Okay, people, we have completed the first leg of our journey. The venerable Ermine has made the first cut.
http://und.edu/nickname/consideration-list.pdf
There are a bunch of names that passed the first test, but here are the ones that were suggested 10 or more times, and constitute our most likely competitors. I think we stack up really well.
Aeros
Aviators
Badlanders
Berserkers
Big Green
Blackhawks
Blizzard
Bombers
Cavalry
Dakota
Dakotans
Dragons
Drillers
Ermines
Explorers
Fighting Dakotans
Fighting Farmers
Fighting Warriors
Fire
Flame
Flames
Flickertails
Flood
Force
Frackers
Frost Giants
Green Machine
Homesteaders
Hunters
Kodiaks
Legends
Mallards
Meadowlarks
Nighthawks
Nodaks
Nordics
Norse
North Dakota
North Stars
Northern Lights
Outlaws
Paratas
Pilots
Polar Bears
Predators
Pride
Pronghorns
Raptors
Rattlers
Reapers
Roughnecks
Settlers
Snowy Owls
Sodbusters
Spirit
Stallions
Stars
Storm
Sundogs
Thrashers
Tomahawks
Trailblazers
Trappers
Tsunami
Tundra
Warriors
Warriors of the North
Wind
Yeti