Thursday,  May 3, 2012 • Vol. 12--No. 294 • 22 of 33 •  Other Editions

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of the governing body of college athletics.
• Reed Soderstrom, the tribal committee's lawyer, said he planned to meet with other attorneys to see if there's a "crack in the door" for an appeal.
• "It has been a rough day, but there were no guarantees," Soderstrom said.
• NCAA spokesman Erik Christianson said in a statement that the court made the right decision and "agreed that the plaintiffs had no viable claims, their rights were not violated and the NCAA's championships policies are lawful."
• U.S. District Judge

Ralph Erickson, a graduate of the UND law school, began his written explanation by summarizing the firestorm that has divided supporters of the Grand Forks university.
• "Spanning a spectrum of protests for and against the name, tribal resolutions, state laws and fierce public debate, the NCAA's championship policy has created significant turmoil with the state of North Dakota over the propriety and continued use of the Fighting Sioux nickname," Erickson wrote.
• The fight began when the NCAA told 19 schools to get rid of American Indian nicknames or risk sanctions. Some of the schools got permission from namesake tribes and were allowed to keep the nickname. UND received approval from Spirit Lake, but Standing Rock refused to hold a vote on the issue.
• The North Dakota Legislature opted to take on the NCAA, passing a bill in early 2011 requiring UND to use the nickname and Indian head logo. The law was repealed eight months later after NCAA officials told state representatives it would not

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