From: DAVID IVERSON <david@acookstour.com> Date: June 28, 2011 10:47:26 AM CDT To: "Espegard, Duaine" <duaine.espegard@ndus.

edu> Subject: UND Nickname Dear Mr. Espegard, Each of us has served as President of either the UND Alumni Association or Foundation Boards. All of us are proud Alums of the University of North Dakota and have gladly devoted many hours to serve. While we are no longer sitting in those chairs, we remain deeply engaged in caring for our Alma Maters future. And while we were honored to serve, we speak now as concerned Alumni, but with no official capacity. Each of us has had a keen interest in the way our school has been identified as the Fighting Sioux. Most, but not all of us, would have wished to see the nickname continue. But we have all reached the conclusion that to continue to fight the NCAA over this matter is counterproductive for the present and future of UND. It is our belief that the Fighting Sioux nickname must be retired quickly. We are aware of the steps taken by the North Dakota Legislature to enact into law that UNDs athletic teams would retain the Fighting Sioux name. And we are aware that the NCAA has informed the school that they intend to enforce sanctions against the school, should the name be retained beyond August 15th of this year. We are also aware that the invitation to join the Big Sky Conference is in jeopardy over the sanctions that will be applied if the name goes forward. We are also aware that State Leaders have been invited to meet with NCAA leadership over this matter sometime soon. We are concerned about the corrosive effect this situation has had on the leadership of the school, requiring extraordinary amounts of time and energy that should be going to the primary purpose of providing a quality education. It can be argued that todays students are being short-changed because of all the time and expense this has required of President Kelley and his administration. Barring a change in the position of the NCAA toward UND and the promised sanctions, we are asking you to move quickly to remove any roadblocks to retiring the Fighting Sioux nickname. If this requires a special session of the legislature to repeal the recent law, it should be done swiftly. It is our feeling that not doing so would have catastrophic results for our school. This is a real crossroads for the future of our institution. UND is one of the states greatest assets. To allow our athletic department to lose the opportunity to compete at the highest level possible would have far reaching consequences, none of which appear to be positive.

Nothing short of a speedy settlement of this issue to the satisfaction of the NCAA and the Big Sky Conference is acceptable. There may remain pockets (even large ones) of popular sentiment to retain the name and stand up to political correctness. However good those intentions, they are shortsighted and will only do great harm to UND. Please act quickly to protect UND from further damage. Sincerely,

Karen Bohn, Edina, MN kmbohn@gmail.com <mailto:kmbohn@gmail.com> Dr. James Brosseau, Grand Forks jbrosseau@altru.org <jbrosseau@altru.org> Howard Dahl, Fargo hadahl@amitytech.com <mailto:hadahl@amitytech.com> Wally Griffin, Golden, CO griffinwallace@comcast.net <mailto:griffinwallace@comcast.net> Tom Hamilton, Houston tom-hamilton@usa.net <mailto:tom-hamilton@usa.net> Bob Helland, Minneapolis rvhelland@undalumni.org <mailto:rvhelland@undalumni.org> Chuck Horter, Bismarck Chuck.M.Horter@supervalu.com <mailto:Chuck.M.Horter@supervalu.com> David Iverson, Sammamish, WA david@acookstour.com <mailto:david@acookstour.com> Lyle Kasprick, Orono, MN lckasprick@yahoo.com <mailto:lckasprick@yahoo.com> R. Doug Larson, Fargo rdsal@msn.com <mailto:rdsal@msn.com> Thoraine Loyd, Tampa thoraineloyd@gmail.com <mailto:thoraineloyd@gmail.com> Gary Marsden, Clear Lake, MN inseine@frontiernet.net <mailto:inseine@frontiernet.net> Dale Morrison, Princeton, NJ dalemorrison1@msn.com <mailto:dalemorrison1@msn.com> Darold Rath, Fargo daroldrath@hotmail.com <mailto:daroldrath@hotmail.com> Morris Tschider, Bismarck gswanson@tschider-smithlaw.com <mailto:gswanson@tschidersmithlaw.com>