FARGO - The family of the late University of North Dakota benefactor Ralph Engelstad blames the state Board of Higher Education and UND President Robert Kelley for the imminent demise of the school's Fighting Sioux nickname.

A settlement of a lawsuit with the NCAA requires UND to drop the nickname and logo unless it gets support from the Standing Rock and Spirit Lake tribes. The board voted 8-0 on Thursday to finalize the issue and retire the nickname.

The family of Ralph Engelstad, a former UND goalie whose donations to the school included $100 million for a hockey arena, called it a sad day for North Dakota.

"I am deeply disappointed that the State Board and President Kelley are not committed to retaining the Fighting Sioux name and logo, however I can't say that I'm surprised by their lack of conviction," Engelstad's daughter, Kris Engelstad McGarry, said in a statement.

UND spokesman Peter Johnson said the school is "very appreciative of the tremendous contributions" by the Engelstad family and its foundation.

"We understand there are very strong feelings among folks on all sides of this issue," Johnson said Friday. "We have great respect for those feelings."

Engelstad McGarry said people should know why the issue is so important to the family.

"As my father has stated, 'Tradition is that gentle fabric woven through time and experience which generates meaning, character and identity to one and all,'" she said. "The Fighting Sioux logo, the Fighting Sioux tradition and the spirit of being a Fighting Sioux are of lasting value and immeasurable significance to our past, present and future."

The nickname and logo can be saved only if the two Sioux tribes agree by Oct. 1 to give UND permission to use them for at least 30 years. Tribal leaders have said that is unlikely to happen, despite a tribal election at Spirit Lake last month that showed that 67 percent favored the logo.

"My father was immensely proud as a student-athlete to be identified with the Fighting Sioux and its proud and honored heritage," Engelstad McGarry said. "We stand with the 67 percent of tribal members at Spirit Lake who believe the identification with a fine university is a relationship which would have continued to bring benefit and opportunities to the Sioux citizens."