NCAA Settles With UND Over Fighting Sioux Nickname
The NCAA and the State of North Dakota have settled the lawsuit brought against the association by the state and the University of North Dakota regarding the NCAA’s 2005 policy prohibiting Native American mascots and imagery at its championships.
Under terms of the agreement, the UND will have three years to obtain namesake tribe approval for its nickname and related imagery from both the Spirit Lake Tribe and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, the two Sioux tribes with a significant presence in the state.
If namesake tribe approval is not secured from both tribes within the time period, the University of North Dakota will transition to a new nickname and logo which do not violate the policy. If the school elects to keep the current nickname and associated imagery, UND will be subject to restrictions under the policy.
If namesake tribe approval is secured from both tribes, UND will be granted a waiver from the policy to keep the current nickname and imagery. In the event namesake tribe approval is later withdrawn from either tribe, the waiver will also be withdrawn. During the period granted for UND to seek namesake tribe approval, which expires on November 30, 2010, the school will not be subject to policy restrictions.
By settling this case, the NCAA noted that it was not reversing its policy or its commitment to eliminate Native American nicknames and imagery from championship events. It added that the settlement is consistent with the NCAA’s “firm belief that Native American nicknames and imagery have no place in intercollegiate athletics.”
“This settlement treats UND like all other schools,” said Bernard Franklin, NCAA Senior Vice-President for Governance, Membership, Education and Research Services. “If UND cannot secure namesake tribe approval it will either transition to a new nickname and logo or it will be subject to the policy.”
“One fundamental purpose of the policy was and is to listen to the Native American community and the NCAA sought input from them during the settlement negotiations,” said Franklin. “The settlement confirms that the Sioux people – and no one else – should decide whether and how their name should be used.”
UND officials were pleased with the ruling.
“We have today before us a dynamic in terms of a change in public policy that’s being brought forward,” said William Goetz, North Dakota University System chancellor, said in a statement. “This is the recognition of the tribes and how they will be given an opportunity to weigh in on this issue, as should be the case.”
Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem added, in comments after the settlement was approved, that it was in the best interest of the state to pursue a settlement.
“If we hadn’t reached this settlement, we faced the very realistic prospect that if we would win the lawsuit, the NCAA would amend its bylaws, in which case the university would then have to decide whether to comply with the bylaws,” Stenehjem said.
In addition, the school was put on the defensive by the NCAA over a previous statement that it had obtained tribal approval as well as over the influence of the school’s most prominent booster.
Specifically, the NCAA claimed the school misled it during the administrative appeals process when it consistently claimed that the Spirit Lake Sioux Nation supported its continued use of its nickname. The state had attached that position to a 2000 Spirit Lake Tribal Council resolution, which stated: “as long as something positive comes from this controversy, (the tribe is) not opposed to keeping the ‘Sioux’ name and present logo at UND.”
But in an Aug. 13 interview with a local paper, Spirit Lake Tribal Chairwoman Myra Pearson said that she read the resolution as neither supporting nor opposing the nickname. She added that she did not expect the Tribal Council to clarify its position or to reconsider the nickname issue.
The NCAA had suggested in its motion that “plaintiff consistently maintained that it had the endorsement and support of the Spirit Lake Nation. Those claims are also an integral part of the pending litigation. . . . Based on recent developments, it is becoming increasingly difficult to accept that plaintiff could have made these claims in good faith, much less ‘utmost good faith.’”
In addition, the NCAA argued in a motion that UND may have “impaired its equitable standing” through agreements with Ralph Engelstad Arena.
“It is becoming increasingly apparent that the interests of third parties (Ralph Engelstad, his estate, family and foundations) have so insinuated themselves in this controversy that they cannot be ignored,” according to the motion.
Current casino owner and former UND goaltender Ralph Engelstad had funded the construction of the $104 million arena, which bears his name and has been an ardent supporter of the Fighting Sioux nickname. He even threatened at one point to halt construction on the arena if the school complied with the NCAA directive and dropped the nickname.
