The team will begin the season without a nickname, the only school in the conference with that distinction (for now). During the offseason, the controversial Fighting Sioux nickname was retired by way of a statewide vote. The school's athletics programs otherwise would have been deemed ineligible to participate in postseason competition per NCAA regulations, in regards to Native American-related nicknames.
Controversy aside, the football program has historically been strong, winning the Division II national championship in 2001, and finishing as runner-up in 2003. In 2008, North Dakota began to make the transition from Division II to Division I, and the transition has boded well for them with a total record of 23-20 under the tutelage of head coach Chris Mussman.
North Dakota's best season since moving to Division I happened just last year, when the team finished 2011 with an 8-3 record and won a share of the final Great West Conference championship. The team brings back their leading rusher from last season in junior Jake Miller (991 yards on 195 carries), but their most experienced quarterback is senior Marcus Hendrickson (career stats 13/47, 137 yds, 2 interceptions) who last took a snap in 2010 and did not take any last season.
Much of North Dakota's receiving corps is back, led by juniors Greg Hardin (43 catches, 549 yards, 3 TD) and R.J. McGill (34 catches, 433 yards, TD). Their top tight ends are seniors Seth Nichols (13 catches, 109 yards, TD) and Seth Wisthoff (7 catches for 76 yards). The rest of their tight ends are all underclassmen (sophomore long-snapper Taylor Grant, redshirt freshman Zach Alder, and true freshmen Luke Mathewson, Tucker Nordby, and Tanner Vesladahl).
Defensively, the team recorded 31 sacks and 8 interceptions. They return their leaders in quarterback sacks (senior lineman Ross Brenneman) and one of their co-leaders in interceptions (sophomore defensive back Daryl Brown), but they also return as their top two returning tacklers, as leading tackler in 2011 Dan Hendrickson graduated.
MY THOUGHTS: With a bigger Big Sky, this will be an interesting season for the North Dakota football team, now that they're playing in a tougher and more competitive conference. It's going to be interesting to know that they won't have a nickname for now, so that's something fans of other schools will have to get used to with the now-retired Fighting Sioux nickname on the shelf. But they're a very good team and could easily turn some heads this season if they can play everybody tough.
Photo credit: juicedmuscle.com
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