North Dakota State Bison
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The North Dakota State Bison is the name of the athletic teams of North Dakota State University (NDSU) which is located in the city of Fargo, North Dakota. The teams are often called the "Thundering Herd". The current logo is a bison.
Contents |
[edit] Athletic teams
- Football - men's
- Basketball - men and women
- Baseball - men's
- Cross Country - men and women
- Golf - men and women
- Soccer - women's
- Softball - women's
- Track and field - men and women
- Volleyball - women's
- Wrestling - men's
[edit] Conferences
Formerly a NCAA Division II institution, North Dakota State's intercollegiate sports teams now participate in NCAA Division I in all sports (I-AA in Football) and as Division I Independents in most sports.
Formerly a member of the North Central Conference, the Bison football (NCC) program currently competes in the Great West Football Conference and the soccer program will compete in the United Soccer Conference in 2006. The Bison have been invited to join the Mid-Continent Conference, and will become members on July 1, 2007. In January 2007, the Bison basketball team will play in the United Basketball Conference, a scheduling alliance of Division I indepenents. The Bison will play in the United Basketball Conference for one season, before joining the Mid-Continent Conference for the 2007-2008 season. In March 2007, NDSU, along with fellow Great West Football member South Dakota State University, joined the Division 1-AA Gateway Football Conference and will begin league play in Fall of 2008.
[edit] History
The Bison football team, which plays their home games at the Fargodome, was a dominant force in Division II. They won national titles on five separate occasions (1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990) before moving to Division I-AA in 2004. The program was the winningest in the history of the NCAA Division II NCC with 17 outright championships and 26 total league football titles. The program has also seen some success since moving to I-AA. In 2005, the Bison posted a 10-1 record that included a win over Division I-A Ball State. During a 2006 game against Division I-A Minnesota, NDSU led for much of the game, but a last-second field goal attempt was blocked by Minnesota resulting in a 10-9 loss for NDSU. The Bison won their first Great West Conference championship and were ranked as high as third in the nation.
The Bison basketball program includes a men's and a women's team. The teams play at the Bison Sports Arena. The women's basketball team was known as a dominant force in Division II throughout the 1990's. They won five titles during the decade (1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996). The men's basketball team won an upset victory over the University of Wisconsin on January 21, 2006, potentially increasing the chances of being accepted into a conference. The Bison also upset the University of Marquette, 64-60, on December 2, 2006.
The Bison wrestling program has also had success under coaching legend Bucky Maughan, winning four NCAA Division II team titles (1988, 1998, 2000, 2001). The wrestling team is fully eligible for NCAA Division I tournament competition.
[edit] Rivalries
NDSU is known for its intense athletic rivalry with the Fighting Sioux of the University of North Dakota (which is located Grand Forks, North Dakota). In the past, the football teams of the two schools would compete for the "Nickel Trophy" - an oversized replica of an "Indian Head nickel" or "Buffalo nickel". The front of the trophy has a Native American representing the UND Sioux team and the obverse has an American bison representing the NDSU team. The oversized coin is dated 1889, the year North Dakota gained statehood. However, with NDSU's move to Division I athletics, the athletic rivalry between the two campuses is at a standstill. In June of 2006, UND announced that it too would be moving all athletics to Division I so it is likely that the UND/NDSU rivalry will once again be renewed in the near future."
Many Bison fans have begun to regard South Dakota State University (another Division I school and an opponent for over a century) as a new major rival for NDSU. The two schools now compete for the Dakota Marker Trophy - a replica of the original stone border markers between North Dakota and South Dakota. In November of 2006, the two teams played for the conference title at the Fargodome before a record crowd of 19,053.
[edit] External link
| Great West Football Conference |
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| Cal Poly San Luis Obispo • North Dakota State • South Dakota State • Southern Utah • UC Davis |
| United Soccer Conference |
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| USC East: Delaware State • Howard • Longwood • South Carolina State USC West: IPFW • North Dakota State • South Dakota State • Utah Valley |
