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!

[Rain Man]

We've already reached consensus, people. We're going with ermine. Please form an orderly line and go to the link to nominate ermine.

[Sorter]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

We've already reached consensus, people. We're going with ermine. Please form an orderly line and go to the link to nominate ermine.

What the ****!?

[alnorth]

Don't mess with the ermine, he'll eat anything

[DaNewGuy]

Im on bored with the otters, those were some crisp routes they were running

[digger]

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by DaNewGuy

Im on bored with the otters, those were some crisp routes they were running

We can with the otters for some riverine college, but ermine is definitely the way to go for UND. UND is the ermine - small, fierce, and mostly white.

We probably shouldn't include the "mostly white" part in our nominations, by the way.

[RaiderH8r]

The Conquerors would be awesome. I would also endorse the Norsemen. Or the Horde. The Northern Horde. The Oilers. White Devils would work too. Really appease those whiny ****s.

Let's list them:
Conquerors
Norsemen
Horde
Northern Horde
Oilers
White Devils
Roughnecks
Round Eyes (again, for the whiny ****s)
Pumpjacks

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by RaiderH8r

The Conquerors would be awesome. I would also endorse the Norsemen. Or the Horde. The Northern Horde. The Oilers. White Devils would work too. Really appease those whiny ****s.

Norsemen is already taken.

Luther College, baby!

[Bob Dole]

BWillie doesn't know what something is, so it's automatically stupid.

Good to know that about 90% of Bob Dole's knowledge is stupid.

[KC native]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Actually, there's a huge opportunity here. Think about this: the Ermines.

First off, ermines are really tough little critters, and they paradoxically soft and furry.

But the big win here is that the university would be the UNDErmines. Now you have a mascot that's not just fierce and furry, but also one that has Machiavellian undertones.

Posts like this are why you are the Chiefsplanet MVP.

LET'S GO ERMINES!

[TimBone]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Okay, I submitted ermine with this justification. Help me out here, folks. This is my Ferguson. This is where I make my stand.

The ermine is fierce, it thrives in cold weather, and it's cute and furry. Plus, UND Ermines (undermines) is delightfully Machivellian.

Please submit some variation of this language in your own words. If they adopt the ermine, I'll rep everyone who helped.

I'll submit shortly.

Also, Dicky was murdering this thread with his suggestions. Small Pox Blankets was wonderful.

[TimBone]

Done.

[SPchief]

Some guy doing analytics at Google is probably trying to figure out why all of a sudden Ermines are a poplar search right now.

[Psyko Tek]

Originally Posted by Hootie 2.0

because we didn't force the Irish onto reservations and pillage their women, damnit!

we should have
I like redheads

[displacedinMN]

Flatlanders

Oilers

Coal Miners

Next stop, Montana

LVTM-Lives vicariously through Minnesota