced at North Dakota in 1999.
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The University of North Dakota announced the school’s new nickname will be Fighting Hawks during a news conference Wednesday.
The question of how the the two schools will share the skies is yet to be answered, but DSU interim President Jim Ozbun said DSU representatives have been in contact with the North Dakota attorney general’s office to see about protecting the shortened version of his university’s nickname.
The Fighting Sioux logos in the Ralph Engelstad Arena do not have to be removed; the settlement agreement with the NCAA permits their display.
The results show 27,378 people voted, and that the contest wasn’t really close at all – the Fighting Hawks’ 15,670 votes beat the Sundogs’ tally by almost 4,000 votes.
46 percent of votes during the second round.
Voters, including students, faculty, staff, retirees, alumni, donors and season ticket holders, chose “Fighting Hawks” over “Roughriders” after a third runoff vote conducted from November 12 until midnight on Monday, the university’s president, Robert Kelley, said.
Brian Faison, UND Athletics Director: “The term “North Dakota” we have proudly used for decades, and again I want to reiterate: we are North Dakota”. A new logo is expected to be revealed by the fall 2016 semester. A bill was later introduced in the North Dakota House of Representatives to change the nickname, but it never made it out of committee. “I don’t like voting”, Sandelin said at the time. The school has played simply as North Dakota ever since.
A group of stakeholders will help select the design firm while another group will work with the firm to create the logo, Walton said.
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“I don’t know. Obviously I would rather have the Sioux, but that’s not my decision”, VandeVelde said.
