FARGO - A judge has sided with a University of North Dakota request to limit certain documents in a lawsuit against the NCAA over the school's Fighting Sioux nickname.

UND is challenging an NCAA ruling that would prevent the school from hosting postseason tournaments or displaying the logo in playoff games. The NCAA has labeled the nickname "hostile and abusive," but its ban is on hold until the outcome of UND's lawsuit, which is scheduled for trial in December.

Judge Lawrence Jahnke ruled Thursday that the issue in the lawsuit is whether the NCAA acted properly in imposing the ban, not whether the logo and nickname are offensive. He denied the NCAA's request for information about conversations with the family of the late Ralph Engelstad, a UND benefactor, information on American Indian programs on campus, and contact with local Indian tribes.

Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said the NCAA request would have forced the school to examine "tens of thousands of pages of documents" that would have taken "hundreds and hundreds of hours" to produce.

"This (ruling) is going to save us an enormous amount of time and we hope keep us on track so we that we can get this matter heard in December," Stenehjem said Thursday.

"We had said from the beginning that this lawsuit was about the process that was followed by the NCAA," Stenehjem said.

Fargo attorney Wick Corwin, who is representing the NCAA, declined to comment.

Jahnke said last week he was worried about legal fees "rapidly spiraling out of control" and asked lawyers to get a handle on expenses.

The NCAA had asked to look at communications Engelstad had with UND and the state Board of Higher Education. Engelstad, who died in 2002, made the nickname an issue when he donated money for the school's $100 million hockey arena.

The NCAA also asked for information on UND's dealings with the Office of Civil Rights.

Jahnke denied both requests, saying "the sole purpose of this particular lawsuit is to examine the methodology utilized by the NCAA Executive Committee" in its action against UND.