UND, NCAA Agree On Imagery | Video

| 9/26/2012

Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem announced today that he has made an agreement with the NCAA that will let some of the imagery at the Ralph Engelstad Arena and the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center remain in place. The agreement is an Addendum to the 2007 Settlement Agreement with the NCAA.

UND would have had to remove or replace the images under the terms of the original agreement. The school would have had to replace flooring, carpets, seating and other items displaying the "Fighting Sioux" logo and Native American imagery before the end of this year.

"I am very pleased that the NCAA was willing to show flexibility in its policy. I believe NCAA officials were impressed with the efforts of the University, the Board of Higher Education and the State to move ahead on the issue. I think that the vote by the citizens of North Dakota last June, declining to enact a statutory requirement for use of the Fighting Sioux nickname also helped persuade the NCAA that the change in the agreement was in everyone`s best interest."

Signs on the outside of the facility that say "Home of the Fighting Sioux" will still have to be removed as soon as possible, and carpeting with the logo will have to be replaced when it wears out.

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