"As time passes, respect grows for the NCAA’s decision to let the use of tribal nicknames rest on the approval of the namesake tribes.

This decision — at the time, a strategic retreat — has made the NCAA’s position almost unassailable from people on all sides of this scorching hot-button issue.

That’s proving to be the case in North Dakota, too. Here, the State Board of Higher Education is stepping across a minefield with what almost resembles agility, because it’s being guided by the NCAA’s rule.

This surefootedness is a change. If you look back at the board’s path across the field, you still can see the craters from the mines the board tripped in 2000 and 2001. Those were the years of the infamous “Engelstad letter,” in which Ralph Engelstad threatened to shut down construction on his new $100 million hockey arena unless the board reaffirmed support for the nickname.

Board members did just that within days. It was not the board’s finest hour.

But today, who could argue with giving the Standing Rock Sioux more time to reach a vital decision on UND’s nickname?

On Thursday, the board wisely extended its deadline and gave the people of Standing Rock that time."

Get the Story:
OUR OPINION: State board chooses well (The Grand Forks Herald 10/2)
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