In a blatantly admitted attempt to mess with the long-running nicknaming process at the University of North Dakota, former Bismarck mayor -- and North Dakota State University alum -- Marlan "Hawk" Haakenson has registered trademarks for three of the five finalists up for vote.

Why? Nothing more than "in an attempt to interfere with the... process," according to Inforum.com. Haakenson is trying to force UND to re-adopt the moniker "Fighting Sioux," by which the university was known for decades... and caused threats of NCAA sanctions in 2012 because it was offensive to many North Dakota members of the Native American tribe, and to others.

Says Haakenson:

As far as I'm concerned, [UND President Robert] Kelley will never get permission from me. I'll use every legal means I have to stop him from using the names.

Haakenson now holds trademarks on the names "Fighting Hawks," "Nodaks" and "North Stars." "Roughriders" and "Sundogs," the other two finalists in the tiered voting process, already have registered trademark holders in the state, or Haakenson would have scooped those up too. His trademarks are registered in the "Real Estate -- Personal" category.

A spokesman for the university, Peter Johnson, isn't too concerned:

We would not be engaging in any real estate activity [using the trade names] so that shouldn't be an issue for us. It's not uncommon to have the same name among sports teams. But it's even more common to have the same names in different endeavors.

However frivolous and unsuccessful Haakenson's endeavor may be, he has had some success. Finding a nickname will now be costly, and certainly a nuisance, during an already rigorous process.

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