YEAR IN 2019-2020 NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY STATE DAKOTA NORTH Review ADVERSITY REVEALS TRUE CHARACTER This statement has never rung truer than in describing the 2019-20 athletic and academic year for NDSU Athletics. With a global pandemic shutting down both the winter championships and spring seasons and students transitioning to online instruction this spring, I learned a lot about the character of our staff, coaches and student-athletes. In tough times, people look to leadership for how to respond. Our coaches and staff were great role models for our student- athletes in how to face adversity head-on and ultimately come out stronger in the end. Our student-athletes and coaches evolved during this time. They evolved their communication, their learning and instruction, and most importantly, their relationships. We WILL be stronger and more prepared when things return to normal. Even with an abbreviated athletic year, Bison Athletics continued to excel at a high level in both conference and national competition. This year we brought home our 28th national championship, won five conference championships, qualified 11 individuals for NCAA tournaments in wrestling and track, and hosted more than 34,000 Bison fans at Target Field in Minneapolis. Once again, our student-athletes continued to excel in the classroom and set a new standard for future Bison to strive toward. For the third 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 3.56. More than 315 student-athletes scored a 3.0 GPA or better with 112 getting a perfect 4.0. Football’s Jackson Hankey continued our run of NCAA Elite 90 award winners, earning the distinction with the highest GPA of all participants at the FCS national championship. Athletic facilities continue to be a priority as we look to finalize the last phase of Tharaldson Park for NDSU softball, renovate the outdoor track and break ground on a permanent indoor practice facility. These new and renovated spaces will have significant benefits to our programs in both practice and performance while continuing to separate NDSU from our competition. These accomplishments and progress are a direct result of your investment in all areas of our athletics program. This past year we eclipsed $38 million in overall philanthropic support to Bison Athletics for the first time in our history. These gifts go directly to supporting our student-athletes, programs and continued success through capital investments, scholarship endowments and annual scholarship support. The power of Bison Nation has been witnessed on so many levels, but none more important than the financial support of our athletics program. This investment and belief in our program are the driving force behind our pursuit of excellence and the development of our student-athletes. 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 2019-20. Thank you in advance for your continued friendship, pride and financial support. Go Bison! Matt Larsen Director of Athletics facilities NDSU Athletics continues to build for the future with three major projects all nearing their fundraising goals. A new indoor practice facility on the site of the current grass practice fields south of the Sanford Health Athletic Complex 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. Phase III of construction is approaching for NDSU softball’s on-campus stadium, Tharaldson Park. Plans include an indoor hitting facility with hospitality space in addition to a new building for tickets, restrooms and concession stand. NDSU also is planning a new outdoor track and field complex to open in time for the 2022 Summit League outdoor championships. The project will include replacement of the entire running track, bleachers and a scoring/timing system. football North Dakota State was the first Division I team since Yale North Dakota State had eight All-Americans, including in 1894 to finish a season 16-0. The Bison won their eighth offensive linemen Dillon Radunz, Zack Johnson and FCS national championship in nine seasons and extended Cordell Volson; quarterback Lance; tight end Ben a 37-game winning streak, the third longest in Division I Ellefson; defensive end Derrek Tuszka; linebacker Jabril football history. NDSU also tied the school record with a Cox; and safety James Hendricks. 28-game home winning streak. First-year head coach Matt Entz was named FCS Coach A crowd of 34,544 was on hand at Target Field in of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association. Minneapolis to watch the Bison defeat the Butler Bulldogs Previously the Bison’s defensive coordinator for five 57-10 in the season opener. It was the 10th largest crowd seasons, Entz became the first Division I head football all-time at an NDSU football game. coach to go 16-0 in his first season at the helm. Quarterback Trey Lance became the first freshman to The Bison had 11 all-conference performers, including win the Walter Payton Award, which is presented annually Lance, who was voted Freshman of the Year and to the top offensive player in the Football Championship Newcomer of the Year, and he was the first freshman Subdivision. He also won the Jerry Rice Award, presented named the league’s Offensive Player of the Year. Tuszka to the top freshman FCS player. was named Defensive Player of the Year and Entz was named Coach of the Year as the Bison swept the league’s top individual honors. Derrek Tuszka was a seventh-round draft pick of the Denver Broncos in April. The Bison had two undrafted free agents agree to terms after the draft. Ben Ellefson signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Zack Johnson signed with the Green Bay Packers. VOLLEYBALL North Dakota State advanced to The Summit League tournament for the 12th time in program history, dropping a 3-1 decision to Omaha in the quarterfinals. The Bison finished with a 13-16 record overall, 8-8 in the league standings for fifth place during the regular season. NDSU outside hitter Syra Tanchin was named to The Summit League all-tournament team after she recorded 17 kills and a block against Omaha. Bison middle hitter Emily Halverson was named The Summit League Offensive Player of the Week on Nov. 19, while libero Kaylee Hanger was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 22. NDSU received the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award for the 2019 season. The Bison earned the award for the eighth consecutive year and the 20th time overall. SOCCER The 2019 season marked the 25th season of Bison women’s soccer. NDSU went 8-7-3 on the year, finishing with a winning record for the 18th time in program history. Senior goalkeeper Monica Polgar was named to the United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-Region Team and was selected to The Summit League Academic All-League Team. Polgar played every minute in the net for the Bison for a second straight year. Her 110 saves in 2019 were the third most in school history, while she finished her career with a school-record 21 shutouts. Senior Elyse Huber was named to the All-Summit League first team and Polgar earned second team honors. Freshmen Lavin Douglass and McKenna Strand were named to The Summit League All-Freshman Team. Huber tied a school record and set a Summit League record with four goals in a win over Eastern Washington. Huber finished the season ranked third in school history in shots on goal per game (2.35), tied for third in game- winning goals (5) and her 11 goals were tied for the sixth most in school history. WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY The Bison women captured the 2019 Summit League team championship on Nov. 2 at Rose Creek Golf Course in Fargo, winning the school’s first conference team title since 2013. Junior Kelby Anderson won The Summit League individual title to lead the NDSU charge at the conference meet, taking first place by a margin of 27 seconds. Bison freshman Kaleesa Houston earned Newcomer of the Championships as the top-finishing freshman in the league. Anderson recorded her second straight top-10 finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional on Nov. 15, finishing seventh out of more than 230 runners. Her performance was the third-best ever by a Bison at the Division I regional meet. As a team, the Bison women took 11th place at the NCAA Midwest Regional for the second-best regional finish in school history. NDSU captured the top Summit League awards for the 2019 women’s cross country season, with Anderson being named The Summit League Athlete of the Year and NDSU distance coach Andrew Carlson recognized as Coach of the Year. MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY The NDSU men’s cross country team took runner-up honors at The Summit League Championships held Nov. 2 in Fargo at Rose Creek Golf Course. It was the third straight runner-up team finish for the Bison. Junior Alex Bartholomay earned first-team All-Summit League honors with a seventh- place finish at the conference meet. He was the top runner for the Bison at five out of six meets on the season, and was voted to The Summit League Academic All-League Team.