Rating:

0.0 (0 votes)

The University of North Dakota may get kicked out of the Big Sky Conference before ever playing a game as UND officials maintain that will happen if the school overturns plans to retire the Fighting Sioux mascot.

But that possibility is not stopping a petition drive by supporters who say they have more than 15,000 signatures to keep the nickname. The drive automatically restores the "Fighting Sioux" name within 35 days if those signatures are confirmed when they are turned in on Tuesday.

A nickname supporter says the NCAA is just using scare tactics in an effort to get UND to drop the Fighting Sioux name for its sports teams.