|
04-01-2015, 01:22 PM | |
Special Teams ACE!!!
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Where the hell is SNR
Casino cash: $895208
|
Ever wanted to name a university's mascot? Now's your chance!
The University of North Dakota got rid of the Fighting Sioux in 2012, and since that time, they have been simply "The University of North Dakota." No mascot. Fighting Sioux was beloved by the community of Grand Forks largely because of the tradition associated with it in the university's college hockey program, which has been historically and recently one of the top college hockey programs in the NCAA.
The university has finally assembled a committee to look through suggestions and recommend a new mascot to the president of the university. They just need the suggestions. That's where you come in. Simply click the link and fill out the online form: http://und.edu/nickname/ Here are the basic guidelines to consider (from the UND announcement):
Spoiler!
Since I'm originally from Grand Forks, I have connections to people who are abuzz with this process. I can tell you that there are already some favorites being championed: --Flickertails. This was the university's mascot prior to becoming the Fighting Sioux in the 1930s. Given the university's recent goals of expanding into a tier-one research university, it makes a lot of sense to go with rodentia like their counterparts in the Big 10 (gophers, badgers). North Dakota is also known as the Flickertail State. --Roughriders. The safest bet. Nothing says North Dakota pride like references to Teddy Roosevelt. Would also still manage to piss off a few people, since Teddy Roosevelt probably killed a few Indians when he was out in the North Dakota Badlands. It largely boils down to whether or not the university is cool with proudly stating to people, "Yeah, you might think of condoms when you hear our name, but we're still going to beat you in hockey!" --Pilots. UND's aviation research and development program is unanimously known as the best in the country. It's odd to pick a mascot based on the strength of an academic program, but eh... weirder things have happened. --Green Meadowlarks. This one combines creativity with tradition and old-sounding college mascot nomenclature, but it's also kind of weird. The Western Meadowlark is the state bird of North Dakota, and green and white are the school's primary colors. A problem with this is that I believe the Western Meadowlark is also the state bird of like 20 other states. It's still better than Banana Slugs. --Keep using no mascot. The most likely option, I think. It's the last method that UND fans have to tell the NCAA to go **** itself for making the university ditch Fighting Sioux. There's a rule in place that they can't have a racial mascot, but there is no rule that says the school has to have a mascot, just a nice little memo that says, "It would be really nice if your school had a mascot so we could maintain the entire aesthetic of the neighborhood. Smiley face." It would also make the university stand out and be truly unique. But that doesn't mean you can't play a role in creating collegiate athletic history! So get in there! Last edited by RealSNR; 04-01-2015 at 01:29 PM.. |
Posts: 91,809
|
04-09-2015, 11:15 PM | #151 |
I'm with the banned.
Join Date: Sep 2006
Casino cash: $5658955
|
Service Unavailable
The server is temporarily unable to service your request due to maintenance downtime or capacity problems. Please try again later.
__________________
"Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth ..." – Pope Saint John Paul II |
Posts: 28,113
|
04-09-2015, 11:22 PM | #152 | |
Special Teams ACE!!!
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Where the hell is SNR
Casino cash: $895208
|
Quote:
No, I'm not just making that up. I didn't even consider going directly to the source of the decision making on this. I think we just got a huge boost. |
|
Posts: 91,809
|
04-09-2015, 11:27 PM | #153 |
Back again, again.
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: York, PA
Casino cash: $9583357
|
I encouraged - okay, dragooned - a few of my friends into voting. I'm half a country away and have of those people, but I'm really hoping they win, and I'm totally buying a t-shirt when they do.
|
Posts: 8,179
|
04-09-2015, 11:34 PM | #154 | |
NFL's #1 Ermines Fan
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: My house
Casino cash: $1838491
VARSITY
|
Quote:
As soon as I'm in, I'll start working that crowd. The choices they're bandying about aren't very original.
__________________
Active fan of the greatest team in NFL history. Last edited by Rain Man; 04-09-2015 at 11:44 PM.. |
|
Posts: 142,638
|
04-09-2015, 11:36 PM | #155 | |
NFL's #1 Ermines Fan
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: My house
Casino cash: $1838491
VARSITY
|
Quote:
If I may quote Salt n Pepa from that bad commercial, push it. Y'know, my firm actually did research for another college mascot a couple of years ago, and we've also done research for two colleges that were considering new names for the whole school. So I'm kind of an expert on this if you need to play that card.
__________________
Active fan of the greatest team in NFL history. |
|
Posts: 142,638
|
04-09-2015, 11:54 PM | #156 | |
Special Teams ACE!!!
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Where the hell is SNR
Casino cash: $895208
|
Quote:
|
|
Posts: 91,809
|
04-10-2015, 12:14 AM | #157 | |
NFL's #1 Ermines Fan
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: My house
Casino cash: $1838491
VARSITY
|
Quote:
In another case, we got involved because there was controversy about a name change. The administration wanted one name and the students rallied around another name and there was also a tussle with a nearby school that was worried about an overlap in names. There were short-term battles but they died out pretty quickly. On the mascot one, we just did some vetting of a mascot and a couple of variants that were already under consideration, and I don't think there was any controversy about the options. I'm tempted to write to UND and offer our services for concept testing, but it might cause controversy if they find out that I'm an ermine proponent, even though I could still be quite neutral about it.
__________________
Active fan of the greatest team in NFL history. |
|
Posts: 142,638
|
04-10-2015, 12:35 AM | #158 | |
Starter
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Casino cash: $9688694
|
Quote:
|
|
Posts: 590
|
04-10-2015, 01:03 AM | #159 |
Starter
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Casino cash: $9688694
|
|
Posts: 590
|
04-10-2015, 08:35 AM | #160 |
NFL's #1 Ermines Fan
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: My house
Casino cash: $1838491
VARSITY
|
I'm passionately neutral about everything. Neutrality is the thing I love most.
__________________
Active fan of the greatest team in NFL history. |
Posts: 142,638
|
04-10-2015, 09:29 AM | #161 | ||
Special Teams ACE!!!
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Where the hell is SNR
Casino cash: $895208
|
Quote:
Quote:
|
||
Posts: 91,809
|
04-10-2015, 10:04 AM | #162 |
Texting Ms. Dobbs
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Virginia
Casino cash: $9418246
|
Mutha****ing Ermines, baby.
Option 1 & 2 (without the mutha****ing and baby) |
Posts: 1,673
|
04-10-2015, 11:07 AM | #163 | |
NFL's #1 Ermines Fan
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: My house
Casino cash: $1838491
VARSITY
|
Quote:
Yeah, concept testing would generally involve some combination of... 1. General perception survey likely a survey or focus groups with a non-North Dakota sample that will give you neutral feedback 2. Stakeholder survey same as above, but you do it with an audience that has more identification with the issue, such as students, alumni, or the North Dakota public You certainly don't have to do all of that - our mascot research was just some focus groups with current students at the school, for example. It depends on how much controversy you might have and how much risk there might be. When we did the name change research for a big university, the work was much broader because it was a much bigger deal. We did branding research with eight distinct populations: current students, staff, alumni, major donors, the general public, career counselors, state legislators, and professional associations. And the truth is that you'll get grousing about any type of change of this sort. Alumni generally hate re-naming a college, so you have to keep that in mind, and mascots are pretty integral with the identity of a college. You just have to find the one that's most liked and least disliked, and if they're different you have to make the call. Edit: I just went back and looked at our mascot project, and it actually ended up not being about the mascot itself, but rather a logo using the mascot. My bad.
__________________
Active fan of the greatest team in NFL history. Last edited by Rain Man; 04-10-2015 at 12:12 PM.. |
|
Posts: 142,638
|
04-10-2015, 12:40 PM | #164 | |
Special Teams ACE!!!
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Where the hell is SNR
Casino cash: $895208
|
Quote:
|
|
Posts: 91,809
|
04-10-2015, 02:03 PM | #165 |
NFL's #1 Ermines Fan
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: My house
Casino cash: $1838491
VARSITY
|
I wish. That's an inspired name.
__________________
Active fan of the greatest team in NFL history. |
Posts: 142,638
|
|
|