State Legislation Orders U. of North Dakota to Keep Fighting Sioux Nickname

The University of North Dakota appears once again to be on a collision course with the NCAA, after the state Senate approved legislation today demanding that the university keep its controversial Fighting Sioux nickname and Indian-head logo despite an agreement with the NCAA, upheld by the state Supreme Court, to drop those symbols.

According to the Grand Forks Herald, the Senate vote was 28 to 15, and the bill, which has already passed the House, now goes to the governor, Jack Dalrymple, a Republican, who has vowed to sign it. The state’s attorney general, Wayne Stenehjem, who had helped forge the 2007 agreement with the NCAA, has described the legislation as constitutionally suspect because it arrogates to the state government decisions that the state’s Constitution leaves to the Board of Higher Education.

Under the bill, Mr. Stenehjem would be required to consider suing the NCAA if it once again takes steps against the university over the Fighting Sioux image. Under the 2007 deal, the university agreed to drop the image, which the NCAA considers offensive, if two Sioux tribes in the state did not vote to preserve it. One consented to the image, but the other did not vote on the matter, and for most of the last year, the university has been working on a transitional plan to stop using the images.

A spokesman for the university told the Associated Press that it would continue to abide by the higher-education board’s agreement with the NCAA. The AP said it was unable to reach the board or Mr. Stenehjem for comment.