The University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux are back! For now, anyway — although UND was just snubbed over the name, so watch this space.

The Grand Forks-based school has been embroiled for decades in a tug of war over its moniker and logo, which features a Native American warrior wearing a feather headdress.

Traditionalists have fought to keep it while those who believe it is offensive to Native Americans have long argued it needs to be retired in favor of something more politically correct.

UND officially dropped the divisive nickname in late 2011 but it was resurrected this month after local residents collected 17,000 signatures seeking to put the issue to a state-wide vote. As part of the process, a law requiring the school to reinstate the nickname went back into effect. Continue reading...

It's been a big year for Nike, between the release of the FuelBand and Linsanity (yes, Nike is giving Jeremy Lin his own shoe already, the Nike Hyperfuse 2011 Linsanity PE). The brand continues to impress with a slew of announcements this week, unveiling innovations for basketball and summer sports.Continue reading...

Back in 2010, when Jeremy Lin was 'just' a Harvard-educated, undrafted rookie with the Golden State Warriors, Chinese businesswoman Yu Minjie, the owner of a sporting goods company, took 5,000 yuan ($793) and purchased the trademark for “Jeremy S.H.L.” That prescient investment is paying off.

“S.H.L.” stands for Lin Shuhao, Lin’s Chinese name, according to China Daily. Now Yu can use the trademark on sportswear, accessories, balls, and toys all the way up through August 2021.Continue reading...

A week and a half ago, you had probably never heard his name; now you're no doubt sick of the puns. If you had heard of Jeremy Lin, he was as an undrafted, backup backup backup NBA point guard who had been dumped by the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets before signing on with the guard-needy New York Knicks this offseason.

Now he’s set the NBA world afire, becoming the first player in history to score 20 or more points and assist on seven or more baskets a game in his first four starts, all New York victories. Take that, Michael Jordan.

Lin is being paid $800,000 this season, the league minimum for a second-year player, but his brand has risen exponentially in the past week. According to Forbes, Lin’s brand is worth $14 million right now. Not bad for a guy who was couch-surfing — crashing at his brother's NYC apartment — not long ago.Continue reading...

The NBA season may only be 66 games this season, but Nike is not missing an opportunity to sell more shoes. At the start of February, three of its big-name endorsers — Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, the Miami Heat’s LeBron James, and Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder — lent their names to Black History Month-themed sneakers on store shelves.

Now the talented trio will all be taking the court for the NBA All-Star Game in Orlando on Feb. 26 and Nike isn't missing a beat. The sports shoe giant is releasing space-themed shoes for each player to sell in honor of the city’s relationship with space travel, according to Fox News. (It’s only an hour west of Kennedy Space Center.) As Fox News reports, the Nike shoes will feature graphics that "pay homage to the supernova — arguably the most powerful force in the universe." The outsoles of the shoes will glow in the dark and show will have individual “mission patches,” just the way astronaut uniforms do.Continue reading...

Athletes aren't the only ones competing at the London 2012 Summer Olympics — their sponsors are, too. Team Great Britain competitors have been asked to sign a contract they will wear the clothing and footwear of Adidas, a sponsor of the British Olympic Association, while moving about the Olympic Village and during medal ceremonies. Athletes can wear whatever brand of footwear they want during competition, of course, but it’s the rest of the time that is getting complicated.

But what about those British athletes who have endorsement deals with Adidas rival Nike? The Telegraph reports that some of their agents are saying their clients may have to accept any medals they receive barefoot in order to not step on anyone’s toes. Nike, for its part, isn’t backing down. "As far as we are concerned, our contracts with individual athletes are binding,” a Nike spokesperson told the Telegraph. “We are still in discussion on this point with the BOA."

Ricky Simms, the agent to Nike-sponsored British runner Mo Farah, at top, says he had thought that the medal podium wouldn’t be part of the agreement but then discovered this week it was.Continue reading...

Anheuser-Bush InBev visited the New York Stock Exchange today to find out: "Who is the biggest fan?" The leading global brewer hosted a Bud Light Fan Camp Tailgate outside the NYSE in Experience Square to celebrate Super Bowl XLVI and promotes the launch of its new premium brand-Bud Light Platinum.

In honor of the occasion, Felipe Dutra, CFO of Anheuser-Busch InBev, rang The Closing Bell, kicking off the first ever Bud Light Platinum "Flash Pop" Happy Hour which took place on the floor of the exchange from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. And yes, there was tailgating.Continue reading...

The idea of American wresting can too often bring up images of Andre the Giant, Rowdy Roddy Piper, and Hulk Hogan. The other American wrestling has a few more participants involved (180,000 across the country) even if none of its participants are household names.

USA Wrestling, America's governing body for Olympic wrestling, is looking to help boost its image this year as it leads up to the London 2012 Olympic Games. According to a press release from the organization, a particular target is to help bring in new wrestlers. To help reach its goal, the organizing body prepared two different sets of marketing messaging for wrestling clubs across the country.Continue reading...