North Dakota State Bison

North Dakota State Bison
	Current season:; 2023 North Dakota State Bison
First season	1894
Head coach	Matt Entz
	4th year, 49–7 (.875)
Home stadium	Fargodome
Field	Gate City Bank Field
Year built	1992
Stadium capacity	18,700
Stadium surface	AstroTurf Magic Carpet II (2022)
Location	Fargo, North Dakota, U.S.
Conference	Missouri Valley Football Conference
Past conferences	Great West (2004–2007); North Central (1922–2003)
	All-time history
North Dakota State Bison Historical Teams
All-time record	764–375–34 (.666)
Postseason bowl record	5–1 (.833)
Playoff record	Div. I FCS: 44–3 ; Div. II: 30–12
Claimed national titles	17 ; (Div. II): 1965, 1968, 1969, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990; (Div. I FCS): 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021
Conference titles	37 ; (10 MVFC, 1 GWFC, 26 NCC)
Rivalries	South Dakota State Jackrabbits (Dakota Marker); North Dakota Fighting Hawks; Northern Iowa Panthers ; The Dakota Four
Heisman winners	0
	Current uniform
Colors	Green and Yellow ;
Fight song	On Bison
Mascot	Thundar
Marching band	Gold Star Marching Band
Uniform outfitter	Nike
Website	www.gobison.com

The North Dakota State Bison football team represents North Dakota State University, located in Fargo, North Dakota.

The Bison are a member of the NCAA FCS Missouri Valley Football Conference, which they joined in 2008. Previously the Bison were a member of the Great West Football Conference from 2004 to 2007 after the school moved up from NCAA Division II.

The Bison play their home games at the Fargodome in Fargo and are currently coached by Tim Polasek.

Affiliations[]

2008-present - Missouri Valley Football Conference (NCAA FCS)
2004-2007 - Great West Football Conference (NCAA FCS/1-AA)
1922-2003 - North Central Conference (NCAA Division II)

Seasons[]

2020s[]

Season	Coach	Record
2024	Tim Polasek
2023	Matt Entz	11-4
2022	Matt Entz	12-3
2021	Matt Entz	14-1
2020	Matt Entz	7-3

2010s[]

Season	Coach	Record
2019	Matt Entz	16-0
2018	Chris Kleiman	15-0
2017	Chris Kleiman	14-1
2016	Chris Kleiman	12-2
2015	Chris Kleiman	13-2
2014	Chris Kleiman	15-1
2013	Craig Bohl	15-0
2012	Craig Bohl	14-1
2011	Craig Bohl	14-1
2010	Craig Bohl	9-5

2000s[]

Season	Coach	Record
2009	Craig Bohl	3-8
2008	Craig Bohl	6-5
2007	Craig Bohl	10-1
2006	Craig Bohl	10-1
2005	Craig Bohl	7-4
2004	Craig Bohl	8-3
2003	Craig Bohl	8-3
2002	Bob Babich	2-8
2001	Bob Babich	7-3
2000	Bob Babich	12-2

History[]

Early history (1894–1921)[]

The Bison fielded their first team in 1894 and were originally known as the NDAC Farmers.^[3] From the early 1900s to 1921, the nickname of the school then known as North Dakota Agricultural College was the Aggies. The first coach for the new NDAC football team was Henry Bolley, who also fielded the first football program at Purdue University in 1887 and was their first Quarterback. He challenged the University of North Dakota to a football match in 1890, but did not have enough players until 1894, the first official year of football at NDSU. In 1902, Eddie Cochems, known as the father of the forward pass was hired as head coach of the Bison where he experimented building an offense around his new technique; which subsequently became legal in the 1906 college football season; Cochems went 9–1 in his 2-year stint as head coach. The college hired famed Michigan halfback Paul Magoffin, the first player to ever catch a forward pass in 1907, as head coach, but he left for the head coaching position offered to him by George Washington University a year later. The 1918 season was canceled due to the outbreak of the 1918 flu pandemic in conjunction with the first World War. The 1943 and 1944 seasons were also canceled due to World War II and the shortage of eligible players. Keeping with their Michigan favoritism, the NDAC hired Stanley Borleske in 1919 to coach the football, basketball, and baseball teams. After six years of coaching and a 36–36–7 record, Borleske left for Fresno State but is largely credited with developing the Bison mascot. It was well known he was not a fan of the "Aggies" mascot, wanting something 'strong and fierce' he came up with the 'Bison' which remains the mascot today. He also coined the term "Thundering Herd" which is still a common reference to the NDSU Bison Football fanbase.^[3]

Division II (1922–2003)[]

In 1921, NDSU became a charter member of the now-defunct North Central Conference, which they remained affiliated with for 82 years until 2003. Their primary rival during this time were the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux (now the Fighting Hawks) whom they competed with to win the Nickel Trophy. As members of Division II, they won 8 national championships with an overall record of 347–94–4 having only 2 losing seasons from 1964 to 2003.

Division I-FCS (2004–present)[]

In 2004, all North Dakota State athletic teams moved to Division I. From 2004 to 2007, the Bison were members of the Great West Football Conference. Since 2008 they have been affiliated with the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Since moving to Division I, their primary rival are the South Dakota State University Jackrabbits whom they compete with each year for the Dakota Marker. The team's former head coach was Craig Bohl, who led the Bison from 2003 to 2013, holds the school record for most wins by a head coach, going 104–32 in his tenure at NDSU. Bohl's successor Chris Klieman went 69–6 in his five seasons (2014–2018). During the Bison's successful run to the 2018 FCS title, Klieman was named as the successor to the retiring Bill Snyder as head coach at Kansas State, though both schools agreed that Klieman would remain at NDSU while the Bison were involved in the FCS playoffs. Bison defensive coordinator Matt Entz took over as head coach following that season's championship game.^[4]

Postseason sucesses[]

North Dakota State had won five consecutive NCAA FCS national championships, beginning in 2011, and had a 22-game postseason winning streak before losing to James Madison in the 2016 FCS semifinals. Since 2011, the North Dakota State Bison have a record of 127–8 (.941) which included a record 22-game playoff win streak, making them the most successful college football program in Division I FCS this decade. The Bison are 181–35 (.838) since moving to Division I in 2004. Since 1964, the Bison have had only three losing seasons and an overall record of 515–137–4 (.788) through that 55-year span, one of the best in all of college football. North Dakota State currently has more all-time program wins than any non-Ivy League program, over 700. Of all teams established after 1894, only Oklahoma has won a higher percentage of its games than NDSU. The team also had the record for the longest winning streak in D1 FCS, which stands at 39 consecutive games spanning from 2017 to 2021.

In the final AP Football Poll of the 2013–14 season; after their third consecutive National Championship, North Dakota State finished with 17 votes which ranked them at #29 in all of D-I football, the highest end-of-season ranking of any team in the history of FCS football. After defeating 13th-ranked (FBS) Iowa in 2016, the Bison earned 74 votes and a #27 ranking in the entire D-I field, overtaking their previous record to become the highest-ranked FCS team of all time.^[5]

Championships[]

Collectively, the Bison have won 36 conference championships, and 16 national championships. They were selected as NCAA College Division II champions by polling three times (1965, 1968, 1969), won the NCAA Division II National Football Championship five times (1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990), and have won the NCAA Division I Football Championship eight times in nine seasons (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019).^[6] The 2019 Bison are the first of any Division 1 team since 1894 Yale to finish 16–0. From 2012 to 2014, the Bison had a formerly FCS record of 33 straight wins (which is tied for the third longest in modern NCAA history). The current Bison team broke the previous unbeaten run (33 games) with their active 39 game winning streak (2017-2021).^[7]

All-Americans[]

The list below covers North Dakota State All-Americans since the 2004 season when the program joined the FCS. This list uses five total selectors, the Associated Press (AP), STATS FCS (once they began coverage in 2015), HERO sports (once they began coverage in 2016), TSN (who began FCS coverage in 2006 and stopped in 2014), and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). ^[8]

This list is in progress.

Year	Player	Position	First team	Second team	Third team
2013	Colton Heagle	SS	—	—	AP
2013	Marcus Williams	CB	CONSENSUS	—	—
2013	Brock Jensen	QB	—	—	AP
2013	Grant Olson	LB	—	—	AP
2013	Ryan Drevlow	DT	—	AP	—
2013	Billy Turner	OT	CONSENSUS	—	—
2014	Colton Heagle	SS	AP, AFCA	TSN	—
2014	Ben LeCompte	P	—	TSN	—
2014	Adam Keller	K	—	—	AP
2014	Kyle Emanuel	DE	CONSENSUS	—	—
2014	John Crockett	RB	—	TSN	—
2014	Andrew Bonnet	FB	—	—	TSN
2014	Joe Haeg	OL	CONSENSUS	—	—
2015	Greg Menard	DE	—	—	STATS
2015	Ben LeCompte	P	STATS	AP	—
2015	Joe Haeg	OL	AP, STATS	—	—
2015	Andrew Bonnet	FB	—	STATS	—
2015	Zack W. Johnson	G	—	—	AP
2016	Greg Menard	DL	—	HERO	AP
2016	MJ Stumpf	LB	—	—	HERO
2016	Chase Morlock	FB	—	—	STATS
2016	James Fisher	LS	—	STATS	—
2016	Tre Dempsey	DB	AFCA	STATS, HERO	—
2016	Landon Lechler	OL	AP	—	—
2016	Zack Johnson	OL	CONSENSUS	—	—
2017	Robbie Grimsley	DB	—	STATS	—
2017	James Fisher	LS	STATS	—	—
2017	Nick DeLuca	LB	CONSENSUS	—	—
2017	Bruce Anderson	RB	—	HERO	—
2017	Tre Dempsey	FS	AFCA	HERO	—
2017	Austin Kuhnhart	G	CONSENSUS	—	—
2018	Darrius Shepherd	RS	—	—	STATS
2018	Garret Wegner	P	—	—	AP, STATS
2018	Zack Johnson	OT	—	STATS, HERO	AP
2018	Jabril Cox	LB	HERO	AP, STATS	—
2018	Greg Menard	DL	AFCA	AP	STATS
2018	Robbie Grimsley	DB	AP, STATS	HERO	—
2018	Tanner Volson	C	CONSENSUS	—	—
2018	Easton Stick	QB	AP, HERO	AFCA	STATS
Key: * First team; ^† Second team; ^‡ Third team. For expansions of abbreviations see the glossary.