Espenard Alum Request

8/6/2019 Espenard Alum Request

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From: DAVID IVERSON <[email protected]>

Date: June 28, 2011 10:47:26 AM CDT

To: "Espegard, Duaine" <[email protected]>

Subject: UND Nickname

Dear Mr. Espegard,

Each of us has served as President of either the UND Alumni Association or Foundation Boards.

All of us are proud Alums of the University of North Dakota and have gladly devoted many

hours to serve. While we are no longer sitting in those chairs, we remain deeply engaged in

caring for our Alma Mater’s future. And while we were honored to serve, we speak now as

concerned Alumni, but with no official capacity.

Each of us has had a keen interest in the way our school has been identified as the “Fighting

Sioux”. Most, but not all of us, would have wished to see the nickname continue. But we have

all reached the conclusion that to continue to fight the NCAA over this matter is

counterproductive for the present and future of UND. It is our belief that the Fighting Siouxnickname must be retired quickly.

We are aware of the steps taken by the North Dakota Legislature to enact into law that UND’s

athletic teams would retain the Fighting Sioux name. And we are aware that the NCAA has

informed the school that they intend to enforce ‘sanctions’ against the school, should the name

be retained beyond August 15th of this year. We are also aware that the invitation to join the

Big Sky Conference is in jeopardy over the sanctions that will be applied if the name goes

forward.

We are also aware that State Leaders have been invited to meet with NCAA leadership over thismatter sometime soon.

We are concerned about the corrosive effect this situation has had on the leadership of the

school, requiring extraordinary amounts of time and energy that should be going to the primary

purpose of providing a quality education. It can be argued that today’s students are being

‘short-changed’ because of all the time and expense this has required of President Kelley and

his administration.

Barring a change in the position of the NCAA toward UND and the promised sanctions, we are

asking you to move quickly to remove any roadblocks to retiring the Fighting Sioux nickname. If

this requires a ‘special session’ of the legislature to repeal the recent law, it should be done

swiftly. It is our feeling that not doing so would have catastrophic results for our school.

This is a real crossroads for the future of our institution. UND is one of the state’s greatest

assets. To allow our athletic department to lose the opportunity to compete at the highest

level possible would have far reaching consequences, none of which appear to be positive.

mailto:[email protected]




8/6/2019 Espenard Alum Request

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Nothing short of a speedy settlement of this issue to the satisfaction of the NCAA and the Big

Sky Conference is acceptable. There may remain pockets (even large ones) of popular

sentiment to retain the name and stand up to “political correctness”. However good those

intentions, they are shortsighted and will only do great harm to UND.

Please act quickly to protect UND from further damage.

Sincerely,

Karen Bohn, Edina, MN [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>

Dr. James Brosseau, Grand Forks [email protected] < [email protected]>

Howard Dahl, Fargo [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>

Wally Griffin, Golden, CO [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>

Tom Hamilton, Houston [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>

Bob Helland, Minneapolis [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>Chuck Horter, Bismarck [email protected]

<mailto:[email protected]>

David Iverson, Sammamish, WA [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>

Lyle Kasprick, Orono, MN [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>

R. Doug Larson, Fargo [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>

Thoraine Loyd, Tampa [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>

Gary Marsden, Clear Lake, MN [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>

Dale Morrison, Princeton, NJ [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>

Darold Rath, Fargo [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>

Morris Tschider, Bismarck [email protected] <mailto:gswanson@tschider-

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Espenard Alum Request