Ever wanted to name a university's mascot? Now's your chance!

[RealSNR]

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!

Online suggestions, which must be 25 characters or less (including any spaces), will be accepted from Wednesday, April 1 at 8 a.m. CDT to Thursday, April 30 at 11:59 p.m. CDT. All mail-in submissions must be postmarked no later than April 25.

The Nickname Committee will evaluate submissions based on a list of attributes that the group has developed:

• Be unique, recognizable, inspiring, and distinctly UND’s;
• Promote a sense of pride, strength, fierceness, and passion;
• Be representative of the state and region in a way that honors the traditions and heritage of the past but also looks to the future; and
• Be a unifying and rallying symbol.

Submissions are anonymous; individuals submitting suggestions will not be asked to provide their names. All nickname submissions are subject to North Dakota open records law. Individuals submitting nickname suggestions are not entitled to compensation or anything of value in exchange for the submission, and all submissions become the property of the University of North Dakota.

The Committee will accept suggestions for nicknames only. Drawings, designs, logos, art files, special characters, etc. will not be considered.

Nickname suggestions will be sent directly to PadillaCRT, a group that has national expertise in nickname development and that has been advising the Nickname Committee. Any nickname suggestions known to be trademarked and/or subject to third-party rights or uses may not be considered by the Committee.

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!

[displacedinMN]

Minneapolis paper today

http://www.startribune.com/nation/302582501.html

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by displacedinMN

Minneapolis paper today

http://www.startribune.com/nation/302582501.html

A public vote? Really? I wonder if they mean a scientific public survey or if they mean it's going to be a big ballot stuffing contest. If it's the latter, I think we start mobilizing the Ermine Army.

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by displacedinMN

Minneapolis paper today

http://www.startribune.com/nation/302582501.html

"Roughriders" and "Rough Riders" were popular suggestions that were excluded for reasons that weren't immediately clear. Both were meant to highlight the state's links to President Theodore Roosevelt, who ranched in the North Dakota Badlands. The Rough Riders was a cavalry unit he led during the Spanish-American War.

What a shitty ****ing reporter.

Do some ****ing investigating. That is, after all, your job, isn't it?

The Roughriders already belong to one of Grand Forks' public high schools. It would be confusing for the community if UND also became the Roughriders.

[RealSNR]

Deadspin got ahold of this, mostly to laugh at the rejected names. But check out this comment! We got some national support!

http://deadspin.com/what-should-the-...nam-1702176684

[RealSNR]

In all these news links, reporters are picking out a chosen few and sharing them with people to give them a taste of what's on the PDF files.

None of them are mentioning ermines.

This is a problem. How the **** are we supposed to gain national support for this cause if nobody's ****ing reporting that "Ermines" is an option?

[Rain Man]

Yeah, the good news is that a lot of the media discussion right now involves making fun of the ludicrous suggestions. Ermines isn't being mentioned in that vein because it's considered a legitimate selection.

But at this point we need to start getting the name out. The Sioux Sports forum has discovered that the p.r. firm that's involved has been buying up a bunch of domain names, and it doesn't appear that they've purchased ermine-related names yet. If it's a fair process they should be buying all serious contenders, so we need to force the issue.

[Rausch]

As a previous owner of multiple ferrets I'm all behind the ANGRY ERMINE!

[Nightfyre]

Aviators is very probable given the unique aspect their aviation program provides to the school identity.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Rausch

As a previous owner of multiple ferrets I'm all behind the ANGRY ERMINE!

The Ermine Army is gathering momentum! Let this be the greatest poll pushing that Chiefsplanet has ever initiated.

Ermine Power!

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by Nightfyre

Aviators is very probable given the unique aspect their aviation program provides to the school identity.

As a former faculty member at UND (albeit briefly) let me just say that the Aviation department and its students can go die in a plane that broke apart in mid-air.

Bunch of ****ing assholes and dweebs that wouldn't know the value of applying yourself in college if it bit them in their brains, which for them are located in the lower large intestine.

It wasn't necessarily the case for people doing air traffic control and flight engineering, but for the assholes who just wanted to fly planes? They couldn't give a flying (pun intended) **** about even TRYING in college.

If the committee decides to name the university after THOSE ****ing assholes, I'll drive to Grand Forks and kick everybody's dog.

[Nightfyre]

Originally Posted by SNR

As a former faculty member at UND (albeit briefly) let me just say that the Aviation department and its students can go die in a plane that broke apart in mid-air.

Bunch of ****ing assholes and dweebs that wouldn't know the value of applying yourself in college if it bit them in their brains, which for them are located in the lower large intestine.

It wasn't necessarily the case for people doing air traffic control and flight engineering, but for the assholes who just wanted to fly planes? They couldn't give a flying (pun intended) **** about even TRYING in college.

If the committee decides to name the university after THOSE ****ing assholes, I'll drive to Grand Forks and kick everybody's dog.

I only know two guys who went to und for flight school. Both are good dudes. One graduated, and one was probably one of the douches (at the time), you referred to.

[Rausch]

Originally Posted by SNR

As a former faculty member at UND (albeit briefly) let me just say that the Aviation department and its students can go die in a plane that broke apart in mid-air.

Bunch of ****ing assholes and dweebs that wouldn't know the value of applying yourself in college if it bit them in their brains, which for them are located in the lower large intestine.

Wait, this...wait.......whut?

[Rain Man]

They went through the first 500 on the list tonight and cut it to 38. But the reporter didn't bother listing the 38. What the heck are they doing in the journalism industry up there? How do you not list the 38?

http://www.thedickinsonpress.com/new...s-and-aviators

[Rain Man]

Can we get some Facebook comments here supporting the Ermine? Your support is appreciated.

http://www.inforum.com/news/3739459-...-cutting-names

[RealSNR]

There's a meeting on May 18th and open to the public.

Weird. I suddenly have an urge to go visit my folks again in Grand Forks on that day.

You know what? **** it. It's not that bad of a drive.

I'm going to ****ing Grand Forks and getting this thing kicked through.