"Home of the Fighting Sioux" removed from UND's Ralph Emgelstad Arena

[Ark]

http://www.jamestownsun.com/event/article/id/171979/

Workers began removing the words “Home of the Fighting Sioux” from the outside walls of the University of North Dakota’s Ralph Engelstad Arena Monday.

The work is required by the 2007 agreement that settled a lawsuit between the state of North Dakota and the NCAA.

An addendum to that agreement negotiated earlier this year between Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem and Bernard Franklin, an NCAA vice president, released the REA from having to remove most other Fighting Sioux logos and symbols from the arena.

Removal of the outside signage will take most of this week, according to REA spokesman Chris Semrau. It will be replaced by “Home of North Dakota Hockey” in late November when the new letters and signage are ready, he said.

After a long and contentious fight over use of the Sioux name, a use that began in 1930, state voters endorsed retirement of the nickname earlier this year and the State Board of Higher Education directed UND to drop it. By action of the North Dakota Legislature, no new nickname may be adopted until 2015, and university officials have declared that teams will be called UND or North Dakota.

This is relevant too:

By action of the North Dakota Legislature, no new nickname may be adopted until 2015, and university officials have declared that teams will be called UND or North Dakota.

[walkerws]

Well I guess that gives the student body time to make new traditions and then after a suitable name develops, they can help it not feel as forced as the Red Wolves, Redhawks and Red Storm.

[OnWis97]

Well I guess that gives the student body time to make new traditions and then after a suitable name develops, they can help it not feel as forced as the Red Wolves, Redhawks and Red Storm.

I agree. I'd rather they go name-free for at least a year than just pick the first crappy name they can think of.

[Mingjai]

If this were England, we'd be seeing a lot of "COYG (Come on you Greens)!" right about now...

[IceCap]

Now they just need to remove Engelstad's name from the arena...

[SJAnfield]

Well I guess that gives the student body time to make new traditions and then after a suitable name develops, they can help it not feel as forced as the Red Wolves, Redhawks and Red Storm.

Green Wolves, Greenhawks or Green Storm?

[STL FANATIC]

Now they just need to remove Engelstad's name from the arena...

Why's that?

I honestly know nothing about him other than that he gave the school a huge chunk of money (including for that building) and that he was an ardent supporter of the Fighting Sioux name.

I'm talking about him in the past tense because I'm under the impression he's died, but I'm not sure about that either.

Anyways, legitimately just asking. Is/was he a bad dude?

[IceCap]

Now they just need to remove Engelstad's name from the arena...

Why's that?

I honestly know nothing about him other than that he gave the school a huge chunk of money (including for that building) and that he was an ardent supporter of the Fighting Sioux name.

I'm talking about him in the past tense because I'm under the impression he's died, but I'm not sure about that either.

Anyways, legitimately just asking. Is/was he a bad dude?

He was a neo-Nazi who threw a celebration to honour Hitler on his birthday.

And yes, he's dead.

[Gothamite]

Yep, he was a proper scumbag. "Nazi" gets thrown around a lot online, but he earned it.

[Big A HG]

Now they just need to remove Engelstad's name from the arena...

Why's that?

I honestly know nothing about him other than that he gave the school a huge chunk of money (including for that building) and that he was an ardent supporter of the Fighting Sioux name.

I'm talking about him in the past tense because I'm under the impression he's died, but I'm not sure about that either.

Anyways, legitimately just asking. Is/was he a bad dude?

As a UND alum, I will admit he is in the controversial category. It is true that he seemed to have an overboard interest in the Nazi/Axis culture. He had a large collection of Nazi memorabilia and even had a Nazi-themed birthday party. With that said, he never physically harmed anyone. However, the guy is one of the largest collegiate philantropists of all time. He's given insane amounts of money...his largest donation being arguably the best hockey arena in the world to his alma mater, North Dakota. He built a $13.5 million hockey rink for his high school (Thief River Falls), paid for big-time renovations at the original Ralph Engelstad Arena, gave over $12 million to UNLV, built The Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (a large addition to the Ralph Engelstad Arena for the school's volleyball and basketball programs), donated historical artifacts that value over $1 million to UND, and has donated thousands of wheelchairs to citizens of Nevada and North Dakota via the wheelchair foundation. After September 11, 2001, Las Vegas saw massive drops in tourism which forced many casinos (in which he owned the Imperial Palace) to lay many people off. He refused to do so and kept everyone, and their benefits, employed through the economic turmoil.

Here is a quote from reatrf.com as well:

"In recognition of his unending contributions to the handicapped, Ralph was named "Employer of the Year" by the Nevada Governor’s Committee on Employmentof People with Disabilities in 1987 and 1989. In 1991, he received the prestigious "National Employer of the Year" award from the President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities.

Among other awards, he was also recognized as "Employer of the Year" by the Southwest Business, Industry and Rehabilitation Association and received the "Humanitarian of the Year Award" from the International Gaming & Business Exposition.

So, how bad was the guy? You're old enough to make that judgment yourself. For me, I can look past his quirks and see someone who really cared about other people. He's donated more money than all of us combined will make in a lifetime.

[IceCap]

His "quirks" included idolizing a regime that killed millions upon millions of innocent people based on a wharped concept of racial hierarchy. Including family members of mine. I don't give a c**p how many arenas he built. You don't have an Adolf Hitler themed birthday party if you merely have a "passing interest" in the National Socialist Party. The man even had a painting of himself done up in a Nazi uniform. He cared about people, sure. White, straight, Christian people. If you weren't that, well I just have to my history books to determine what he thought of you.

He was scum.

The sad part? Someone will probably accuse me of being "overly PC," as if idolizing a regime that ran death camps is something we should look past.

As an aside, people REALLY need to give the "he was great for sports so he must be a good person" mentality a rest.

[STL FANATIC]

Well, the previous poster clearly mentioned more than just sports contributions.

Still, you can't pay off your shortcomings. I guess I don't know enough about him to make a judgement at all. The Nazi thing could be awful. At best it's twisted. But I don't know enough to know if he actually bought into the Nazi principles. I don't know if he discriminated against Jews or other non-Christian, non-whites.

And I don't know the specifics on what other good things he did for people.

So I'll withhold judgment altogether I guess. Don't need to have an opinion of everyone I suppose.

I will say that I'd have trouble putting any bit of a Nazi sympathizer prominently on my university's buildings (though it may happen more than I realize).

[IceCap]

Well, the previous poster clearly mentioned more than just sports contributions.

If my tone was not evident, allow me to clarify my position.

I don't care if someone personally saves a runaway bus of orphans heading toward the kitty and puppy hospital.

All good will evaporates for me when someone says "you know what? That Hitler guy wasn't so bad."

See also; Hull, Bobby.

[STL FANATIC]

I do agree with that. I just haven't been able to discern if he actually felt that way or if he was just incredibly interested in Nazi history and took his exploration of it it to twisted and inappropriate places.

And other than this thread I'm probably not going to look too hard, just because.

[IceCap]

That's fair enough.

In my opinion, from what I've seen, no one takes a harmless fascination with something like the Nazi movement that far. If they do then it's no longer just a harmless fascination.

[Gothamite]

I think the line can get very blurry sometimes with those interests. But when you start dressing up in a Nazi uniform, you've crossed the line long ago.

[The_Admiral]

I've always been more offended by Englestad's name on the building than the Sioux's.

He had a large collection of Nazi memorabilia and even had a Nazi-themed birthday party. With that said, he never physically harmed anyone.

You don't need to harm anyone. Banality of evil, yo