The University of Iowa has decided not to invite the University of North Dakota to an April track meet because of the school’s Fighting Sioux mascot. The Iowa City Press-Citizen says Monday that associate athletic director Mark Abbott says Iowa decided against the invitation when UND re-instated the name earlier this month. Iowa policy prohibits the athletic department from scheduling competitions with schools or attending tournaments hosted by schools using Native American mascots, unless those mascots are approved by the NCAA. Abbot says Illinois, whose Fighting Illini mascot has come under fire, is exempt from the policy because of contractual obligations within the Big Ten Conference.
Other exemptions include games that Iowa has no control over scheduling, such as bowl games, and NCAA or conference-sponsored competitions. This is only the beginning of what is sure to be a list of notices to UND not to attend athletic meets and events in the future should the school be forced to hold on to the Fighting Sioux nickname. I think many of the people who began that petition drive, and those who signed the petition itself did not believe that this would or could happen. For many months people at the NCAA as well as analysts informed us what would come to pass should that nickname be reinstated, and now here it is on our doorstep. If anyone thinks this is going to just be something that passes they are wrong. If we force our beloved UND to hold on to that name UND will continue to face adversity in its athletic department. This is costing the school countless dollars that could be otherwise spent on something the school actually needs. This is costing the school promising athletes who have much better options than to attend a school that may not even have competitive sports at all in the future. This is costing the school students who don’t want to be in the middle of a campus divided by debate over what the nickname of the school is to be. UND is for learning, for growing, for maturing its students. It is not for this mess that has now become what our school is known for. Once again in my article I say enough is enough. Let UND go forward into the future. It is the right thing to do. This is going nowhere good if it continues on.
Elton John coming to Grand Forks
People lined up on Monday to get Elton John tickets. They went on sale at 10 a.m. online and at the Ralph Engelstad Arena.
Many people showed up at around 8 a.m. to make sure they could get the tickets they wanted. Elton John and his band will appear at the Ralph Engelstad Arena on Saturday, March 24th at 8 p.m. “The whole concert, it’ll be great. He’s an icon and I’m looking forward to it,” Kelly Grassel said. Tickets are $39, $79 or $139 each. You can pick them up at the Ralph Engelstad or through Ticketmaster. It’s great to see another music icon coming to Grand Forks, and this concert is sure to be something to remember. I remember when Elton John used to own the airwaves with songs like Rocket man, Benny and the Jets, many more. Grand Forks will soon hear, probably for one of his final tours, those songs resonate through the speakers at The Ralph.
Source: WDAZ-TV