THIS WEEK: Defending national champion and No. 3 seed North Dakota State (12-2) meets No. 1 seed South Dakota State (13-1) in the NCAA Division I Football Championship game at 1 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 8, at Toyota Stadium (17,677) in Frisco, Texas. This is NDSU’s 10th title game in 12 years and SDSU’s second in three seasons.
TELEVISION: Live coverage will be on ABC with Roy Philpott (play-by-play), Jay Walker (analyst) and Paul Carcaterra (sideline) describing the action. Video streaming will be available on ESPN.com and the ESPN app.
RADIO: National radio coverage on Westwood One Sports begins at 12:30 p.m. with Ted Emrich (play-by-play), Derek Rackley (analyst) and Taylor Davis (sideline) on SiriusXM Channel 84, the Varsity mobile app and WestwoodOneSports.com/FCS.
TICKETS: Tickets are available on the NCAA Ticket Exchange at NCAATickets.com. All tickets are issued digitally and scanned at Toyota Stadium entrances from mobile devices using the AXS app. North Dakota State is the designated visiting team and will occupy the team bench on the west side of Toyota Stadium nearest the press box.
PARKING & TAILGATING: Spectators will be able to park in the Red, Blue, Green or White parking lots, which will open at 8 a.m. The charge for parking is $20 per spot. Parking lots will stay open after the game, but all vehicles must be off property by 11:30 p.m. ADA parking is available in the Platinum, Gold, Red, Green and Blue lots on a first-come, first-served basis.
CLEAR BAG POLICY: Toyota Stadium has a clear bag and purse policy. Each guest may enter with one large clear bag or one small clutch. Approved bags include clear plastic bags that do not exceed 14” x 6” x 14”, small clutches less than 5.5” x 8.5”, or one-gallon clear plastic freezer bags. Email CustomerService@FCDallas.com to get special clearance for medically necessary items. More information is available on the Toyota Stadium policies webpage.
TEAM ARRIVALS & FAN ZONE: Fans are invited to line up on Lamar Hunt Way north of Toyota Stadium west toward World Cup Way for team arrivals beginning at 10:25 a.m. with NDSU followed by SDSU at 10:45 a.m. Stadium gates open at 11 a.m. and the NCAA Fan Zone will be open at 11 a.m. in the north plaza of Toyota Stadium.
NDSU PEP FEST: The NDSU Pep Fest presented by Gate City Bank will be held from 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 7, at Grandscape, 5752 Grandscape Blvd, The Colony, Texas. The first 2,000 fans will receive a free stadium bag. There will be a program, family activities, live music from The After Party and NDSU’s Gold Star Marching Band, and food and beverage available for purchase.
BISON TRACKER MOBILE APP: NDSU’s popular Bison Tracker mobile app presented by Pivot Bio launched Monday, Jan. 2. The app is a free download for Apple and Android devices and shows real-time counts of Bison fans checked-in on their way to Frisco or watching around the country.
THE SERIES: This is the 114th meeting between North Dakota State and South Dakota State dating back to 1903. NDSU leads the all-time series 63-45-5, but SDSU has won three straight including a 23-21 victory in Fargo on Oct. 15. SDSU has five wins over NDSU since 2011, North Dakota State’s first FCS national championship season, while no other team has beaten the Bison twice.
NO MARKER: The Dakota Marker, the rivalry trophy established in 2004 for NDSU-SDSU football games, is only up for grabs during regular-season matchups between the two programs. This is the fifth postseason meeting between the Bison and Jacks. NDSU won all four previous playoff games in Fargo in the 2012 second round (28-3), 2014 second round (27-24), 2016 quarterfinals (36-10) and 2018 semifinals (44-21). NDSU has a 10-9 edge in the Dakota Marker series.
PLAYOFF REMATCHES: North Dakota State is 7-0 in FCS playoff rematches with regular-season opponents. Two of those victories came after regular-season losses to Montana in 2015 and South Dakota State 2016. NDSU was 9-3 in Division II playoff rematches, including a 27-7 win over South Dakota in the 1986 championship and a 51-11 win over Indiana (Pa.) in the 1990 championship.
NDSU’s FCS Playoff Rematches
2012 – South Dakota State – Won 20-17, Won 28-3 in FCS second round
2014 – South Dakota State – Won 37-17, Won 27-24 in FCS second round
2015 – Montana – Lost 38-35, Won 37-6 in FCS second round
2015 – Northern Iowa – Won 31-28, Won 23-13 in FCS quarterfinal
2016 – South Dakota State – Lost 19-17, Won 36-10 in FCS quarterfinal
2018 – South Dakota State – Won 21-17, Won 44-21 in FCS semifinal
2019 – Illinois State – Won 37-3, Won 9-3 in FCS quarterfinal
ALL-VALLEY FINAL: This is the second time the FCS championship game has featured two teams from the same conference. The 2014 season ended with Missouri Valley Football Conference co-champions North Dakota State and Illinois State meeting in Frisco. The Bison and Redbirds did not play in the regular season that year. NDSU won 29-27. Illinois State quarterback Tre Roberson scored on a 58-yard run to put the Redbirds ahead 27-23 with 1:38 left, but the Bison went 78 yards in six plays with true freshman receiver RJ Urzendowski making receptions of 32, 13 and 33 yards before Carson Wentz’s 5-yard TD run with 37 seconds left put NDSU ahead. Bison linebacker Esley Thorton’s interception near midfield with 8 seconds left sealed the victory.
TITLE TILTS: North Dakota State and South Dakota State are meeting for the first time in the FCS national championship, but the teams have twice previously met in the final game of the season with a title on the line. NDSU’s 41-28 win in Fargo on the final week of the 2006 regular season clinched a Great West Football Conference championship in a 10-1 season. SDSU captured the 2007 Great West title with a 29-24 victory in Brookings and spoiled NDSU’s undefeated season with the Bison finishing 10-1. NDSU and SDSU were ineligible for NCAA postseason competition from 2004 through 2007 while reclassifying from Division II.
NOT JUST FOOTBALL: North Dakota State and South Dakota State have not only established themselves as Missouri Valley Football Conference football powers, but the Bison and Jackrabbits have been atop The Summit League in men’s basketball for many years. NDSU (5) and SDSU (6) have combined to win 11 of 14 Summit League men’s basketball tournaments since the teams became Division I postseason eligible in 2008-09. The Bison and Jacks have met four times in the Summit League title game (2013, 2015, 2016, 2022) with SDSU winning three of those four matchups in Sioux Falls, S.D. The schools have also met in Summit League tournament championship games in baseball (SDSU 2013), women’s soccer (SDSU 2015) and softball (NDSU 2018).
17 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: North Dakota State last year won its 17th football national championship. NDSU claimed three College Division national championships in 1965, 1968 and 1969 via the national polls, five Division II playoff titles in 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988 and 1990, and was the first team in college football history to win five straight national titles with FCS crowns in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 before winning again in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021. The Bison lost to the eventual national champion in the 2010 and 2020 quarterfinals and 2016 semifinals.
TITLE TOWN: North Dakota State is playing in its 10th FCS championship game in 15 years of Division I postseason eligibility. NDSU has won the national championship in 31 percent of its 54 years of postseason eligibility since the program’s first bowl game in 1964 and has just three losing seasons since 1964. (NDSU was ineligible for the playoffs while reclassifying to Division I from 2004-2007, a four-year span ending with back-to-back 10-1 seasons in FCS play.)
