“Fighting Hawks” Is The New Official Nickname For The University Of North Dakota

SteveHolt10 years ago

After a seemingly endless discussion about what the new nickname at the University of North Dakota should be, a decision has finally been made: The Fighting Hawks.

The comments on that post are definitely worth reading.

Formerly the Fighting Sioux, one of the most recognizable names in college athletics, UND had come under vicious scrutiny in recent years from people who found the nickname to be tasteless and offensive. It was retired in 2012.

The bird nickname received 57 percent of the vote, ultimately beating out “Roughriders” to become the new official mascot of UND.

From Fox Sports:

The predatory bird mascot was declared the winner after receiving 57 percent of the vote compared to 43 percent for Roughriders in the two-nickname runoff. The vote was open to people with UND ties, including students, staff and alums, and 27,378 votes were cast. The new nickname replaces the Fighting Sioux name that was retired by the state Board of Higher Education in 2012 because the NCAA deemed it “hostile and abusive.”

Still, not everybody up in North Dakota is thrilled with the nickname change, as evidenced by the paragraph below:

The final five were: Fighting Hawks; Roughriders; Nodaks; Sundogs; and North Stars.

Some alumni and fans lashed out at the decision to not include the option of no nickname on the final ballot. UND President Robert Kelley said it wasn’t in the best interests of the school to move forward without a new moniker and said the school “will always be North Dakota.”

Honestly, since the nickname change was inevitable, UND should have gone for something somewhat unique instead of picking one of the most basic mascots of all time. Hawks? Really? Was “Bears” taken? I personally think UND should have gone with the Nodaks. That is an awesome name — arguably better than the Fighting Sioux. Not that it matters, because UND sports will never be relevant enough for me to care about what is going on up there anyway. Sorry, I’m not interested in college hockey at all.

Enjoy your new, forgettable nickname, UND..

[via Fox Sports]

Image via YouTube