The University of North Dakota Roughriders?

You can cross Flickertails off the list of potential nicknames for the University of North Dakota’s teams. The school, which has been undergoing the search for a new moniker after a state vote put a stop to the Fighting Sioux name, has cut a list that began with close to 1,200 names down to a select 15.

The Flickertails name was one the school had used prior to becoming the Fighting Sioux, but it appears the school will not revert back to its past. Instead, a local TV station is reporting  the University of North Dakota naming committee is pushing ahead with North Dakota, Blaze, Cavalry, Explorers, Fighting Green, Fighting Hawks, Force, Green Hawks, Nodaks, North Stars, Pride, Roughriders, Spirit, Sundogs and Thunderhawks.

The naming committee had hundreds of pages worth of name suggestions to come through when it came to selecting the new nickname with many having a partial description why the moniker should be used. On top of those that have made the cut, there were thousands of rejected suggestions – many had to do with the former Fighting Sioux name and people implying the school’s logo and team should have never dropped the tag – and more than 100 pages of names that made it to the current round.

For the past three seasons, the team has gone without a nickname, entering each season as University of North Dakota. It seems the potential for the team to continue using that name still exists and it’s one that would make plenty of sense, as it wouldn’t force the school to produce new athletic equipment.

According to the report, the naming committee, which includes former UND goaltender Karl Goehring, took into consideration just about every aspect of the new name from imagery to how well the name would work in a cheer.

Because of the Fighting Sioux name, there had been sanctions placed on the university which didn’t allow it to host championship games of any kind and required that if UND played post-season games, they would need to alter their gear so as to not display the logo or nickname.

There is no final date set for when the school will select its new moniker.