GRAND FORKS (AP) - The judge in the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux nickname lawsuit says efforts by attorneys to resolve the dispute before trial include possibly getting tribal approval for the name.

Northeast Central District Judge Lawrence Jahnke received updates last month from both UND and the NCAA, which UND is suing over the postseason use of its nickname.

"The most important thing to me is I'm convinced the attorneys themselves are trying to resolve these issues," said Jahnke, who has urged attorneys to seek an out-of-court resolution. "But each attorney has a client, too."

UND is suing the NCAA over a 2005 mandate that bars schools with American Indian nicknames and logos from using them in postseason play or hosting playoff games. The NCAA considers UND's nickname "hostile and abusive" to Indians. UND says it uses the nickname with respect.

Trial is scheduled to begin Dec. 10.

Discussions of an out-of-court resolution include the possibility of UND gaining the endorsement of a nearby namesake tribe and receiving an NCAA exemption, as some other schools with Indian nicknames have done.

Jahnke said the namesake exception process has been discussed at every meeting he has attended with UND and NCAA attorneys. A sheet of the judge's handwritten notes from a July 2 meeting includes the sentence "continue trial to allow both parties ample time to explore whether or not UND qualifies for a namesake exception."

Jahnke said he does not know whether such an exemption is a viable option. "I don't have a vote in all this," he said.

Spirit Lake Nation Chairwoman Myra Pearson said recently that she views that tribe's stance as neither supporting nor opposing the Sioux nickname.

In the legal case, Jahnke has ordered attorneys for both sides to limit their arguments to the question of whether the NCAA followed its own bylaws in instituting its ban on Indian imagery. He has ordered lawyers to steer clear of the larger question of whether UND's nickname and logo are hostile and abusive.

Jahnke earlier ordered a five-week pause in attorney document requests to foster settlement talks. The pause ended Sunday. Jahnke said the five-week delay in the discovery process might push the trial date back, if attorneys need more time.