The Fighting Sioux aren’t going down without a fight. North Dakota’s State Board of Higher Education voted today to file a lawsuit against the NCAA to allow the University of North Dakota to continue using its American Indian nickname and images during postseason competition, the Associated Press reported.

Last August the NCAA ruled that North Dakota and 17 other colleges could not participate in or play host to postseason games unless they did not use their American Indian nicknames, which the association has deemed to be hostile and abusive. Since then North Dakota has lost two appeals with the NCAA to keep its Fighting Sioux name (The Chronicle, May 12).

The nickname ban arguably would harm North Dakota more than any other college. The university often holds NCAA ice-hockey tournament games in its $100-million Ralph Engelstad Arena, which has thousands of Fighting Sioux images on the walls and floor (The Chronicle, November 22, 2002). The university would have to wipe out those images to hold postseason games there.

The board, which voted 8 to 0 in favor of suing, stipulated that the lawsuit must be financed with private funds. The board did not specify where or when it would file the lawsuit, or what arguments it would use to pursue its complaint.