"If you have an old University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux t-shirt and are thinking of using it to wash your car, don't do it! It may very well enter the realm of collector's item or classic throwback sooner rather than later.

A controversy has been brewing for a couple of years regarding the school's Native American-themed nickname. The NCAA deemed it necessary that the university ban the "Fighting Sioux" moniker, and the North Dakota Board of Higher Education agreed. However, with a deadline of August 15 fast approaching, students, administrators and boosters are having a difficult time saying goodbye, so much so that the state legislature got involved.

A decision was reached earlier this year by North Dakota lawmakers that required the university to retain both the moniker and logo. However, if the school defies the NCAA's fast-approaching deadline, it will not be permitted to host or even participate in any postseason events or tournaments.

So why, you may ask, are some programs able to continue operating with Native American nicknames, while others are being forced to make a change? It all comes down to whether there is an organized tribe of the respective moniker operating (seen living) within the school's home state, and whether that group is willing to grant the university its blessing to continue on with the name. For example, Florida State had to seek, and was granted, permission to retain "Seminoles". The University of Illinois lucked out because there is no tribe in the state to potentially oppose "Fighting Illini". "

Get the Story:
Sports Network Opinion: Sioux Everybody! (The Los Angeles Times 7/29)

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