NCAA Renegotiates Agreement With UND Over Arena Logos
Following the June defeat of a ballot measure to restore the Fighting Sioux nickname, the University of North Dakota has resumed transitioning away from the name and logo. One key element is removing the logo and name from Ralph Englstad Arena. The NCAA initially demanded all traces of the logo be removed now. A new agreement with UND allows most of the inside logos to remain:
The new addendum requires the removal of the signs on the outside of the facility that say “Home of the Fighting Sioux” as soon as possible, [Attorney General Wayne] Stenehjem said, and replacement of the logo carpeting as it wears out. The “Home of the Fighting Sioux” signs are not accurate, Stenehjem said, “because it isn’t the home of the Fighting Sioux anymore since the State Board retired the name.”
This will allow UND to host NCAA championship events much sooner than the original agreement. In addition to the fight over the nickname itself, completing all the changes initially agreed to with the NCAA would have been very expensive. Here is just some of what will now be able to stay in the arena:
The other items covered by the addendum “include some of the more controversial things, including the logos at the end of seat rows, the brass etched standards along railings and the carpet on the suite level, which can stay (until) it wears out.”
The question now will be when or if North Dakota chooses a new mascot. The Fighting Sioux nickname was retired in June, but a new one was not chosen. For now, North Dakota is just North Dakota.
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