Athletic Department Records
Collection
Identifier: UA 0223
Scope and Contents
Materials contained in the collection include marketing materials, VHS tapes, cassette tapes, C.D. and documents. The materials are arranged into the following Series: Marketing Awards; Men’s Basketball Newspaper Clippings; Women’s Basketball with NCAA Championship Sub-Series, Plaques Sub-Series, Score Book Sub-Series; Women’s Volleyball; and VHS Cassette with Blue Thunder Sub-Series, Football Sub-Series, Hockey Sub-Series, Junior Sub-Bison Sub-Series, Marketing Materials Sub-Series, Men’s Basketball Sub-Series, Women’s Basketball Sub-Series, Scream Yellow Sub-Series, Soccer Sub-Series, Audio Series.
Dates
- 1985 – 2006
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open under the rules and regulations of the NDSU Archives.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyrights to this collection is held by The North Dakota State University Archives.
Biographical / Historical
Athletics General
The proud tradition of North Dakota State University athletics was one of the finest in the country at the NCAA Division II level for many years. The Bison men's and women's programs were regular contenders for championships on a national scale. Now a Division I program featuring 16 varsity sports, the vision for North Dakota State is "Continuing the Championship Tradition of Bison Athletics."
North Dakota State University's athletic teams have progressed from the "Farmers" in the 1890's to the "Aggies" in the early 1900's to the "Bison," NDSU's current athletic symbol. In 1919, head football coach Stan Borleske developed it because he and members of the football team didn't like being known as "Aggies." Borleske wanted a strong and fierce mascot. The "Bison" was a logical choice. The great animals once roamed the North Dakota prairie in vast numbers, and over the years Bison athletic teams added an additional name, the "Thundering Herd."
NDSU has a storied history of athletic success including 28 team national championships since 1965 in football, women’s basketball, wrestling, softball, men’s cross country and women’s indoor track and field, plus 61 individual championships.
Since completing a reclassification to NCAA Division I in the fall of 2008, the Bison have won eight football national championships, earned five NCAA men’s basketball tournament berths, made 10 softball regionals and one super regional, three NCAA women’s volleyball postseason appearances, two NCAA baseball regionals, as well as NCAA regionals in women’s soccer, and men's and women’s golf while producing several All-Americans in track and field, cross country and wrestling.
North Dakota State has a remarkable history of academic and athletic success. Since the Academic All-America® program was initiated by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), the North Dakota State athletic programs have had 91 student-athletes earn 143 CoSIDA Academic All-America® awards, which ranks among the top 25 programs in all levels of college athletics.
Men’s Basketball According to the North Dakota State University Media /Recruiting Guide for Men’s Basketball, North Dakota Agricultural College (NDAC) began playing competitive intercollegiate basketball in 1897-1898, with 6 games (3 each against the Fargo YMCA and Fargo College [a private Congregational college located in Fargo from 1887-1922]). NDAC lost all 6 games. The following is excerpted from the February 1898 issue of The Spectrum: “Since the last issue of THE SPECTRUM a basketball league has been organized consisting of the Y.M.C.A., Fargo College and this College. A series of nine games was scheduled to be played in the Armory of Co. B. as follows: Jan. 22 YMCA vs. NDAC, Intercollegiate Jan. 20 YMCA vs. Fargo College, Feb. 4 NDAC vs. Fargo College, Feb. 11 NDAC vs. YMCA, Feb. 18 Fargo College vs. YMCA, Feb. 22. Fargo College vs. NDAC, Feb. 25 YMCA vs. NDAC, March 4. Fargo College vs. NDAC, and March 11 Fargo College vs. YMCA. The first four games have been played with results somewhat discouraging to us, but when we consider that this is our first appearance with basketball, and that some of our players have never seen a game before this winter, while the Y.M.C.A. team is the champion of the state and the Fargo College team contains men of several year’s experience, we have reason to feel encouraged with the progress thus far made.” pp. 12-13 During its first year of eligibility for post-season NCAA Division I play, NDSU won the Summit League championship and advanced to the NCAA Division I Tournament, where they took on last year’s winner, Kansas and after a hard fought game in Minneapolis Regional, lost to the Jayhawks 74-84. NDSU finished the season with a 26-7 mark.
Women’s Basketball The recorded history of Women’s Basketball at North Dakota State University dates back to a mention of a team that was formed on campus (which was then known as the North Dakota Agricultural College) in 1899. The Spectrum from December, 15 1899 states that the “ladies have organized a basket-ball team and are practicing daily.” A 1901 contest against an intercollegiate rival, the Moorhead Normal School (Minnesota State University, Moorhead), according to The Spectrum, “was a crushing defeat for the Pedagogues (NDAC), for they were outclassed in every feature of the game, especially so in skill of manipulating the ball. The game, consisting of two halves of 20 minutes each was played in quarters. The final score was 20-1.” (The Spectrum, April 15, 1901, p.104.) Women’s intramural and intercollegiate athletics thrived through the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s, with teams competing and participating in basketball, baseball, riflery, tennis, track and field, field hockey, soccer, gymnastics, and bowling. During the Second World War and 1950s, women’s athletics waned to a great extent, although physical education classes and the Women’s Athletic Association did maintain a variety of activities such as basketball, swimming, badminton, etc. It was until the mid-1960s when women’s athletics took off and it was initially in basketball. Intercollegiate competition resumed in Women’s Basketball at NDSU in 1965 when a reorganized team played two games under head coach Collette Folstad. In years previous, women from the three local colleges, NDSU, Concordia, and Moorhead Normal (MSUM), would gather to play pick-up games once a year. The schedule expanded into the 1960s and 1970s, and in 1971 NDSU joined the North Dakota chapter of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW). The AIAW hosted women’s basketball tournaments at the state and national level for Division II until 1980, when the organization merged with the NCAA. NDSU hosted the 1979 Division II Tournament, but did not participate. The Bison joined the North Central Conference of the NCAA for the 1979-1980 season, which was featured many teams from the Upper Midwest and created several local rivalries. Also in 1979, NDSU hired Purdue graduate Amy Ruley to be head coach of the Women’s Basketball program, and she would lead the team for the next three decades. Under the direction of Ruley, the NDSU Bison women hoopsters won 671 games, nine North Central Conference titles, and 5 NCAA Division II championships. Ruley was awarded the C. Vivian Stringer Coaching Award by the United States Sports Academy in 2001 and in 2004 was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. NDSU also succeeded in the grandstands during this era, as the Lady Bison were at or near the top of attendance figures for NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball during the decade of the 1990s. The NDSU Basketball program joined The Summit League of NCAA Division I for the 2007-2008 season. Following this season, Amy Ruley retired and was replaced by University of Arizona graduate Carolyn DeHoff. The NDSU Bison Women’s Basketball program has produced numerous AllConference and All-American players, including, Pat Smykowski, Nadine Schmidt, Jody Buck, Darci Steere, and Kasey Morlock.
Women’s Volleyball The first mention of Women’s Volleyball is found in the April 17, 1918 issue of The Spectrum, titled, “Why not girls’ athletics.” The article discusses women’s athletics in general and specially basketball, soccer, gymnastics, tennis, baseball, and volleyball.” In 2008, in their first year of Division I post-season eligibility, the team had the best record in the Summit League and won the championship. They went to the NCAA Division I tournament where they lost to the University of Minnesota. In 2009 NDSU lost to IPFW Summit League tournament after winning the Summit League regular season. In 2010, NDSU beat IPFW to win the Summit League tournament and faced and lost to the University of Minnesota in the first round of the Division I tournament.
Men’s Basketball According to the North Dakota State University Media /Recruiting Guide for Men’s Basketball, North Dakota Agricultural College (NDAC) began playing competitive intercollegiate basketball in 1897-1898, with 6 games (3 each against the Fargo YMCA and Fargo College [a private Congregational college located in Fargo from 1887-1922]). NDAC lost all 6 games. The following is excerpted from the February 1898 issue of The Spectrum: “Since the last issue of THE SPECTRUM a basketball league has been organized consisting of the Y.M.C.A., Fargo College and this College. A series of nine games was scheduled to be played in the Armory of Co. B. as follows: Jan. 22 YMCA vs. NDAC, Intercollegiate Jan. 20 YMCA vs. Fargo College, Feb. 4 NDAC vs. Fargo College, Feb. 11 NDAC vs. YMCA, Feb. 18 Fargo College vs. YMCA, Feb. 22. Fargo College vs. NDAC, Feb. 25 YMCA vs. NDAC, March 4. Fargo College vs. NDAC, and March 11 Fargo College vs. YMCA. The first four games have been played with results somewhat discouraging to us, but when we consider that this is our first appearance with basketball, and that some of our players have never seen a game before this winter, while the Y.M.C.A. team is the champion of the state and the Fargo College team contains men of several year’s experience, we have reason to feel encouraged with the progress thus far made.” pp. 12-13 During its first year of eligibility for post-season NCAA Division I play, NDSU won the Summit League championship and advanced to the NCAA Division I Tournament, where they took on last year’s winner, Kansas and after a hard fought game in Minneapolis Regional, lost to the Jayhawks 74-84. NDSU finished the season with a 26-7 mark.
Women’s Basketball The recorded history of Women’s Basketball at North Dakota State University dates back to a mention of a team that was formed on campus (which was then known as the North Dakota Agricultural College) in 1899. The Spectrum from December, 15 1899 states that the “ladies have organized a basket-ball team and are practicing daily.” A 1901 contest against an intercollegiate rival, the Moorhead Normal School (Minnesota State University, Moorhead), according to The Spectrum, “was a crushing defeat for the Pedagogues (NDAC), for they were outclassed in every feature of the game, especially so in skill of manipulating the ball. The game, consisting of two halves of 20 minutes each was played in quarters. The final score was 20-1.” (The Spectrum, April 15, 1901, p.104.) Women’s intramural and intercollegiate athletics thrived through the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s, with teams competing and participating in basketball, baseball, riflery, tennis, track and field, field hockey, soccer, gymnastics, and bowling. During the Second World War and 1950s, women’s athletics waned to a great extent, although physical education classes and the Women’s Athletic Association did maintain a variety of activities such as basketball, swimming, badminton, etc. It was until the mid-1960s when women’s athletics took off and it was initially in basketball. Intercollegiate competition resumed in Women’s Basketball at NDSU in 1965 when a reorganized team played two games under head coach Collette Folstad. In years previous, women from the three local colleges, NDSU, Concordia, and Moorhead Normal (MSUM), would gather to play pick-up games once a year. The schedule expanded into the 1960s and 1970s, and in 1971 NDSU joined the North Dakota chapter of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW). The AIAW hosted women’s basketball tournaments at the state and national level for Division II until 1980, when the organization merged with the NCAA. NDSU hosted the 1979 Division II Tournament, but did not participate. The Bison joined the North Central Conference of the NCAA for the 1979-1980 season, which was featured many teams from the Upper Midwest and created several local rivalries. Also in 1979, NDSU hired Purdue graduate Amy Ruley to be head coach of the Women’s Basketball program, and she would lead the team for the next three decades. Under the direction of Ruley, the NDSU Bison women hoopsters won 671 games, nine North Central Conference titles, and 5 NCAA Division II championships. Ruley was awarded the C. Vivian Stringer Coaching Award by the United States Sports Academy in 2001 and in 2004 was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. NDSU also succeeded in the grandstands during this era, as the Lady Bison were at or near the top of attendance figures for NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball during the decade of the 1990s. The NDSU Basketball program joined The Summit League of NCAA Division I for the 2007-2008 season. Following this season, Amy Ruley retired and was replaced by University of Arizona graduate Carolyn DeHoff. The NDSU Bison Women’s Basketball program has produced numerous AllConference and All-American players, including, Pat Smykowski, Nadine Schmidt, Jody Buck, Darci Steere, and Kasey Morlock.
Women’s Volleyball The first mention of Women’s Volleyball is found in the April 17, 1918 issue of The Spectrum, titled, “Why not girls’ athletics.” The article discusses women’s athletics in general and specially basketball, soccer, gymnastics, tennis, baseball, and volleyball.” In 2008, in their first year of Division I post-season eligibility, the team had the best record in the Summit League and won the championship. They went to the NCAA Division I tournament where they lost to the University of Minnesota. In 2009 NDSU lost to IPFW Summit League tournament after winning the Summit League regular season. In 2010, NDSU beat IPFW to win the Summit League tournament and faced and lost to the University of Minnesota in the first round of the Division I tournament.
Extent
4.50 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Overview
Materials contained in the collection include marketing materials, VHS tapes, cassette tapes, C.D. and documents.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Transferred by Unknown (UA Acc. 461; UA Acc. 457; UA Acc. 603; UA Acc. 677).
Legal Status
The NDSU Archives owns the property rights to this collection.
- Title
- Finding Aid to the Athletic Department Records
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the University Archives Repository
Contact:
West Building
3551 7th Avenue N
Fargo North Dakota 58102 United States
ndsu.archives@ndsu.edu
West Building
3551 7th Avenue N
Fargo North Dakota 58102 United States
ndsu.archives@ndsu.edu