Football To Play North Dakota
6/24/2016 11:00:00 AM | Football
Sam Houston will begin another intersectional rivalry with a top NCAA Division I FCS power in 2018.
The North Dakota Fighting Hawks and the Bearkats announced jointly Friday that the two will meet in a home-and-home series in 2018 and 2019. The pair will duel at Elliott T. Bowers in Huntsville on Sept. 15, 2018 then meet in Grand Forks on Sept. 14, 2019.
This contract combined with Sam Houston's 2017 home opener with the Richmond Spiders gives the Bearkats a non-conference contest versus a top FCS opponent three seasons in a row.
“Sam Houston is pleased to join with the University of North Dakota in announcing this exciting intersectional matchup,” Bearkat director of athletics Bobby Williams said. “Any time we can bring a quality FCS opponent to play here in Huntsville is great. Our games with Big Sky opponents during the last several years have been thrilling, down-to-the-wire battles with plenty of offensive fireworks. The two contests will be great for fans in both venues.”
While the Fighting Hawks and the Bearkats have never met on the gridiron, Sam Houston brings an intense rivalry with squads from the Big Sky Conference into the match-ups. The Kats stand 14-9 against current Big Sky teams overall. That includes a 9-2 record against Big Sky teams in the NCAA Division I National Championship playoffs.
Sam Houston defeated Montana and Montana State in 2011 and Cal Poly, Montana State and Eastern Washington in 2012 on the way to back-to-back appearances in the FCS Championship game in Frisco. The Kats also posted opening round post-season wins over Southern Utah in 2013 and 2015.
“We are excited to take on another top FCS program in a new intersectional rivalry,” Sam Houston head football coach K. C. Keeler said. “In 2017 we host Richmond and, with a home-and-home slate with North Dakota, we look forward to two more big non-conference games with an outstanding FCS squad.”
UND owns a 4-1 record against current Southland Conference teams since making the move to the Division I level prior to the 2008 season. After falling to Southeastern Louisiana in 2008, the Fighting Hawks have won four straight matchups against Southland Conference programs, including a 31-6 victory over Lamar on Oct. 30, 2010 in the last of those matchups.
“Sam Houston is traditionally one of the top FCS programs in the country and we feel like this home-and-home series gives each school's fan base a chance to see a highly-competitive FCS matchup before conference play ensues for both teams,” UND director of athletics Brian Faison said. “This should be one of the best non-conference games at our level in both 2018 and 2019.”
The Fighting Hawks are coming off a 7-4 record in 2015 that saw the program pick up its first win against a FBS opponent. Head coach Bubba Schweigert brings a 12-11 record into his third season at the helm of the program. He helped the program post a two-game improvement from his first season and has led UND to a trio of wins over ranked opponents during his brief tenure in Grand Forks.
“We feel like it's important for our program to challenge ourselves in non-conference games and we appreciate the opportunity to play a home-and-home against a perennial contender for the FCS national championship,” Schweigert said. “We also want to bring in top competition from across the country into the Alerus Center, so our fans can enjoy high-caliber matchups and Sam Houston State fits that blueprint nicely.”
UND's last visit to the Lone Star State was for the 2009 season opener against Texas Tech.
Sam Houston owns a 56-19 overall record during the last five seasons (since 2011). The Bearkats join North Dakota State and New Hampshire as the only three teams to compete in NCAA post-season football play each of the past five years. The Kats made their fourth appearance in the last five years in the FCS semifinals last year.
The 56 victories by the Bearkats rank as the most by any NCAA Division I football program in Texas (ranking ahead of Baylor 50, Houston 48, TCU 45 and Texas A&M 43) since 2011. Five-time national champion North Dakota State (71-5) is the only FCS program to win more games in that five-year period.
