Chris Davis (wide receiver, born 1984)

Transcription

(male announcer) What a game! There's nothing more we can add. Morel to the left, here's the pitch... Malone is stopped! (male narrator) This play marked the last time storied rivals UND and NDSU met on the football field, an epic overtime game that unfortunately marks either an end to or interruption of what was the oldest rivalry in Division II football. In 2004, the women's basketball programs would also meet for the final time in a familiar spot, a regional tournament with much on the line. Near the end of each school's Division II history, women's basketball and football would produce the most heated rivalries and excitement between UND and NDSU, resulting in national titles for each school in both sports. (male announcer) Touchdown! He's gonna score. He's just tied Walter Payton's all-time record for touchdowns. Lola, off the glass. Look at the speed of Jim Kleinsasser, amazing! [loud cheering] (woman) Funding for "When They Were Kings: The NDSU/UND Rivalry" is provided by the members of Prairie Public. (male announcer) The Sioux, the Bison, the NCC champions and the challengers today, the oldest rivalry in Division II football. And what atmosphere, that's all you can say. We're at Hyslop Sports Center, the biggest crowd of the year. From the time you come out of pregame meal, no matter where it is, you can sense the electricity from everybody, I mean, everyone. If you're up in Grand Forks, you sense it from the hotel staff. If you're home, it's the cafeteria staff; everybody's into it. There's some pressure, there's some tension, there's some potential for anxiety. You could feel it outside the stadium; the crowds of people. You think of the old Memorial Stadium games and the excitement and you just so into it because it was all week. I've always said that this game is like the Super Bowl for North Dakota. It was a tremendous rivalry. I think when you look at the fact that both programs had predominantly athletes from around the area, so I think the interest on the part of the communities throughout the state was very high. I can remember being on our bench and looking across to the east side of the Bison Sports Arena and literally seeing people sitting in the rafters. Challenges of having the number one team in the nation, 70 miles from your university, I think that made us better. I mean it was one thing if you're going to go on, you've got to get through NDSU. What made that rivalry what it is, are the coaches. I think there's obviously a mutual respect. And I think that goes with the players too. We all respected each other; we all liked each other, but man, we wanted to win. The minute you were part of the Bison family, you were, I'm not going to say brainwashed, but it was understood that the Sioux was a swear name. [laughs] It's the best week, is Sioux week, to play the Sioux, 'cause it was so much fun and there was so much riding on it. It was nonstop-- the fans were into the game 40 minutes, so very, very intense. When you lost, it stuck with ya 364 days. I mean, you couldn't help but think of it that much, and when you won, there's some satisfaction there that every place you went in the state, you could at least hold your head high. I have some friends that either played there or even some friends that went to UND during that time, and it's definitely nice to be able to say you never lost a game to them. It's the rights for North Dakota and when you play a Bison/Sioux game, there is just so many fans there, and just the excitement that it had, and you just wanted to beat them so bad. I always heard about, oh watch out, you could get spit on. I never personally was spit on, I don't really have anything, I'm sure stuff was yelled at me. I think I probably told that our guys sucked and stuff, but I don't really ever remember going out of there going oh I don't want to play here. It was more like, win or lose, this is great. That's the one thing I think is, will always be a element of respect for me about both places is the respect that is garnered by the people that have gone out and competed. [marching band plays] (male announcer) On the option, hands it off, at the 35, and he pitched it back! there goes James Molstre! Molstre's gonna go all the way! Not only were they your rival, but they were the best team in the country, so it wasn't just like you had to get ready to play a rival game, you also tried to beat just a terrific team. There was times where you could basically tell 'em what we're going to do and why and it's just a matter of who's better. And a lot of times we were. That's what made them so good, was the personnel. They had the horses, there's no question about it, and UND just couldn't match up with them very well for most of the '80s. (narrator) The decade of dominance for NDSU that would produce 5 national titles, began with Head Coach Don Morton, an offensive system called the veer, and a new recruiting approach. But Morton's first 2 seasons in 1979 and '80, were less than spectacular with back-to-back 6 and 4 records. We made the decision to really go deep into Wisconsin, along with Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and I think that really helped. We really talked our players going into the '81 season that 1981 would be the year of the Bison, that we would return to the conference championship, return to the playoffs. The UND game was critical, obviously. No coach at NDSU history has ever survived losing to the Sioux 3 years in a row. (narrator) That game was the turning point for Morton's Bison. A 31-7 route of number one ranked UND in 1981. Little did Sioux fans realize the sustained agony this game would give birth to in the coming years. Fresh off the UND win, the Bison would roll into the 1981 national title game against Southwest State of Texas. Coached ironically by former Bison coach Jim Whacker. But a first national title under the playoff system would have to wait as the Bison were blown out. Southwest Texas had an exceptional team and it was obvious that day that the team with the best athletes, and the better coached team, the best team won that day. (narrator) Led by senior quarterback Mark Nelermo, the 1982 Bison team would arguably become their best team never to win a national title. Undefeated, they would lose a heartbreaker in the national semifinals to Cal Davis and future NFL quarterback, Ken O'Brien, 19 to 14. (male announcer) Bentrim fakes the pitch and turns it out beautifully. He's in the open field and he's pulled down at the 48 yard line. (narrator) Don Morton's veer offense would reach new levels in 1983, with his now legendary freshman backfield, led by 18-year-old Jeff Bentrim, affectionately known as Benny. All of a sudden we get in the season and we have, we have a freshman backfield. We have a true freshman at quarterback with Jeff Bentrim, a true freshman running back with Chad Stark and a true freshman running back with James Molstre. Coach Morton was a great coach for me because he really pushed me He pushed the right buttons for some reason, I mean, he had to push so many different buttons with so many different personalities. He made me a better player because of the way he pushed me and coached me. That offensive line that we had, you know, Whetstone, Peipkorn, Olson, Hagfors, I mean, phenomenal linemen that you hardly get touched. The veer, what I like about it is, there's so many different options. So you can stop the dive to the running back, then you have the quarterback coming out to the outside, is he going to keep it, cut it up and keep, or is he going to pitch it to a running back? So I think we really kept teams off balance. It probably helped us too, but not a lot of people ran the option. When Coach Morton's system got the proper adjustments and when to and when not to's, it was tough, I mean, it was really tough. (narrator) Suffering only one loss during the season, the Bison would avenge the 1982 loss with a 26-17 win over Cal Davis in the national semifinals, then steamroll Central State of Ohio 41-21 for the championship. The majority of the team, offense and defense, were seniors and they had been through so much obviously losing in '81 and getting close, losing a nail-biter to Cal Davis in '82, so it was really gratifying for us freshmen, to help them realize their dream of being a national champion. We're the first team to win the national championship in the playoff system, so, and to do it with a great group of young people that had great college careers, and have done some awfully good things since then too. (male announcer) He throws a Hail Mary into the end zone and it is kicked around, it is... (narrator) The 1984 Bison team had designs on a repeat title, and it looked well within the grasp until the very end of the title game against Troy State and a heartbreaking one point loss. Let's give some credit to that kicker. I mean he comes out, the clock is running and they snap, and he kicks it; he could have kicked it from 65 yards. It was the biggest kick in the gut that winter. That drove us; we remembered what that felt like. We said, if we ever get the opportunity to get in this game again, there's going to be no question. This game tonight is not going to detract from a great season. The Bison will be back. We'll return, it'll happen again. (narrator) Despite tons of starters returning in 1985, the Bison would start slow with a tie and 2 losses, including a blowout loss in Vermillion to the powerful Coyotes of South Dakota. Don Morton left for Tulsa and Earle Solomonson, even though he was our defensive coordinator our previous 2 years, it shouldn't have been that big of a transition, but for some reason, it was. A lot of factors added up to us being a little lethargic out of the gate. (male announcer) Here comes Tyrone Braxton, he picked it up on a dead run. He's got blockers; he's got a touchdown! (narrator) The herd eventually got on a roll, culminating in a 49-0 drubbing of UND on the last weekend of the regular season. The second shot at redemption was all the Bison would need. After an easy quarterfinal win over Cal Davis, a return trip to Vermillion to play USD would test the Bison magic. Trailing in the third quarter, the NDSU defense forced a key turnover at the goal line. Then perhaps the most famous play in Bison football history, would seal USD's fate. Simply known in Bison lore as "the pitch," it's a play only the great Bentrim could make. (male announcer) On the option, he cuts it up at the 35 and he pitches it back, there goes James Molstre, Molstre's going to go all the way! That's certainly the most talked about play that I hear about. It's kind of a surreal play in my mind now, even though I can kind of remember my thinking, but looking back on it, it was late in the second half, and South Dakota had run all over our defense, only they didn't score, and they really shut us down offensively. We just needed a spark. Coach Morton and Coach Solomonson always said don't pitch out of desperation. Well, at that point, we had to do something, and I just remember falling down and seeing out of the corner of my eye, that James was still there, as I was sprawled out, pitched it out and I remember 4 or 5 guys falling on me, kind of groaning 'cause it hurt, but then I hear kind of a roar and kind of look from the turf and James was running down the sidelines and I think that really kind of invigorated our team; I know it did me. Talk about getting goose bumps; you look at that play, it's just amazing how it all just came together. That's really what turned the tide to NDSU winning that game. (narrator) After the USD win, the title game was almost anticlimactic as NDSU trounced North Alabama 35 to 7. No question, it was redemption, it was vindication that we were a better team than we were initially at that 2-and-2 start. That was not us 2 months ago. This is a little more representative of what the Bison are in 1985, so it's a great feeling. (male announcer) 2nd down and 10 from the 19 yard line, this is Stark, he's got a lot of room, and he's got a touchdown! (narrator) 1986 would produce maybe the best team in NDSU history, and finally, an unbeaten season. Going into '86, we were not going to take anything for granted, and quite frankly, my goal that year was to be undefeated. That was kind of fed in large part by our senior leadership that year, which was outstanding, where I was feeling a little bit concerned about a game, I'd get pat on the back and say, Todd Debates or Jimmy Dick would say, "They're not going to beat us." Those are the teams I would have loved to take into the next level, to see how we really would have competed against some of those, certainly not the higher echelon schools, but some of the mid, Big Ten schools, to see how we would have matched up. (narrator) One of the big highlights of 1986 was Bentrim's breaking Walter Payton's career Division II touchdown record of 62 touchdowns. On a cold, snowy day in Grand Forks, the record was in sight by halftime, as NDSU was again dismantling UND. If the game gets in hand, will you go to Bentrim and try and get him Walter Payton's record or not? We're not going to leave without the record. Thanks Earl, good luck. (male announcer) On first down and 10, Bentrim, turns it up, he's got some running room, and he's going to score! He's just tied Walter Payton's all-time record for touchdowns. Bentrim just had a gift at knowing what to do with the ball and if he didn't, I mean, he was so slimy he could, [laughs] he could just break away from tackles where guys seemed to have him booked up. But he did a phenomenal job. It's a reflection of your team. Being the quarterback on the best team in the country, I think certainly helped me; I feel very fortunate that I was, and again, I didn't screw up, I think is the key thing, a great defense and great players on offense. (narrator) The Bison rolled through the playoffs and beat perennial foe USD 27 to 7 in the title game. We were 47-5 and 1. I mean, I can't hardly remember my wife's birthday, yet tell me what my record was, [laughs] you know. Men, we have to realize it's going to take a full 60 minutes in every possible way, offense, defense, special teams, flying around makin' it happen. (narrator) The intense and always interesting Rocky Hager, would take over as head coach in 1987, as Earle Solomonson left for Montana State. Loved Coach Hager, one of my mentors, one of the guys I'll always remember throughout my life. Just a great guy, not only a great football coach, but a great person, taught me a lot about the game, knew I could count on him and trust me. I just can't say enough about the relationship I had with him. Rocky was and is a great leader of men, and he makes you accountable. (narrator) The fleet-footed freshman, Chris Simdorn would take over controls of the veer from Bentrim in 1987, but the young Bison would struggle to a 6 and 4 record. (male announcer) He's going to go all the way, this is Tony Satter. (narrator) But the good times would return in 1988 with a strong cast of seniors, coupled with a talented sophomore class, consisting of Simdorn, running back Tony Satter, and future NFL star, Phil Hansen. '88 was a great year; we had a large senior class and we'd all been together since our freshman year. We came in as a large class, stuck together, very little attrition, we were all best friends in that sophomore class. It reminded me a lot of our '88 class in a way. They had a lot of great athletes, good players, and determination. I think midway through the season, we really started to open up the offense a little bit and become a little more consistent. We had some close games there, then we really got into a nice stride in the middle of the season and really started executing and putting all the phases together. (narrator) The Bison would roll through the playoffs, going 14 and 0 and beating Portland State 35-21 in the national title game. Just remember we went in, in Florence, Alabama, and it was, it was a sign of things to come. (Tony Satter) They played a defense I'd never seen before. They played like a 6-1 defense and had this little 230-pound linebacker, 225-pound linebacker, and I felt bad for him, 'cause he had Mike Favor in his face all day. He didn't have 20 yards deep some plays, Favor had him on ice skates. (male announcer) Great move as he just sides... (narrator) Once again, the high-powered veer was as dominant as in the Bentrim years, as was the defense. They kept possession of the ball, because of the veer. They just ran the clock down, so you have possession, when you got it, it was very important to move the ball, give the D a rest, just the quality of athletes they had at that time compared to us. (narrator) The Herd followed the Hawker to a 30 to 12 lead, the march was on. 1989 was marred by injuries to Simdorn and inconsistent play, and ultimately, NDSU lost to Jacksonville State 21-17 in the playoffs. People talk about, hey, you're '88 and '90, and I think more about what could have been, and the '89 season was kind of, kind of sticks in my craw a little bit. There's something special about your senior season. You don't really understand it until you become a senior. You think they're all special, because when you're young, you always have next year, you always got that next game, 'cause you know that could be the last time you play competitive football and suit up. So definitely a very special year for us and a year that we were motivated to make sure we got back and did not come up short in that national title. That team, you know, we'd been together now for 3 years, and we understood, Phil's maturation-- by then he was so dominant. (male announcer) Tony Satter caps a 12 play, 78 yard drive. (narrator) The 1990 team was virtually untouched all year, except for an entertaining and tough national semifinal win over Pittsburgh State, 39-29. (male announcer) Marty See, took a Simdorn pitch and knifed into the end zone for the insurance touchdown. It was a big match-up; they were undefeated coming in, we were undefeated coming in, our stats were very similar. I think everybody was looking forward to that game, and it lived up to the billing. We went back and forth and back and forth. (male announcer) Look at Tony Satter, he is unbelievable. Tony Satter, breaking tackles, an incredible run for the Bison senior, touchdown North Dakota! (narrator) Then in the title game against IUP, NDSU broke open a tight 14-11 game at halftime to romp 51-11. As an offense, I think we ran 16 plays in the quarter and scored 5 touchdowns. That's just pure dominance. We exploded the second half; I don't know, the coaches probably made some adjustments or something. Once you get a couple more scores, then you can see the writing on the wall. The wheels go off their machine and they just picked up for us, and we were, we were rollin'. Yeah, and in that senior year, we never used the term "great." We always used to say, we got to get better, we're good, and I'll never forget in the locker room after that game, we finally said, "We are great!" [laughs] We're the best team in Division II in the nation! I don't know how to explain or how to get chemistry, but I know when I had it in the NFL, and I know when we had it in college, and I know when we didn't have it. So things just go right, I guess. [marching band plays] (narrator) There are several great debates in Bison country when it comes to football. The first is, what is the best Bison team ever, 1986 or 1990? As a complete team, I would have to say '90, as a complete team. I'll be honest with ya, I think depthwise the best football team I had the privilege to work with in North Dakota State was the '86 team. We had guys that got hurt and lo and behold, someone else came in, they were just as good. I'm biased, but what makes us the best team in school history is our defense. There's probably some comparable offensive teams when you look at '88 or '90, for example, but I don't think any of them compare to the '86 defense. I may go back to that first '86; I think the first one you mentioned; I just looked at them from top to bottom with the talent that they had everywhere. Maybe it was in my mind that way, because that was one of our least teams, so the gap was the widest. So maybe that's not a fair thing to say, but on their side of it, if they go back, that probably half of them are hall of famers. And we helped them get there. To me, I guess the '90 was more personal, because I was a part of it. As a senior, I wanted to go out on a win and I went out, my last play was a sack. I mean, that was special to me, but looking back on it, sometimes you can't see yourself very well, your team when you're in it, so that '86 team really sticks out to me. I'd pick the '86 team over the '90 team if I had to choose one or the other. You put me on the spot, I'll have to say '86 with Bentrim, just because of Bentrim. (narrator) The other debate is over the two great veer quarterbacks, Bentrim and Simdorn. Who was better? Both would win the Heisman of Division II, the Harlon Hill Trophy, in 1986 and 1990 respectively. So perhaps different, rather than better, is the politically correct approach to this question. I'm flattered to be in the same sentence with Jeff. I respect him tremendously and know he was a great, great quarterback. If I was to compare the two of us, I thought Jeff was a little bit more of a power runner, bigger than I was, probably a little bit harder runner inside. I would say I had a little more speed and elusiveness to get to the edge, get to the outside there. Jeff probably was a better thrower. Chris Simdorn was more the halfback type, meaning tailback that when he got in the open field, he had the extra road gear and could run away from you. Jeff Bentrim was exceptionally dynamic, very skilled in running the ball, tougher than nails, was maybe a little more of a fullback type, but not really, kind of a tweener, between a fullback and a tailback that could throw the ball really well. (Jeff) I think they thought I was pretty good when I left after '86, and then went up north for a few years, but as I look back now, I just look back and say, I had an awfully good defense that was on the other side of the ball. And boy that offensive line was great; I had Chad Stark. I think I get a lot of praise for those teams, obviously I touched the ball every time, the quarterback gets a lot of attention, but we had a great defense, and as a quarterback, I just didn't want to screw it up. (male announcer) His passes today are 9 out of 13, for 179 yards, ...with Hansen coming back to drop him at the 45; big loss. (male narrator) The player who would emerge from the NDSU system to go on to a long NFL career, was Oaks, North Dakota farm boy and defensive lineman, Phil Hansen. These were the two biggest colleges that recruited me. I got recruited by Nebraska, the U. of M., people just assumed that I did and I chose NDSU-- that's not the case. We had a weight-lifting machine and Oaks, but you just kind of played with it, you didn't actually go in there and do work on it-- hey, look at that! So the biggest introduction, when I got to college, was the introduction to weight lifting. These little guys from the cities are bench-pressing 250, 300 pounds; I did 185. He's a great guy, you know, got along with Phil well, coming in together in the same freshman class, from the small town of Oaks, from the farm. And he had that kind of farm strength, but he didn't really have weight room strength, so you know, we kinda watched Phil progress over the 5 years he was at NDSU and to see him get stronger, get quicker and just dominant football games on the defensive line was pretty impressive. There was no one more demanding of themselves as far as the things that he expected of himself to be able to do on the field than Phil Hansen. How would you make yourself better than people who are your equals or your peers? That was through strength conditioning, off-season workout, things like that. I bought in quite quickly and after my first year, it's what I decided to do and it paid dividends. (narrator) But there was nothing more punishing than All-American defensive tackle Phil Hansen. By Phil's sophomore season in 1988, he had started to dominate, and by his senior year of 1990, he was virtually unblockable. There were guys in our league, Phil being a prime example of that, he just was better than your guys, even maybe better some times than two of your guys. (narrator) And yet, Phil had no clue that during his senior year, the NFL could become a possibility. And the NFL's knocking on the door. I didn't expect it; that's as true a story as I can tell ya. About midway through the season is the first time I had any clue that anyone was looking at me. You hear of kids now, and kids will come up to me and say, oh I want to play in the NFL so bad. It was never a dream of mine. I never saw a professional game in person until I played in it. (male announcer) Batted in the air, intercepted! Phil Hansen, North Dakota State! (narrator) The journey from a farm near Oaks would lead to 11 stellar seasons, 3 Super Bowl appearances, and a spot in the Bills Hall of Fame. I played at 270; I gave a minimum of 25 pounds every week, and usually more like 40 or 45. There were guys from Texas and all over that benched way more than I did, but they couldn't leverage themselves, they couldn't hold their ground. One thing I found out pretty quick is that I found out I had another gear in the NFL, which really kind of ticked me off, because I must of had it back in college too, why didn't I use it? Because I was probably never needed to use it. If I wasn't going to use it in the NFL, I wasn't going to make it. (narrator) If the '80s were the glory days for the Bison, they were a nightmare for the Sioux. (male announcer) Third down and nine, Thompson under center, this is Jaycox, and he's not going anywhere. Thompson 2 of 3 in the passing department so far. He wants another one. Dumps it, that'll be picked off, Jimmy Dick has got it at the 40. From the punt, recovery, to the near side, to Moore-- loses the football and the Bison have got it this time! They just played very hard and played like crazy and hung in there, because it was, it was almost embarrassing at the beginning, just that we couldn't compete. (narrator) Riding the wave of the league's top passer, North Dakota turned to Todd Kovash. By 1990, the UND losing streak to NDSU had reached 10 games, and almost all of the games in that period were blowouts. But Thomas was a patient man and began to find a way to compete. We can't get the top recruits right away, 'cause they're, obviously they want to go to the top program, we're going to have to find some other talented guys, hope they develop or we can coach 'em up, and we'll play. And it took a few years. Honestly, once the worm turned, we did okay. At the time, I was disappointed in the fact that I wanted to win, I wanted to win now. We had a grand plan, more of a process, and being a young kid, you don't think of a process, you think of the here and now. There's a lot of pride in the fact that we started that transition. In recruiting, I always tell the recruit, each university has its own personality, you know, each team has its own personality. We had kind of a tough mentality, you know, especially based on defense. We had good coaching; Roger Thomas did a really good job of coming in and changing the recruitment of the players, Dale Lennon did an absolutely fabulous job with the defense, he's a great football coach. (narrator) These athletes, the 1990 Bison, crowned national champions. By 1991, NDSU no longer had Hansen, Simdorn, and Satter, and UND had gotten better. A nail-biting loss in Fargo in '91 was as close as UND had gotten in 11 years. (male announcer) First and goal, 8 yard line. Wall, the sideline, touchdown UND! (narrator) In 1992 in Grand Forks, UND was now a near playoff team, and an epic game played itself out over 4 quarters. (male announcer) 3 receivers in the formation for the Bison. Sanchez, he did it a year ago, he's inside the 10, this'll be a Bison touchdown! 3rd and 3, Wall, the throwback, he's got Shram, touchdown Sioux! Beachy, long count, oh, we've got a mix up in the backfield. It could be a safety! It is! (narrator) Late in the fourth quarter, with the score 20-19 NDSU, and UND in field goal range, victory was in grasp, or just out of grasp. From the 21, Wall, he wants Shram on the post. In and out of his hands! It's 3rd down and 8, Wall's going to throw it. Picked off by Hagerly! You can only feel for Roger Thomas. His team has come so close. The '92 game, just real quick is, we lost at the very end of that game on an interception. It was an emotional letdown 'cause I thought we had a shot at 'em. It was pretty harsh after that game to be honest. (narrator) The Bison would go on to lose a tense overtime thriller to Pittsburgh State, 38-37 in the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, Roger Thomas' agony on that 1992 day, could be felt by every UND fan. But better days were soon to come. (male announcer) Here come the Sioux! ...won't get it, Meier the rebound! And this crowd is so loud, you've got to be here to believe it. Intensity is the word with those two. I mean both of those coaches wanted to beat the other team so badly, they knew the importance of the game. To the public they didn't come off to be the best of friends. [laughs] In fact, a lot of the post game handshakes were just see ya later! [laughs] [loud cheering] (male narrator) What happened between 1991 and 1999 in a 70-mile stretch along I-29 remains unprecedented in the history of college athletics, as NDSU and UND would dominate Division II women's basketball on a national level. The rivalry was fierce, made more so by the two bigger-than-life coaches, Amy Ruley and Gene Roebuck. There was that recognition that hey there's good Division II women's basketball happening in North Dakota. People appreciate it, they support it, they're out in full force for those games, and it really did bring a lot of pride, I think, to each university and to the community. Basketball fans are basketball fans. You put a good product on the floor in women's basketball, and you're going to get the fans, and that's what we did. I mean, we had 2 very, very good teams that played very, very hard. I think for me growing up in the State of Indiana, where basketball is kind of the premier sport, and personally liking up-tempo basketball, that was something we tried to do, and our kids were really committed to that. All our athletes to work hard. You know, you have to put in the work to get out what you want, and that's to be a complete player by the time you get done playing at UND. (male announcer) It's Katie Richards, 4-3 from the corner, 11 seconds in. It was quite the rivalry; it was pretty fun, you know, for them in the stands having posters of Roebuck's head, you know, in their face, or vice versa with Amy. That just made it even better. You know it just got both teams pumped up, and I don't think they despise or hate each other. I think it's just that competitive nature in coaching. Coach really did a good job of that. Win your next game, win your next game, win your next game. That's really all we talked about. And I think we'd had a lot of success in the past, so we weren't just focusing on oh gosh, we have to win, we have to win, but it's like we knew how to win. (male announcer) 5' 9" senior from Okabena Minnesota, Jennie Rademacher. It was full court, man-to-man, and it was that, you were just going to play defense, and you were going to hound, and you were just going to be there and you were going to play as hard as you possibly can, and when you got tired you're gonna to come out and somebody else was gonna come in. We really bought into that-- it was everybody, that it was all of us for one common goal and it was about winning basketball games. And the intensity of the rivalry filtered down to the players very quickly, whether they were from North Dakota or not. Everybody talked about wait till you go up to UND, you know, wait till you go up to UND, and it was like, I didn't really get a grasp on it, but when you walk in there, and being in Hyslop was just ridiculous, because it feels like everybody's on top of you there. It was a little overwhelming, plus the fans were not that friendly, so it was like wow, okay, I get it. (Durene Heisler) Coach Roebuck expected us to be there 2 hours or more before game time. I was walking up to the gym and there were lines out the doors, and I was kind of shocked a little bit. The doors were all locked, and I was wondering how I was going to get in. People were lined up to get tickets, you know, 2 hours in advance, and I know, just having a shootaround, and we were shooting around in front of a thousand people. One of my fondest memories of the UND/NDSU rivalry, was my freshman year at NDSU, I came out of the locker room at probably about 4:00 and we played at 5:30 at that time and there were so many people and the fans, I didn't know if it was okay to warm up; I remember going back and saying, "Coach, can we be on the floor?" (male announcer) At center number 34, 6-1 junior, Stewartville, Minnesota, Kasey Morlock. North Dakota was kind of ahead of their time as far as supporting women's athletics, and it was exciting that we got to play in a packed gym with you know, thousands of people, and they were just totally supportive and into the game as much as we were. I started WDAZ in '82, and for many years, the Sioux/Bison men's basketball game was the only game that got televised. The women's game was not televised, until we had to televise it. People were filling the arena for the women's games even before the men's game section of the doubleheader. (narrator) Most years, the teams would play 3 times, twice in the regular season and then often in the regionals, with a trip to the elite 8 on the line. And both teams knew their enemy quite well. It seemed like they never got tired, [laughs] you know? They just never wore out and they were just disciplined. You could always tell that and yeah, just the full-court press, the pressure all the time. But I think they were just a really disciplined team. I just remember they would set picks and picks and picks. I mean they had 4 out, 1 in, and it was just constantly going through screens and none of us were small girls. So it was a physical battle the whole time. (narrator) NDSU would make the first strides toward greatness in the '80s with superstar players like Pat Smykowski, coupled with Ruley's trademark, up-tempo, pressing fast-break philosophy. Our intentions were really just to try to create a competitive program, recruiting, obviously, was local, and fortunately had a number of very talented women around the region who understood the importance of trying to play a more quality brand of basketball. Coach Ruley's a great recruiter; with the few girls coming in, with the players we have coming back, I feel that we'll be like, here for 3 more years. She was a fun player to watch, kind of flamboyant player, could handle the ball well. You know I just love to play. When I played basketball, it was fun, it wasn't a job, it wasn't something I dreaded doing, didn't like to do. I think I was fairly athletic for my time, and I had some speed. (narrator) With Smykowski, NDSU would make the 1986 national title game losing to Cal Poly Pomona, and then reached the semifinals in 1988 before losing. But the program was heading in the right direction. We brought it to a different level when it came to it. It wasn't no longer a 4- or 5-month season; it was a 12-month season, and we brought a competitiveness and will to win that I think led to, or helped lead to some of the success that they had in the future. (narrator) Here comes Ihry, she's got some room, outdishes to Heisler for 3. Meanwhile, the moment for UND that would change everything happened in 1987, when Roebuck left Lake Region College in Devil's Lake to take the UND job. And he brought with him a tenacious guard named Durene Heisler. '87, '88, '89, that's when I think women's basketball really took off. High school kids were a little more interested. We had some outstanding games with NDSU, whether they were at our place at the Hyslop, or at their place. (male announcer) Durene for 3! She's got great strength, and she's left alone she'll take all day long. (narrator) With the likes of Heisler, Whitney Meier and Beth Ihry, the first big showdowns for UND with NDSU with national implications, happened during the 1990 season. [loud cheering] We were fortunate enough the third year to bring in a player from LSU, Whitney Meier, and with the young players that we had, we got a transfer in Beth Ihry from Lake Regent State College. We have those games where, where you're on the good side and you have those games where you're on the lopsided side, and that game, UND just couldn't do many things wrong. (narrator) UND would go on to lose in the Elite 8 to Cal Poly Pomona. Like NDSU, the table was set for the decade. (male announcer) Here's Nadine Schmidt! Led by sophomores Nadine Schmidt and Jody Buck, 1991 would be different, marked by a regular season win by the Bison over the Sioux, 86-75 in Grand Forks, when UND was ranked number one in the nation. The catalyst for the '91 Bison women, was that crushing 90-58 loss to UND in the 1990 regionals. Last year we had the 2 losses here and we wanted to come in this year and show 'em that we weren't afraid of Hyslop and we knew we could take 'em. In our freshman year, when we got beat in the playoffs, that was probably the biggest eye-opening loss of my career, turned everything around for me. When Jody and I got back to the dorms that night, we stayed up and talked all night, like, this is not what I'm here for. I can remember that game like yesterday. I mean, they just took it to us and they just deserved to win that game, but they really blew us out, and I remember after that, Nadine and I talked and we're like this is never happening again, we're not going to let this happen. I think that motivated us to be successful after that. (male narrator) The Bison women would avenge the 1990 region loss by beating the Sioux in the 1991 region final. (male announcer) Young but experience herd defeated host Southeast Missouri State University. (male narrator) Then it would be on to the nationals, where NDSU would win their first national title over Southeast Missouri State, 81-74. (male announcer) The national championship in Division II women's basketball belongs to the Bison of North Dakota State! It was really a fun first national championship, to be on the road and you know that creates a different environment too, you're all together and we had a good number of fans that traveled there to support us. Buses went, families went, and so it really was a very exciting time, and it just whet our appetite for more of those kind of opportunities. It was overwhelming, and we had a great following. The whole experience was phenomenal and we had come together, overcome some things that year as a team, and winning that was just icing on the cake. It was awesome, yeah, to beat that team that was favored to win it and on their home court. They were a very intense, up-tempo team. We kinda had to adjust our style a little bit for them, and we did and we ended up coming on top. (male announcer) Bison with 6 wins in a row coming in here. And there's 3 for Jody Buck! (narrator) One of the more memorable Bison/Sioux games of the '90s, happened the next season, in 1992, in Grand Forks, when a controversial ending gave NDSU the victory. (male announcer) 3, short, Peterson battles after... foul on Oistad. 5 seconds left. I don't like it. One-and-one for Peterson. This is the ball game. Tie game. A chance to put the Bison up by one. [loud cheering] Do they pressure the ball? Yes. Three seconds; here's Pudenz. They gotta hurry, Oistad turns and shoots, short, Bison win! (narrator) But despite fielding quality teams again, and even beating NDSU 62-56 in a memorable 1993 game, UND would fail to make the region finals in '92 and '93. And NDSU would qualify for nationals again. The '92 Bison team was perhaps even better than the '91 edition, as sophomore Darcy Steere became a star, and highly touted freshman Lynette Mund, grew up fast. Even the very first day that I played, uh, I came in and Nadine Schmidt, I remember, I'll never forget it, I drove in the lane, she stole the ball from me, before I knew it, they were shooting layup on the other end I was like whoa, this is the big time. (male announcer) A furious second half rally by North Dakota State fell 2 points short with Delta State University posting a 65-63 victory over the Bison for an NC double A... (Amy Ruley) That was just a game where maybe that pressure of being at home showed up a little bit more. We'd been a fairly, a very good basketball team and shot the ball fairly well throughout the season, and I think on that particular game, we were at about 29%. That loss still kind of makes me ill thinking about it. It was tough, not only because we lost, but because we were on our home court and upset by one or two points. The way we lost; we just didn't perform that night. (male announcer) 10 seconds on the shot clock, stolen away, here's Mund for the Bison; Pudenz going in and... (narrator) The Bison would get their rematch with Delta in the 1993 national title game, and this time, they would bring their A game, trouncing Delta 95-63. We knew that was our goal, was to win that national championship that year after having that bad taste from the year before. And all the underclassmen, they just went along with us and wanted that goal as well. It was just the perfect game; a great way to end the career. It was a beautiful thing that we ended up playing them again for the seniors and whoever was on the team before, and I had no question in my mind that we weren't going to win that game. Jody and Nadine were just fantastic leaders, I have told Nadine that it was so great they just welcome and like I immediately had a family. I stepped on and boom, it was like they were going to take care of me. You win that game and then just to have that celebration time with first my teammates and then my family was unbelievable, and it's what drove me to make sure that it was going to happen the next year, the next year, and the next year. (male announcer) Here comes Pudenz, it's short but Kleinsasser pulls up (narrator) In UND country 1994 was supposed to be different. A truly dominant team with good guards and plenty of height, the Sioux rolled through the regular season undefeated and beat NDSU twice, now without their graduated leaders, Buck and Schmidt. The focus of the '94 team was the dominant Sheri Kleinsasser, one of the best players in UND history. She was just so good, and she was such a fun player to play against because she wasn't conceited, cocky, she just played hard and you really had to respect that about her. My junior year was, I still think one of the best teams at UND, just our chemistry. We just matched up really well with them. Darcy Steer was inside, her and I were pushing around on each other and things. [loud cheering] (narrator) Hosting an all NCC regional at Hyslop with NDSU, South Dakota State and Augustana, UND was in the driver's seat in '94. But disaster struck in the semifinals against South Dakota State as the Jackrabbits shocked the Sioux and won by 10. I know I got in foul trouble early on, and coach always had a rule, if you had 2 fouls you sat out. So I was out most of the first half and I, uh, I still, yeah, that's an angst with me for sure. We just never got it going then, and it was just like, I don't know, it was like we got in slow motion, and we got behind, and then it was just, I don't know even how to explain it-- it was horrible. (narrator) NDSU cruised to its fourth straight regional title with a decisive 82-52 win over South Dakota State. The Bison would take advantage of UND's misfortune by beating Augustana in their semifinal, and then beating SDSU to go on to nationals. They lost to the Jackrabbits and I couldn't have been happier about that! [laughs] They probably were the better team, but that's why you play the game, and that's the way it works. (narrator) North Dakota State's toughest journey test came in the quarterfinals against number 2 ranked Missouri Western. NDSU got another big break by getting to host the nationals at the Bison Sports Arena and beat Cal State San Bernardino 89-56 in the championship. Despite losing 5 games in '94 and not beating UND at all, NDSU had its 3rd title in 4 years. My junior year, best team, I mean clearly, and not just 'cause we were undefeated, but like I said, it was just all the spots were filled and then you'd have the backups who could start on a lot of other teams. (narrator) The '95 Bison would be one of the all-time great teams, going undefeated. I credit our leadership of our upperclassmen and my staff to keeping our team really motivated and keeping them focused. (narrator) There was no stopping the herd as they rolled over Portland State in the national title game 98-85. It was comical to the extent that before the national championship game, Lynette Mund made a profound statement to the team and just basically said geez you guys, you know, if we win tonight, we'll have gone all year without a loss. Before the national championship game she goes you know, if we win this game we'll go undefeated. And everyone's like shh, don't say that Lynette, you know, it was like the elephant in the room. So that was actually pretty funny. I think we'd had a lot of success in the past, so we weren't just focused on oh gosh, we have to win, we have to win, but it was like we knew how to win. (male announcer) Not an empty seat in this house, folks. No, it's kind of neat to be here and see that, Pat. They brought in extra seating for tonight's game. This is Kasey Morlock... The end of my junior year, that was probably some of the best basketball we'd ever played, and probably one of the best teams we had been on. (male narrator) During the 1996 season, the Bison would stretch their win streak to 49 games before losing to Duluth. (male announcer) It comes off Rademacher for North Dakota State. Rademacher pushing the ball up the floor, and it's going to count! (narrator) In 1996, the Bison would finally play a young and talented UND team in the region finals, with the Bison winning. The Sioux were getting closer and closer, but frustration was mounting in Grand Forks, as the NDSU national titles piled up. Amy's, in my opinion, the toughest coach I've ever coached against. She has a calm way of doing things, but she's still a very intense competitor, and I think with the talent she had, she got that talent to play well, and play extremely well to win national championships. It was frustrating, and it was rewarding. It was frustrating 'cause you don't want to lose; you want to get to the national championship, but we were knocking at the door and our players were giving everything they had. (male announcer) They're like the knockout punch is on its way. (narrator) A 5th title in 6 years came NDSU's way with a 104-78 slaughter of Shippensburg, Pennsylvania in the national title game. That was another very good basketball team, and although we did drop a couple games throughout the year, it was one where that momentum that we had established, we felt like we could continue to carry. (narrator) And for Jen Rademacher and fellow senior Lori Roufs, they would live the dream with 4 national titles in their 4 years at NDSU. It's surreal and amazing and honestly, looking back now, it was like just no way. We had the perfect everything, the perfect chemistry, the perfect talent, perfect luck. Nobody got hurt, we never had a major injury in 4 years. So it's one of those things where, you know, I'm so thankful that I just got to be there at that snapshot in time. (male announcer) The head coach of the Bison is Amy Ruley! Besides my parents, probably Amy is one of the biggest people in my life that I have looked up to and learned from. She was extremely competitive; her work ethic is unquestionable. She was just a great role model for me as far as if you want to be successful, you're going to have to work at it. I've had the conversation a lot lately about like "it." Some people have "it," and it's this, it's being charismatic and just being that leader and having the ability to have people follow you; and she has it, it's it. The stuff she was telling us made complete sense. It's how I run my practices 15 years later. Everything makes sense so there's a logic to it and she was just really, really great to play for. (narrator) Amy Ruley's 29-year coaching reign at NDSU stands as a beacon of success for the growth of women's basketball in our region Her intensity and will to win, rubbed off on her players, who were like family to her. I probably get more credit than I deserve. I think parents deserve those credits, and the quality of the kids. I think as a coach, you have a responsibility to make a commitment to them beyond just basketball, and to try to help them. She's such a knowledgeable coach, and she's so motivating. She doesn't want to lose. You knew we wanted to play for somebody like that. And her up tempo, that was obviously a key, being a point guard you like to push the ball, so... She's just a great person too. She's awesome; I think at the time, I think every year that goes by as you age, you have a greater respect for her. But we were better prepared for the teams that we played than I think the teams were. We knew their offenses, we knew their defenses. She was a warrior, she was a motivator. I loved her attitude and her intensity, and she was not in-your-face coach, but she come and talk to you on a level that you could understand. It was mostly her intensity that I related to really well. Wasn't just lessons on the basketball court, but lessons about life, self-discipline, morals, character-- we talked about that a lot. I'd just turned 18, and I was a little green, a little wet behind the ears, and maybe didn't make all the best decisions my freshman year, but you know, seeing how she had, I don't want to say molded, some of the older players, and through them I learned kind of what's right and wrong, but it came from her. (narrator) Despite her retirement from coaching in 2008, Ruley remains at NDSU in the athletic department, and has never regretted her decision to shun job offers and remain at NDSU. We would tell them, once a Bison always a Bison, and that's true. They stay connected to the program and we enjoy those relationships. So you appreciate that opportunity you have as a coach to touch them hopefully in a positive way. (male announcer) Morlock quickly down floor, she'll get an open layup. (narrator) Led by NDSU all-time leading scorer Kasey Morlock, the '97 Bison were looking for a 6th national title in 7 years. (male announcer) Dirk gets back; Morlock off the glass. UND was getting closer and closer, but still couldn't get over the hump, losing twice in the regular season to the unbeaten Bison. The frustration would be we would be up by 15 points, then they would come back, and they would, and they're beating us, so we just never closed out a game with them. (narrator) But on a Sunday night in Fargo, the two teams met again in the region final and it looked like more of the same as the Bison led 64-54 late in the second half, when Gene Roebuck called a time out. I recall calling a time out, we're 10 down, I was telling them to get their heads up. I don't know how much time is left, I'm assuming about 5 minutes left on the clock. At that point, it's like here we go again. We're close, but we're not going to get to where we want, and they're undefeated at the time. This was it, either we come out of this huddle, figure things out or we might just as well pack it up and be done. I can remember that too, coming over the loudspeaker that you can get your tickets, you can pick 'em up at the front. The game wasn't over with, and we knew that, so we were going to do our best to get back in the game and try to win it. (narrator) And as often happens in sports, the good times can't last forever. And out of the time out, led by Tiffany Pudenz' game high 32 points, the Sioux women would go on a shocking 19-2 run and win 73-66, altering the course of the rivalry. The moment I remember at the end was when Jaime hit those free throws to kind of seal, seal our lead in a win, because just 2 weeks prior to that, we'd lost to the Bison by Jaime missing those free throws. When we get so close and we had lost to them previous, and I missed those free throws, and to me I was a little embarrassed as well. I was just hoping for another chance. I went over to coach and said, "This one's for you, I missed those other ones, I'm gonna make these." And the first one certainly bounced around a little bit, but it did go in, and then the second one went in, so it was a great feeling. That regional tournament, oh, that was, it give me goose bumps just thinking about it and what Tiffany Pudenz did. Tiffany Pudenz just, she just looked at everyone and said, get on my back, we're not losing here. I guess I'm a bad loser, so I was just sick of losing, so it was just like we came into that game and just said, what is there to lose? This time it was just something that we had to do. You know, it hurt, but we had to look back on just all the tremendous successes we had had as a program. We sure had a great year and I think we represented the university real well and themselves personally really well, and I wouldn't want any other team than the one we came in here with today; I'm proud to be their coach. They went on this big run, and I think that we just, we couldn't stop them, and to be honest with you, we haven't been in that position almost ever. At the time it stunk, but it doesn't cloud my memories. It's the reason that you play the game and thinking that you're going to win 4 national championships is probably unrealistic. (female announcer) Whoever doesn't shoot it too bad from beyond the arc but I don't think that's the first option. (male narrator) The Sioux would go on to host the Elite Eight at Hyslop and win the national title over Southern Indiana 94-78. Winning that national championship on our home floor in front of all of our fans. The players before us had waited how long to get one of those, and to be able to do that, it was just unbelievably amazing. NDSU was such a huge, huge hurdle to get over, then to do that, then listen to people throughout the Elite Eight, just saying, still saying we weren't good enough, you know, you start to take that personal, and it was good to have 'em come to our house; it was like, we are good enough. (male announcer) The Sioux on offense, the Bison in a man-to-man defense, Crouse inside off the glass, count it. The 1998 team might have, might have been a little more solid depth wise and everything. Jaime Pudenz was at the point, we had Tiffany Pudenz, and we had Katie at the four spot, Katie Richards and Jennie Crouse, who was an All-American that year. (narrator) By 1998, the Sioux, with their stars now a year older, had become the dominant team. The Bison, without their graduated superstar Morlock, suffered an 85-59 drubbing to UND that year, and the Sioux were never challenged en route to a 92-76 win in the national title game over Emporia State. We had everything in place, the posts and the perimeter, and so everything was kind of clicking. We had that year of experience, everything was going right. It just fed off the next year where we could make anything happen. The third one was heartbreaking 'cause it's your last year, it's your last game, it's another chapter or season in one's life that's finished, but it was a bit of relief that we ended on top too. (narrator) There were many keys to UND's 3 straight national titles, not the least of which was Coach Roebuck's coup, of recruiting the Pudenz sisters, Tiffany and Jaime. My freshman-sophomore year were okay years, but my junior and senior years you could see that I even improved just because of Jaime there and us two playing on the front court. I think we just read each other very well. We never played against each other, 'cause if we played one-on-one against each other, we would end up in fights, so we just made a rule that we have to play side-by-side. Going to college, I did not want to play against her. She's a super big competitor and I just didn't want to do it. We kind of fed off each other. We had played with each other for so long that we kinda knew, she would push somebody over to the corner and we didn't have to talk about it, we just kind of tracked 'em. (male announcer) At center, number 51, Jennie Crouse. And if they score here, I think Gene's going to call a time. Morlock rejected by Crouse. Jennie was just a lot taller and longer. She was kind of a true post that just wanted to sit down and block and take turn around jump shots, which she was extremely effective doing. I remember thinking when Sheri graduated, like oh yes, Sheri's gone, and then when we played UND, the first time, I'm like, who's this? (narrator) The "who's this" was Jennie Crouse from Illinois. The 6-foot-3-inch post player was a vital key in shifting basketball fortunes from NDSU to UND in the late '90s. Her low post presence neutralized NDSU's inside game, and allowed the Pudenz sisters open shots from long range. The teams packed it in on Jennie. Crouse has Division I offers, but ended up at UND because of the aviation program. While I was getting recruited going into my senior year, I happened to read a "Sports Illustrated" article on the top Division II rivalry, and it happened to be NDSU and UND, and I told my high school coach, contact these schools, one of them has the best aviation program in the nation. So the first one he did was NDSU and when I got their booklet, I flipped through it, threw it over my shoulder and said, it's not NDSU coach, call the other one. (narrator) Once at UND, Crouse made an immediate impact. Coach Roebuck was probably the most intense coach I've ever played for. It was probably a bit of adjustment for me when I first arrived on campus, but it was good. He expected perfection, he wanted things done right. I think it's that kind of mentality that brings around a winning program. Jennie was just so smooth. I mean, her shooting percentage was outstanding. She was one of those team players that she never complained if she didn't have her 20, 30 points. She just went out there, and half her points were probably off of shots that all of us missed and she was just a good rebounder. She had the longest arms. (male announcer) Crouse with the rebound. (narrator) Jennie was so good she even played professional basketball in Europe and Australia before retiring. But it's the UND memories that stand out most in her basketball career. I wouldn't change any of my teammates that I had through my 4 years at UND, not for the world. (male announcer) Solid man-to-man defense by the Bison and Amundson blocked out well to get the rebound. Kuren finds Jayne Even inside. (narrator) The glorious national run of women's basketball at UND and NDSU, would end with the Bison and Jayne Even losing the 2000 national title game to Northern Kentucky in overtime. (male announcer) A bomb from Hoffner. Good! (narrator) UND would make another title game appearance in 2001, led by Jennie Bull and Tanya Jones, but they would falter late and lose to Cal Poly Pomona in overtime 87-80. That means in an 11-year span, from 1991 to 2001, NDSU and UND would win 8 national titles and come in second 3 other times. It's a legacy not only unprecedented, but one that has shaped the lives of the women who battled each other on the court. I don't know if you'll ever, ever be able to do that in such a close proximity of schools, and really feeding off of the same recruiting base, to be able to do what was done by, you know, Coach Roebuck and Coach Ruley in those times. Everybody should have goals and when a person actually meets those goals, it's a confidence booster, because whatever you did, individually or as a team worked. It basically means that you're okay at something, and if you work hard enough, if a person works hard enough and does the right things, good things are going to happen. It's taught me a lot about life. It's just something that I think about, whether I'm raising children or working on the farm, and just doing things well. To have that ability that you were on a winning squad, to have the coaches you had, the players that you had with you, and to have that championship behind you, you understand what work ethic means. I know that I can do whatever I want to, 'cause I've already done it once. I know I can set a goal that for some people it would be like, there's just now way-- well for me, there's a way. I might not reach it, but I'll certainly get higher than a lot of other people, 'cause I know it's possible. In my life, with some of my health things, I guess you learn that things aren't given to you, and you just have to keep on fighting. And that's the same thing with basketball is that you're as good as you want to make yourself. (male announcer) It's 3rd down and 8, Wall's going to throw it! Picked off by Haggerly. (male narrator) After the devastating back-to-back losses in 1991 and 1992 to NDSU, UND head coach Roger Thomas and defensive coordinator Dale Lennon, went back to work heading into the 1993 season. They were getting close, thanks to several key strategies, one of which was designing a defense to stop the vaunted Bison Veer, which meant recruiting hard-nosed, blue-collar type defenders. They ran the veer option as well as anyone. That was one of my challenges, being the defensive coordinator, and I really did feel if you could find a way to slow down the veer, then you could beat 'em. We came back in '91, went to the three-four, I just told the team right then and there, that hey, this defense is designed to stop the veer offense. Well, that wasn't necessarily the case, [chuckles] I was just trying to make them think that. Still, to this day, that's the one offense that scares me the most. (male announcer) The best defense is a good offense, here's Wagner rolling out, has time, has Hagert... complete! (narrator) The other strategy was designing their own offense, rather than mimicking the veer. This consisted of recruiting a series of topnotch quarterbacks, who could throw downfield better than the typical Bison running quarterback could. The NCC power shifted I felt like up north this way and into Grand Forks, the '90s were really led by the University of North Dakota. That was one of the decisions that made it easy for me to come here. We believed that we could win with that style of offense in the league. The one back offense, the shotgun multiple formation things-- we kind of liked that. (male announcer) Third and 9 at the Bison 37 yard line. And Jason Miller breaks away, still on his feet, but he's finally stopped after a gain of one. Mike Mooney. We were a running team and we kind of just tried to beat 'em down and then our defense would come in and we had the bend but don't break policy, and we did a pretty good job. I think our whole defense was based on beatin' the Bison. (narrator) A prime example of the kind of defensive player who came to UND, was undersized and under recruited Mike Mooney, who would save his best for NDSU games-- for good reason. The recruiter for the Bison at the time, this is interesting, he basically told me if you want some history, that he didn't think I could play in the conference but that my work ethic in the locker room and the weight room, was good where he thought I could actually be like a cheerleader for the weight-training squad, and I took kind of offense to that. So I wasn't going to go play for the Bison. (male announcer) Packed house, great conditions, big time ramifications for both teams, I don't know what else North Dakota football fans could ask for. (narrator) The 1993 game in Grand Forks would be one of the most memorable in series history, with UND looking for a playoff berth and NDSU playing without star quarterback Arden Beachy, who was injured. (male announcer) ...dumps it off under pressure, now Bernell has a hole on the 5, touchdown! Second and long. Reverse. On the reverse here's McDonald, gets by one man, has room... he scores! Touchdown Bison! And it's the fake and the, oh, intercepted, intercepted by Israel Moses, he could score, he will. The Bison go ahead! Bison 14, Sioux 10. Wagner under the pressure, but he gets it off to Bernell, at the 10, at the 5, touchdown! [loud cheering] Touchdown for Carlson, and the Bison regain the lead. (narrator) Kyle Carlson's touchdown put the Bison ahead 21-16. In the fourth quarter, with the lead and the ball, a 13 straight win looked imminent for NDSU. But the play UND fans will never forget was about to happen, the play that ended 12 years of agony. (male announcer) Hyland spins away and pitches away to Jason Miller and look at him go! [loud cheering] The ball is fumbled, it will be a Sioux touchdown as Mooney takes it in! I don't believe it! It seems like everybody remembers that play. I believe he pitched it to Miller, Miller comes around the end and somebody stands him up, and I just started doing what I always do, scrapping for the ball, I just happened to get it out, bounced on the ground, I pick it up and I run in. Based on what everybody told me, I think it's supposed to be up in the 50 and 60 yard range, but I think it was only 32. It was an amazing play; I can still kind of see it, where they ran an option play over towards their sideline and it was kind of a schmazzle of guys there, all bunched up and the running back was standing up, he wasn't tackled. When Mooney stripped Jason Miller of the ball and started running the other way, it was such a stunning turn of events. I would submit that that play is definitely the most important play in modern Sioux football history. (male announcer) For the first time in 13 years, it can be said, the Sioux have beaten the Bison! It was just a monkey off your back. It was like New Year's Eve in Grand Forks that night. I went around to a few places and they're singing songs all over the place and it was pretty crazy, but a great memory. We found a way to win the game. The break went our way, and in the past, that had always been the opposite. (narrator) But almost two decades later, it's a loss that still bothers Coach Hager and the Rocky versus Roger rivalry seems to never die. '93, Arden Beachy doesn't take that hit in the second quarter against Pitt State, I don't care what anybody says, Sioux don't have a chance against us. I mean, they don't have a chance. It might be true with that kind of team, that kind of offense, I think most any coach would say that. If you're not there with your starting guy, especially at quarterback, the A-number one thing, you're probably going to have trouble winning. (male announcer) A sellout crowd, welcome aboard, we got a dandy! (narrator) The next year, in the first ever Sioux Bison game played in the brand new Fargodome, UND would leave no doubt, as to who the better team was. You have to go to their place, you're playing in the Dome, that was a wild experience too, because many of our guys had never been in the place, much less played in there. (male announcer) 10 men on the line of scrimmage for the Sioux. They're coming after it! They got it! This'll be a Sioux touchdown! University of North Dakota is on the board. We came out in that first game and we blocked the kick and got the momentum early in the game, was probably as big a play as anything. Just to have a spark that we could play in this madhouse, I mean, you couldn't hear yourself think in there. (male announcer) Third and four. Hyland, again, oh, did he take a shot from Mooney that time! I remember walking in that stadium and what people were telling me I can't say on camera. So there was chants against me because of the play in '93. It was probably my best football game in my career. (male announcer) Wagner has time, and he's got a receiver, and that is going to be a Sioux touchdown! The Bison have been shut out. Kevin Klancher on the doorstep on third down and goal. Klancher, he's got a receiver, touchdown McElroy, UND! You see people leaving the Fargodome, 33 to 13 in the Fargodome-- can you believe it? No, I can't. Well the big thing was you know, we had to come out and make sure that they couldn't do their 3rd quarter magic, with all those big plays when they were behind and came back on everybody else. We just played real hard in the 3rd and got lucky. (male announcer) Hyland, looking to throw again. And he's got Rob Berthume of the Sioux, intercepted. (narrator) Then later that season, for the first time ever, the rivals would meet in the playoffs in Grand Forks. The game was closer than the dome game, but UND's defense prevailed with a 14-7 win. The hard part was if you won or lost the first game, as a coach, do you do the same thing, do you change? Do they know what you know and do you know what they know? Playing against somebody a second time in football is a pretty unique situation. (narrator) UND would reach the national semifinals in both 1993 and '94, but lose both times. (male announcer) Feeney, battling the crowd noise as he did a couple of weeks ago, turns, keeps, and he... scores! (narrator) In 1995, NDSU would have their major highlight of an otherwise undistinguished 10-year run from 1993 to 2003, that would see UND win 10 out of 13 matchups with the Bison. Avenging a regular season 21-7 loss to UND, NDSU steamrolled the Sioux in Grand Forks 41-10 in another playoff rematch. Our last opportunity to celebrate over the guys wearing the green and white, was '95 in the playoffs, and I personally felt like the Nickel Trophy should have been in Fargo after that. (narrator) The Bison would lose the next weekend in the quarterfinals to Pittsburgh State, 9-7, but Coach Hager would endure his fourth straight regular season loss to UND in 1996, and that, and other off-field factors, would make this his last season as NDSU head coach. So what happened? Why did UND eclipse NDSU in the '90s after NDSU was so dominant for so long? For heaven sakes I don't want this to sound like an excuse, because I don't feel that it should be taken as an excuse. At the time that there was the dominance being held, by not just North Dakota State, but in Division II, was North Dakota State, there was the elite group that dominated all the time. Only NCAA says well, that's not good for all these places. They chose to reduce scholarships in Division II. It went from 45 down to 40, down to 38, down to 36. Now you do the math-- take 9 scholarships away from 45 and that's a 20% reduction. That means there's 20% of what you had as a very strong talent pool that's being disseminated to other places. I heard him say that and I read that in the paper that he would say that, and I was trying to figure out, if we all had in the essence the same amount, I don't know if a reduction is an advantage or disadvantage for anybody. I suppose if I was the winning team, it may seem like we're being penalized somehow, as he felt, but honestly, if you were all offering the same amount, a change up or down, would seem to me to be good for everybody. (male announcer) You are looking live inside the Fargodome, home of the Thundering Herd football team. Tonight it's home to the most storied rivalry in all of Division II. (narrator) As the '90s wore on, UND continued to get the better of the Bison, and a supreme example of their now superior recruiting was on display in a memorable Saturday night showdown at the Fargodome in 1998, simply known as "The Kleinsasser Game." It was a big game, it was a night game, and had a lot of time, you were sittin' around in the hotel, just kinda getting prepared for it. The Fargodome, just the excitement that that brings, playing in front of a pretty large crowd, you know, and it's the Bison. (narrator) With UND leading in the second half, and Kleinsasser already with 2 first half touchdown catches, the future Viking would put his stamp on the rivalry. (male announcer) Kleinsasser is wide open, somebody broke the coverage. We've got a footrace, and look at the speed of Jim Kleinsasser-- amazing! Sean Greenwaldt just hit me quick on the pass, just had enough room to kind of scoot between there and get going. I felt great throughout the game, playing at night probably helped, got a lot of rest on me, and I was able to run as well as I did. Jim was a very talented football player. On that particular play, just by the read of the play, he happened to beat the guy and the fun thing with Jim was he was so big, but yet you'd put him out there in the slot and he ran as fast as any of the little guys. When he caught that pass, and he started runnin', he's pulling away from those D-backs, because let's face it, as big as he was, he shouldn't have moved that fast. Those little guys should have caught him, and they didn't. (male announcer) McNabb, he's for Kleinsasser, he's got some room to work with, looking for a block, cuts it back across the 40. (narrator) Like Phil Hansen before him Carrington, North Dakota native, Jim Kleinsasser came from sturdy farm stock That and his time at UND, prepared him well for a 13-year career with the Minnesota Vikings. You never heard a negative word about Jim Kleinsasser from me. I mean, he's a good football player, he's a really good guy. Just a very talented individual. Catching the ball and running really caught a lot of people's eye, but if you watched him play, he is very, very good at what he does. The block, he goes and blocks all-pro linebackers and sticks on 'em like glue. I mean Jim is just a, he's a pro, he's just a great talent. (Jim Kleinsasser) Coach Thomas, one of the greatest coaches I played under, just his demeanor and the way he carried himself, you could not like him, and I think he got the best out of guys. And I think guys really played their hearts out for him. (male announcer) First and ten for Greenwaldt, the fake is to Moore, he's going deep across the middle, he's got Kleinsasser... touchdown Sioux! Wasn't really slow, but uh, you know, I wasn't the speed burner of the school. I think a lot of it, just the lifting and the strength and conditioning, just worked hard with that, and I think that's probably been a big contributor to that. Any other questions? (man) Your favorite stadium to play in. (Jim) I like playin' in Lambeau actually. Great families raising good kids around here, so it's always a treat to come back and work with them. (narrator) Now retired, Kleinsasser still gets back to Carrington for his annual Jim Kleinsasser Football Camp, where he shares his knowledge and experience with eager young football players. And for Jim and his family, it's a case of reality outpacing one's dreams. We've been so blessed that he's been in one spot. He could have been playing in wherever, so we've been so lucky that he's close enough that we are able to follow him as much as we are. The fans in Carrington are awesome, and I think Jimmy's always very humbled at how gracious they are. They've always had a fan bus that comes down to the games every year. They're loyal-- Jimmy definitely respects that. It's always been a dream, after my junior year, it kinda' started to become a reality in my thinking. It's just super exciting that something that you've been working pretty hard for is possibly going to happen. [marching band plays] (male announcer) What a pickoff by Josh Kotelnicki; still on his feet... (narrator) UND had made numerous playoff appearances throughout their rise to prominence over NDSU, but had yet to win a national title. To the Bison-Sioux rivalry, the national title was always thrown in our face. You may have beaten us a time or two, but you have no rings. (narrator) After the '98 season, Coach Thomas became athletic director and turned over head coaching duties to Dale Lennon, and he left the cupboard full, especially with a big, talented senior class, recruited by Thomas. Heading into the 2001 season, the first at the new Alerus Center. I was part of the staff in '96, when we recruited the seniors for that 2001 team and I made a comment to one of my friends that hey, this senior class, this recruiting class that we have is going to be pretty special. The expectations were very, very high. I for one, was, I mean, myself, my roommates, we all thought this is the year that we can win the national title. It was in the back of our minds, we talked a little bit about it. That's going to be the year, we've got a big senior class that's very talented, a couple of underclassmen that can fill some holes. (male announcer) Schmidt coming in, Porter gets the pass away, intended for Tangen and picked off by Dustin Thornberg! Thornberg, with room on the left side, to the 10, down he goes at the 8 yard line. (narrator) In the Bison game, the swarming defense came to play, as it did all year, in shutting down NDSU 19 to 7. It was probably about the best we'd ever seen our defense play. They benched their quarterback, they got upset with him. It was a game where we didn't have to do much, 'cause they couldn't hardly cross midfield. (narrator) With only one loss heading into post season, UND would get 3 home playoff games. Everyone expected us just to roll through 'em, and it wasn't going to be much of a game. Hona was pretty tough and they had something to prove. (male announcer) Klosterman with the fake pattern, he's looking for Graff. Touchdown Fighting Sioux! A week after we probably played our most complete game of the season. Pitt State who was the Missouri Conferences champion. They came in here, and I think everyone was expecting a tough game. They had beat Omaha handily the week before. We just crushed them 38 to nothing. The UC Davis game in the semifinals, the crowd played a huge part in it. I think they had 7 false start penalties. They got inside our 10 yard line 3 times and couldn't come away with any points. (narrator) The title game would pit the Sioux against Grand Valley State in a tense, hard-hitting affair. UND trailed at halftime 7 to 3. The mood was we gotta kickstart things in the second half and get going; we had chances to get in the end zone, but settled for a field goal. And we knew if we just got a couple of things moving, we could put the ball in the end zone. (narrator) With time running out in the 4th quarter and trailing 14-10, the Sioux faced a make-or-break 4th down play. When Grand Valley State went ahead late in the game, I told our photographer, we might as well pack up and go down to the sidelines and get ready to interview the Sioux after what appeared to be a loss. It didn't look very good for us. We finally end up at a 4th and 4. Just called one of our base routes, our simplest route combination. I was the primary receiver. It had been our best 3rd and medium play all year long. None of us were surprised that we were calling it. (narrator) It was gut-check time, and the biggest play in UND football history. Hit him for 5 yards, he did his job to get just past the 4 yard, first down marker, then broke his tackle, and after that, it was a footrace. Justin Smith had a nice block and almost got to the end zone. I was in shock, just like everybody else was, and then, when I got tackled, I got up and I didn't know if I had scored or not. I could feel the chaos and the craziness on the sideline, but we had to regroup the guys on the field. Told them this one last play is all we need right here. Perkerewicz walked right into the end zone and then it was celebration time. (all chant) UND! UND! (Dale Lennon) It was a long time coming. You know, just so many people had put a lot of work and effort into that process and that was probably the most special thing about winning the championship and having all those guys there. Absolutely on cloud nine, just floating. I mean, the hair on your neck standing up for an hour on end, celebrating, giving guys hugs. Probably the neatest thing is to see the expression on other people's faces. I don't know how many times I've gotten it that people tell me where they were, that they were watching the game, that they were jumping up and down screaming. (narrator) The title was a long time coming for UND, and it was especially sweet for those who were around in the mid '80s, when they were barely a competitive football team. I was enjoying the role I was playing. You became like the Godfather a little bit to the whole deal, and there is a real bond, something that happens at the University, and just in North Dakota in general that I'm just glad I was part of. (male announcer) Bowenkamp with time, he's got Luick, caught at the 25! (narrator) Two years later, in 2003, UND would play and beat NDSU for the final time in an epic 28-21 overtime thriller at the Alerus Center. That Sioux team went on to the national title game again, again against Grand Valley State, but this time would fall short 10 to 3. After NDSU went Division I in 2004, UND would soldier on for several more successful years in Division II, but without playing their long-time rival. The not playing North Dakota State in '04 and beyond, boy, what a void. You'd get to the end of the season, the players missed it, the coaches missed it, you just at the end of the year, felt like you forgot something. There's nothing like the Sioux/Bison game. (narrator) The Division II legacies of NDSU and UND in football and women's basketball, are historic and cherished. In the past decade, bad blood between the schools and other factors, have kept the rivals from playing. NDSU is now in the Missouri Valley Conference and the Bison won the 2011 Division I National Football Championship. UND is now in the Big Sky Conference, and whether the game in either sport will ever come back, is very much up in the air. That's the other thing about that rivalry that made it so special. In North Central Conference, the games meant so much, and now, with a nonconference game, it'll be big and exciting, but not quite the same importance. I think they'll play again. I don't think it'll be an annual thing, but something that should probably happen here in the future. You've got fierce allegiances on both sides that are, you know, it's a pretty big deal. I think hopefully, eventually they'll get around to doing it. Eventually it'll get going. I think it's important, it needs to happen, and it needs to happen across the board. I'm sure that down the road, as they complete their transition, and we're all looking for Division I competition, there'll be more opportunities to play each other. It would be so fun; it would bring all the alum back together and reunite everybody, we're only an hour apart. We should be playing each other, yeah, I'm sad about that. (narrator) And if the games ever come back, the modern combatants will get to experience what those who have lived the rivalry will cherish forever. It was a fantastic rival. I don't think there's many places you can go in the country and have a state school versus a university school and have such a deep, embedded rival. You know, you don't sit on both sides of the fence in North Dakota. (Kasey Morlock) Those are huge memories for me, even though I'm not a North Dakotan, you quickly become loyal to the Bison and you don't like the Sioux and you make fun of people that go there-- no! [laughs] But you really enjoyed playing those games, and it was a highlight of your season. I've coached in literally a couple hundred football games in my life, and not a lot of 'em were like that. There's still some kind of a crazy bond that we all, either recruiting or battled against each other, and it's really got a bond with your own guys, and for me the UND guys, but I see those Bison guys and stuff, in passing, and we all kinda grin and say, "Wow, wasn't that something?" (Rocky Hager) It's too bad that there aren't other folks that are getting to experience that now, 'cause it is, it's very special. The defeats hurt, and nothing better than the win though, nothin's better than the win! [marching band plays the NDSU and UND fight songs] (woman) Funding for "When They Were Kings: the NDSU/UND Rivalry" is provided by... To order additional DVD copies call Prairie Public or visit our website at...