FARGO - The fate of the University of North Dakota's Fighting Sioux nickname should be decided by a state board and not the courts, the state's attorney general said Friday in a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by nickname supporters.

Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem's motion was in response to a lawsuit filed by Spirit Lake Sioux tribal members seeking to keep the nickname. It led to a judge's temporary order barring the state Board of Higher Education from taking any action on the issue until after a Dec. 9 hearing.

Stenehjem argued the Spirit Lake supporters have no case because they are not part of the agreement between the higher education board and the NCAA over the Fighting Sioux nickname and Indian head logo. The board has the constitutional authority to decide whether to keep the nickname and logo, Stenehjem's motion said.

The board has said it will retire the nickname and logo unless the Spirit Lake and Standing Rock Sioux tribes sign 30-year agreements to support it. An Oct. 1 deadline for such agreements was extended to Nov. 30 because of tribal elections on the Standing Rock reservation.

Pat Morley, an attorney for the Spirit Lake tribal members, said the two tribes should have until Nov. 30, 2010, to decide whether to support the nickname and logo. Morley was not available for comment Friday.

Stenehjem said Judge Michael Sturdevant's temporary restraining order against the board should be dismissed because UND needs a decision in time to schedule sports events for next season and beyond. Some schools and conferences have said they would not play UND until the nickname issue is resolved.

"Because of this, UND is required to participate in conferences with member institutions scattered around the country, significantly increasing travel costs and negatively impacting revenues," the state's motion said.

Stenehjem said Thursday after meeting with higher education board members that he believes the state has a good case. He said the Spirit Lake supporters must show the judge they can win the lawsuit, something he believes would be a "difficult standard."