The Fighting Sioux will be no more.

The Board of Higher Education finally got the message: It's time for the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo to be set aside. Time for the University of North Dakota to get back to concentrating on academic excellence.

The board took the right stand Thursday by voting unanimously for UND to stop using the logo. That 8-0 vote was a surprise. The process leading to actual change will begin Oct. 1 and is expected to be complete by Aug. 1, 2010.

The pressure for change came as a part of the 2007 settlement of a lawsuit with the NCAA requiring the approval of the Standing Rock and Spirit Lake tribes by November 2010, if UND wanted to continue to use the nickname and logos without penalties. Those penalties would have fallen hardest on the university's athletic department.

UND has been tenacious in defending its use of the logo and nickname. That strategy has led to heated public exchanges in letters to the editor and Internet commenting. It has been a hot topic that has polarized many people in North Dakota, on and off campus and reservation.

The issue became more complicated as UND began a transition from NCAA Division II to Division I. At least one attempt by UND to schedule a game with another university on the national stage was rejected based on the continued use of the logo and nickname. UND also wants to join the Summit League, which accepted North Dakota State University as a member, but league officials said they wouldn't talk until the nickname-logo issue was resolved.

UND officials, the chancellor and members of the Board of Higher Education began to take heat, despite strong support from its alumni association. High profile opposition came from L.A. Laker coach and UND alumni Phil Jackson. Nationally known author and North Dakota native Louise Erdrich rejected honors from UND because of the school's continued use of the Fighting Sioux brand.

Enough was enough. The board acted correctly, if belatedly.

Oddly, a sliver of hope was left for pro-Fighting Sioux forces. The board said UND could keep the nickname and logo only if the Standing Rock and Spirit Lake Sioux tribal councils endorse them and agree to let UND keep them for at least 30 years. That's not going to happen. It would have been better to just end it.

The Tribune wrote on March 8: "Yes, it (changing the nickname and logo) is an expensive proposition, but the university's image is worth much more and it can never be effectively branded, or its academic excellence marketed, until the board accepts the responsibility of doing the right thing." The North Dakota Board of Higher Education has done the right thing.