Say goodbye to the Fighting Sioux

Actually, that's not true. NCAA rules allow teams to ice DI hockey programs even if the rest of their programs are DII due to the fact the NCAA does not sponsor hockey at the DII level. They did not have to move up.

 

My understanding is that North Dakota and South Dakota were sort of pressured to move up when ND State and SD State made the move, since now all their natural rivals are D-I.

 

What will UND do with a few thousand Fighting Sioux emblazoned seats in their arena?


http://www.theralph.com/?SPSID=58724&SPID=6409&DB_OEM_ID=13500
http://images.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/_photos/2005-09-27-inside-sioux-cha.jpg

 

Yeah, they won't actually force them, but they have wanted them (and St. Cloud, IIRC) to move up for a while.

Who they play is probably the deciding factor. The NCC is gone, and with all the teams in it moving up or down.

 

I don't have time to research it right now, but it was my understanding that the money Ralph Engelstad donated to the school would be pulled if UND changed its nickname. He's the late UND alumni for whom the arena is named.

I think there are a heck of a lot more pressing issues to spend time on than what a school nickname is. If the school used "Wahoos" or "Tree N*ggers" (yes, sadly, that's a derogatory term for Native Americans) I would be all for changing the name. But when schools in my surrounding area with a high density of Native Americans use "Warriors" complete with Native American accoutrement, sorry, ain't seein' it.

 

I admit, it seems like a bit much, especially in light of more pressing matters in the world. I don't have a problem with the nickname and the logo is at least a dignified one, unlike, for example, the Cleveland baseball logo.

That said, I'm inclined to cut people some slack if they're surviving people from a nation that has been all but annihilated from the face of the earth. Part of the objection is the word "Sioux" itself. It has negative connotations in ways that some other European words for Native American peoples do not. That's overlooked sometimes, but it's a factor in the sensitivity here. Every people has the right to go by the name that it chooses.

I don't know, could you look a Native American from North Dakota in the eye and tell them to lighten up and get over it? Not saying you're a douche if you could, just throwing that out there.

As a Blackhawks fan, of course I've thought about this one. Black Hawk was a member of the Sac (or Sauk) nation, whose present-day leadership has been largely ambivalent or indifferent about the team's use of the name. Of course Black Hawk's name is all over North American culture; it's not just the Chicago NHL team. If the Sac ever changed their tune and decided they were pissed off about the logo, I'd say fine, retire the Indian Head and the tomahawked "C." I wouldn't like to see those images replaced with some bird logo or whatever, but I'd get over it.

 

Methinks somebody's looking for a payoff.

 

There are several schools who play D-I hockey that aren't D-I for anything else: St. Cloud State, Minnesota-Duluth, Minnesota State, Bemijdi State (which went to the Frozen Four last month).

There's a real cost-benefit argument about whether being a small D-I (FCS) is better than being a big boy in D-II when you figure in the money you spend on scholarships, coaching salaries, travel, facilities, etc.

 

Now, Beavers is a nickname that I can get behind.

 

Two quick points:

1) The Blackhawks weren't named after the Indian tribe, technically. They were named after an army group that was named after the Indian tribe.

2) The North Dakota Indians are at worst split on the name. One tribe voted to say it was okay, and the other refuses to hold a vote, iirc.

 

Different sport, but Johns Hopkins is D-I in lacrosse and, I believe, D-III otherwise.

What are the negative connotations with the word "Sioux"? I honestly have never heard that.

 

Especially if they end up in the Summit League. Yes, you play NDSU, SDSU and South Dakota State. You also have to figure out the cheapest way to get to Centenary and Southern Utah.