The University of North Dakota's University Senate has adopted a resolution opposing all three "Fighting Sioux" nickname bills under consideration at the North Dakota Legislature.
The vote Thursday was 44-1 for the resolution, with five members abstaining.
The University Senate includes faculty, staff, student and administration representatives. Its vote against the nickname bills follows a similar action Jan. 23 by the UND Student Senate.
The University Senate resolution used language from the Student Senate resolution, noting that the university has begun the transition away from the nickname and logo and the bills would "only reignite the division over the 'Fighting Sioux' nickname and logo and further divide our university, the city of Grand Forks and the state of North Dakota."
Also, according to the resolution, there would be "unknown" costs to a potential new legal battle with the NCAA.
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The resolution, introduced by Curtis Stofferahn, professor of sociology and vice president of the University Senate, had included a clause from the Student Senate action concerning potential implications for UND's entry into the Big Sky Conference. Stofferahn said intercollegiate athletics representatives on the Senate said the nickname is not an issue there, so the clause was dropped.
In various forms, the three House bills introduced last month would direct UND to retain the nickname and logo. Two would mandate keeping the symbols unless a referendum at Standing Rock Sioux Reservation goes against their use.
The third bill, sponsored by House Majority Leader Al Carlson, R-Fargo, simply declares that intercollegiate athletic teams at UND "shall be known as the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux" and authorizes the attorney general to consider filing a federal antitrust claim against the NCAA if it seeks to penalize the university.
Chuck Haga is a writer for the Grand Forks Herald
