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YEAR IN NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY STATE DAKOTA NORTH Review Matt Larsen was named 2019 Under Armour FCS Athletics Director of the Year. His fifth year at NDSU was highlighted by the grand opening of Tharaldson Park, NDSU’s seventh FCS football national championship, an NCAA men’s basketball tournament victory, and the school’s first Division I national champion in track and field. He is a member of the NCAA Division I women’s softball committee. THE PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE HAS NEVER BEEN STRONGER THAN IN 2018-19 How would the Bison respond after coming off the most successful all-around year in 2017-18? Well, as anyone in Bison Nation knows, our goal is to get better every day and build upon previous success – and WE did just that in 2018-19. Our coaches, staff, student-athletes and fans answered the bell once again in putting together an historic year and achieving unprecedented success. This year we brought home our 27th national championship, our first and second individual Division I national championships in men’s indoor track and field, our second NCAA men’s basketball tournament victory, six conference championships, and a visit to the White House. Our student-athletes continued to raise the bar academically and set a new standard for future Bison to strive to- wards. For the second time in our Division I history, all athletic teams reached a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or greater while also achieving our highest overall student-athlete GPA of 3.43. Over 280 student-athletes scored a 3.0 GPA or better with 72 getting a perfect 4.0. Our run of NCAA Elite 90 award winners continued with Ben Ellefson (football) earning the distinction at the FCS national championship for the highest GPA of all participants. The athletic landscape continued to evolve with the completion and grand opening of Tharaldson Park, the new home of Bison softball, as well as renovations to the volleyball program’s athletic training room and office suite located in the Bentson- Bunker Fieldhouse. We are in the process of designing and fundraising for a permanent in- door practice facility with an anticipated construction date in Spring 2020. These new facilities and future projects will have lasting impacts for future generations of Bison student-athletes. All of the above accomplishments and progress are a direct result of continued investment in all aspects of our athletics program – scholarships, facilities, operations and personnel. Annual support from Bison Nation is critical to student-athletes success on and off the fields of competition. We witnessed Team Makers support eclipse the $6 million threshold for the first time along with scholarship endowment distribution reaching over $1 million. As we celebrate this past year, we look to your continued support as we strive for new heights next year. The following pages highlight what has been another exceptional year in NDSU Athletics. Please join us in recognizing all the athletic and academic accomplishments of 2018-19. Thank you in advance for your continued friendship, pride and financial support. Go Bison! Matt Larsen Director of Athletics tharaldson park tharaldson park facilities NDSU dedicated Tharaldson Park in a grand opening ceremony Sept. 14, 2018, after completion of the second phase of a $2 million renovation to NDSU’s home softball stadium. The latest improvements included a new FieldTurf surface for the playing field, bullpens and batting cages, as well as new fencing and wall pads around the entire facility. Seating capacity expanded to 735 with the addition of bleacher seating down the right field foul line. The facility is named after longtime softball supporter Gary Tharaldson, founder of Tharaldson Hospitality Management, which builds and operates hotels across the United States. NDSU Athletics is in the fundraising stage for a new indoor football practice facility, which will be a full 120 yards long and 60 yards wide with a 70-foot height clearance over the field. The indoor facility will open up to a second artificial turf field outdoors and also include operational space such as a locker room, meeting room, weight room and fueling station. champions champions football North Dakota State won its seventh national championship in eight seasons with a 38-24 victory over Eastern Washington in the title game. NDSU broke the NCAA record of six Football Championship Subdivision titles previously held by Georgia Southern. NDSU was the No. 1-ranked team in the FCS from wire-to-wire and completed the 15th undefeated season in school history with a 15-0 record. The Bison became just the fifth team to go undefeated and untied on the way to an FCS national championship. NDSU went 8-0 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference and set a league record with eight straight titles. Head coach Chris Klieman won four national championships in five seasons with the Bison before taking over for hall of fame coach Bill Snyder at Kansas State. Klieman tied Youngstown State’s Jim Tressel as the only FCS head coaches to win four national titles. Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Matt Entz was named the 31st head coach in program history during December’s playoff run. Entz was the 2018 FCS Coordinator of the Year and led a defense that allowed less than 14 points per game and consistently ranked in the top five of FCS in scoring defense and total defense. The seven-time FCS national champions visited the White House and met with President Donald Trump in March. After the president’s comments about the team, quarterback Easton Stick presented a No. 45 jersey with Trump’s name on the back. The team met President Trump in the Oval Office before continuing on to Capitol Hill for a luncheon hosted by Sen. John Hoeven. Senior captain and wide receiver Darrius Shepherd was named Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA championship game with five catches for 125 yards and two touchdowns. He finished second all-time at NDSU with 188 receptions and 2,841 receiving yards. Three-time captain Easton Stick set the FCS record for wins by a quarterback with 49-3 record in 3½ years as the Bison starter. Stick finished as NDSU’s career record holder for passing yards (8,693) and touchdowns (88), total offense yards (11,216), and touchdowns responsible for (129). He also set the Missouri Valley Football Conference record for rushing yards (2,523) and rushing touchdowns (41) by a quarterback. Tanner Volson became the third Bison player to earn the Rimington Award as the best center in the Football Championship Subdivision. Quarterback Easton Stick finished third in the voting for the Walter Payton Award, presented to the FCS Offensive Player of the Year. Volson and Stick were two of eight NDSU players to earn either first, second or third-team All-America honors in 2018. NDSU had 15 all-conference performers including MVFC Offensive Player of the Year Easton Stick and Defensive Player of the Year Jabril Cox. Stick and Greg Menard were voted to the Google Cloud Academic All-America® Team and were among five Bison selected to the MVFC All-Academic Team. VOLLEYBALL North Dakota State advanced to the Summit League North Dakota State setter Kalli Hegerle was named to tournament semifinals for the ninth time in 11 trips. With a the Summit League All-Freshman Team. Hegerle averaged 3-1 upset of No. 3 seed Omaha, NDSU became the first 9.02 assists and 2.30 digs per set in starting all 29 matches. No. 6 seed to advance since the league tournament expanded Hegerle added 79 kills, 63 blocks and 23 service aces. to six teams in 2013. The Bison finished with a 9-20 record overall, 6-10 in the league standings for sixth place during NDSU’s lone senior, outside hitter McKenzie Burke, and the regular season. Klos were named Summit League Defensive Player of the Week during the season. NDSU libero Abbi Klos was named to the Summit League all-tournament team after averaging 4.12 digs per set. SOCCER The Bison made the Summit League tournament for the 10th straight year, the longest active streak in the league. NDSU finished the season 9-7 overall and 6-2 in the Summit League. Seniors Hanna Norman and Roxy Roemer, along with junior Mariah Haberle, were named to the All-Summit League first team. Seniors Holly Enderle and Mallory Fenske were named to the Summit League all-tournament team. Seniors Roxy Roemer and Holly Enderle were voted to the Summit League Academic All-League Team. WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY The Bison women nearly captured the Summit League championship in October, missing out on claiming the team title by only one point. Sophomore Kelby Anderson was the individual runner-up at the conference meet as NDSU put four finishers in the top 12. Anderson was named All-Region by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) after finishing ninth out of more than 230 runners at the NCAA Midwest Regional meet. It was the third top-10 finish ever by a Bison woman at the NCAA Midwest Regional. The NDSU women posted a cumulative grade point average of 3.603 for the 2018 season, earning the All-Academic Team award from the USTFCCCA. It was the seventh consecutive year that NDSU has earned the team academic award, and the Bison women have had 16 consecutive semesters with a team GPA of at least 3.30. GOING THE DISTANCE GOING THE DISTANCE MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY The Bison men’s cross country team claimed a runner-up team finish at the Summit League Championships, led by a fourth-place finish from senior Elliott Stone.