North Dakota has announced that Fighting Hawks will be the university’s new nickname.
The results of the nickname runoff vote, held online Nov. 12-16 for eligible voters, were tallied and provided to UND by Qualtrics, the third-party voting platform management firm that conducted the voting process.
In a tally of 27,378 votes, the Fighting Hawks received 15,670 votes (57.24 percent) and Roughriders received 11,708 votes (42.76 percent).
“We are pleased to be able to announce the selection of a new nickname — Fighting Hawks — and bring this process, in which so many people have participated, to a successful conclusion,” UND president Robert Kelley in a statement. “We especially appreciate the two nickname committees who worked so hard during this past year to make this a transparent, inclusive process that led to a short list of potential nicknames. Now, the voters have spoken, and they have told us that Fighting Hawks should be that new nickname. This is an appropriate choice, as Fighting Hawks symbolizes the competitive spirit of our athletes, the perseverance of the North Dakota spirit, and the continual ascendancy of the University and the state.”
Now that UND’s new nickname has been selected, the school will begin the process of developing, selecting and implementing a visual identity to accompany the name.
