The Summit League, or The Summit, is an NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletic conference with its membership mostly located in the Midwestern United States from Illinois on the East of the Mississippi River to the Dakotas and Nebraska on the West, with additional members in the Western state of Colorado and the Southern state of Oklahoma. Founded as the Association of Mid-Continent Universities in 1982, it rebranded as the Mid-Continent Conference in 1989, then again as the Summit League on June 1, 2007. The league headquarters are in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
The North Dakota Fighting Hawks are the athletic teams that represent the University of North Dakota (UND), located in the city of Grand Forks, North Dakota.
The North Dakota Fighting Hawks represent the University of North Dakota, competing as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) in the NCAA Division I's Football Championship Subdivision. From 1973 to 2008, they played in the NCAA's NCAA Division II, winning the National Championship in 2001. From 1955 to 1972, they competed in the NCAA's College Division where they participated in and won three bowl games.
The North Dakota State Bison are the athletic teams of North Dakota State University (NDSU), which is located in the city of Fargo, North Dakota. The teams are often called the "Thundering Herd". The current logo is a bison.
The Nickel Trophy is presented to the winner of the currently annual football game between the rival University of North Dakota (UND) Fighting Hawks and the North Dakota State University (NDSU) Bison. The two universities are approximately 76 miles apart on the eastern border of North Dakota. The two schools suspended play in 2003 and resumed play in 2015. In the entire history of the rivalry, the game has never been contested anywhere beside Grand Forks or Fargo.
The 2008 North Dakota Fighting Sioux football team represented North Dakota University as a member of the Great West Conference during the 2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by first-year head coach Chris Mussman, the Fighting Sioux compiled an overall record of 6–4 with a mark of 1–2 in conference play, tying for third place in the GWC. North Dakota played home games at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
The 2011 North Dakota Fighting Sioux football team represented the University of North Dakota as a member of the Great West Conference (GWC) during the 2011 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Chris Mussman, the Fighting Sioux compiled an overall record of 8–3 with a mark of 3–1 in conference play, sharing the GWC title with Cal Poly. North Dakota played home games at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks, North Dakota. This was team's final year as a member of the Great West Conference as North Dakota became a full member of the Big Sky Conference in 2012.
The 2011–12 University of North Dakota men's basketball team represented the University of North Dakota during the 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by sixth year head coach Brian Jones, played their home games at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center, with one home game at Ralph Engelstad Arena, and are members of the Great West Conference. They were champions of the Great West Basketball tournament for the second consecutive year and earned an automatic bid into the 2012 CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they lost in the first round to Drake.
The Sitting Bull Trophy is the name of the rivalry trophy that was awarded to the winner of the annual football game between the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks and the University of South Dakota Coyotes. The rivalry stems from the time the two teams spent competing together in the North Central Conference (1922–2007) and later in the Great West Conference (2008–2011).
The 2013 University of North Dakota football team represented the University of North Dakota in the 2013 NCAA Division I FCS football season as a member of the Big Sky Conference. They were led by fifth-year head coach Chris Mussman and played their home games at the Alerus Center. North Dakota the season 3–8 overall and 2–6 in Big Sky play to place tenth.
The 2014 University of North Dakota football team represented the University of North Dakota in the 2014 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first year head coach Bubba Schweigert and played their home games at the Alerus Center. They were members of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 5–7, 3–5 in Big Sky play to finish in a tie for eighth place.
The 2015 North Dakota Fighting Hawks football team represented the University of North Dakota during the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by second year head coach Bubba Schweigert and played their home games at the Alerus Center. The Fighting Hawks are a member of the Big Sky Conference.
The 2016 North Dakota Fighting Hawks football team represented the University of North Dakota during the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Bubba Schweigert and played their home games at the Alerus Center. The Fighting Hawks were a member of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 9–3, 8–0 in Big Sky play to share the conference championship with Eastern Washington. They received an at-large bid into the FCS Playoffs where they lost to Richmond in the second round.
The 2017 North Dakota Fighting Hawks football team represented the University of North Dakota during the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Bubba Schweigert and played their home games at the Alerus Center. The Fighting Hawks were a member of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 3–8, 2–6 in Big Sky play to finish in a three-way tie for 9th place.
The 2017–18 North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's basketball team represented the University of North Dakota during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Fighting Hawks, led by 12th-year head coach Brian Jones, played their home games at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center in Grand Forks, North Dakota as members of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 12–20, 6–12 in Big Sky play to finish in a tie for eighth place. They defeated Montana State in the first round of the Big Sky tournament before losing in the quarterfinals to Montana.
The 2017–18 North Dakota Fighting Hawks women's basketball team represents the University of North Dakota during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Fighting Hawks were led by sixth year head coach Travis Brewster and play their home games at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. They were members of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 12–18, 5–13 in Big Sky play to finish in a tie for ninth place. They lost in the first round of the Big Sky women's tournament to Montana State.
The 2018 North Dakota Fighting Hawks football team represents the University of North Dakota during the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fifth-year head coach Bubba Schweigert and played their home games at the Alerus Center. The Fighting Hawks competed as an FCS independent. They finished the season 6–5.
The 2018–19 North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's basketball team represented the University of North Dakota during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Fighting Hawks, led by 13th-year head coach Brian Jones, played their home games at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center in Grand Forks, North Dakota as first-year members of the Summit League. They finished the season 12–18 overall, 6–10 in Summit League play, to finish in 7th place. In the Summit League tournament, they were defeated by Omaha in the quarterfinals.
The 2019 North Dakota Fighting Hawks football team represented the University of North Dakota during the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by sixth-year head coach Bubba Schweigert, they played their home games at the Alerus Center. They finished the season 7–5. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs, where they would lose to Nicholls in the first round.
The Minnesota–North Dakota ice hockey rivalry is an intercollegiate ice hockey rivalry between the Minnesota Golden Gophers and North Dakota Fighting Hawks. The rivalry is between two of the most successful programs in the sport, as the teams have combined for 13 national titles and 43 Frozen Four appearances in the NCAA tournament. Minnesota has met North Dakota five times in the national tournament, holding a narrow 3–2 advantage. The teams have played 292 official games through the 2019-20 season, with Minnesota leading 142–134–16.
