'Fighting Sioux' Denied Invitation to University of Iowa Track Meet: The North Dakota "Fighting Sioux" will not be fighting at the University of Iowa anytime soon, thanks to UI's strict policy about Native American mascot names.
Mark Abbott, the athletic director at the University of Iowa, will not invite the University of North Dakota to participate in a track meet this April because of their mascot, the Iowa City Press-Citizen reports. University policy prohibits scheduling games with or attending tournaments at schools that use Native American names for their mascots. While UI makes some exceptions for schools that have had the names approved by both the NCAA and the tribe in question, North Dakota's name has been up for debate since 2005.
“There was some discussion about it, but the policy on not competing against institutions that use Native American mascots came into play,” Abbott told the Press-Citizen.
As a result of pressure from the University of North Dakota community, the North Dakota House of Representatives introduced a bill in 1999 to eliminate the nickname "Fighting Sioux." The bill failed, and the name has continued to spark controversy ever since.
