No regrets about delay in challenging Sioux law

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota's Board of Higher Education waited before challenging the Fighting Sioux nickname in court.

Board President Grant Shaft says he doesn't regret the decision.

The North Dakota Supreme Court has refused to rule at this time whether the law is constitutional.

Supreme Court Justice Carol Ronning Kapsner says the matter shouldn't be decided by the courts before the election.

She says it isn't urgent because the board itself delayed taking the dispute to court.

The Legislature approved the law a year ago. It says the University of North Dakota has to use the Fighting Sioux athletics nickname. The board didn't challenge the law until last February.

Shaft says the board wanted to see the NCAA's reaction to the law. It didn't change the NCAA's opposition to the nickname.

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