Dakota Marker

Dakota Marker

North Dakota State Bison South Dakota State Jackrabbits
Sport	Football
First meeting	November 30, 1903 North Dakota Agricultural 85, SDSU 0
Latest meeting	October 25, 2025 NDSU 38, SDSU 7
Next meeting	October 17, 2026
Trophy	Dakota Marker
Statistics
Meetings total	118
All-time series	North Dakota State leads, 66–47–5
Trophy series	North Dakota State leads, 12–10
Largest victory	North Dakota State, 85–0 (1903)
Longest win streak	North Dakota State, 17 (1976–92)
Current win streak	North Dakota State, 3 (2024–present)

100km
62miles

North Dakota State

South Dakota State

   

Locations of South Dakota State and North Dakota State

The Dakota Marker is the trophy awarded to the winner of the annual football game played between the rival Division I Championship Subdivision North Dakota State University Bison and the South Dakota State University Jackrabbits. Both schools are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

The Marker

The trophy is a model replica of the quartzite monuments that marked the border between North and South Dakota when Dakota Territory split into two states along the Seventh Standard Parallel (45°56'07" N). The monuments were seven feet tall and ten inches square at the top, and were mined and inscribed near Sioux Falls. Charles Bates placed 720 markers at half-mile intervals along the border in the summers of 1891 and 1892. The monuments inscribed with the initials "N.D." on the north side and "S.D." on the south side. ^[1]

Dakota Marker
Awarded for	Winning the annual NDSU/SDSU regular season football game
Sponsored by	NDSU Chapter Blue Key National Honor Society & SDSU Student Association
Location	Fargo, ND or Brookings, SD
Country	United States
First award	2004
Currently held by	North Dakota State

Adam Jones, then-President of the NDSU Chapter of Blue Key National Honor Society, proposed the trophy itself and unveiled it to the public on April 21, 2004 at a ceremony just outside Hankinson, North Dakota, a community near the North Dakota/South Dakota border. ^[2]

The inscriptions include: N.D., S.D., and 190 M (the distance between Fargo, ND and Brookings, SD along Interstate 29). The trophy weighs nearly 75 pounds and is commonly carried around the field immediately after the game's conclusion by the winning team.

Rivalry history

North Dakota State and South Dakota State regularly played each other for several decades as members of the Division II North Central Conference. In 2004, the move by both schools to Division I FCS prompted the creation of the trophy, as both schools lost their primary in-state rivals (North Dakota for the Bison and South Dakota for the Jackrabbits) who both remained in Division II at the time. Both teams became members of the newly formed Great West Football Conference, and the annual Marker game took on more importance from a regional bragging rights standpoint as the "closest neighbor" football rivalry. The series continued when both teams joined the Missouri Valley Football Conference in 2008. The series often proves decisive in determining the Missouri Valley conference championship winner each season and both teams have been regular playoff participants at the FCS level.

In addition to the regular season game played for the Marker each year, the two teams have met six times in FCS playoff games, with the Bison holding a 5–1 lead against the Jackrabbits in the postseason. Five of these games were played in Fargo as playoff matches, all of which resulted in victories by North Dakota State; who would later go on to win the championship in all of those seasons. However, in their first ever meeting in the NCAA Division I Football Championship game in Frisco, South Dakota State defeated the Bison in the 2023 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game with a score of 45–21, earning the Jackrabbits their first FCS championship as well as their sole postseason win against North Dakota State.

The Dakota Marker series currently stands in favor of North Dakota State at 12–10. The Bison are currently in possession of the trophy after winning the latest game in the regular season series, a 38–7 victory in Brookings on October 25, 2025. The 2019 Marker game in Brookings was notable for the visit of College GameDay, the flagship college football pregame show broadcast by ESPN. The show originated live from the South Dakota State campus on the morning of the game as the Bison entered the contest ranked No. 1 in FCS and undefeated at 7–0, with the Jackrabbits ranked No. 3 and coming in at 6–1. The home team has won twelve of the last nineteen Marker games since the inception of the series.

The two teams have now met 117 times in their history, and the Bison lead the overall series 65–47, with five ties. Their 100th meeting was the first time they met in the playoffs (2012), with the Bison claiming a 28–3 victory.

Game results

North Dakota State victories

South Dakota State victories

Tie games

No. Date Location Winner Score 1 October 19, 1903 Fargo, ND North Dakota Agricultural 85–0 2 October 23, 1908 Fargo, ND South Dakota State 11–5 3 October 22, 1909 Brookings, SD North Dakota Agricultural 11–5 4 October 21, 1910 Fargo, ND South Dakota State 6–3 5 October 28, 1911 Brookings, SD South Dakota State 14–3 6 October 18, 1913 Sioux Falls, SD South Dakota State 7–6 7 November 13, 1915 Watertown, SD South Dakota State 21–0 8 November 16, 1917 Brookings, SD South Dakota State 21–14 9 October 25, 1919 Fargo, ND Tie 0–0 10 October 23, 1920 Brookings, SD South Dakota State 28–7 11 October 22, 1921 Fargo, ND South Dakota State 54–0 12 November 11, 1922 Brookings, SD South Dakota State 13–0 13 October 13, 1923 Fargo, ND North Dakota Agricultural 14–13 14 October 4, 1924 Brookings, SD South Dakota State 14–0 15 October 17, 1925 Brookings, SD Tie 3–3 16 October 16, 1926 Brookings, SD South Dakota State 21–0 17 October 15, 1927 Fargo, ND South Dakota State 33–0 18 November 10, 1928 Brookings, SD South Dakota State 27–6 19 October 19, 1929 Fargo, ND Tie 0–0 20 November 15, 1930 Brookings, SD North Dakota Agricultural 24–0 21 October 24, 1931 Fargo, ND South Dakota State 7–0 22 October 8, 1932 Brookings, SD North Dakota Agricultural 12–6 23 October 14, 1933 Fargo, ND South Dakota State 13–7 24 November 10, 1934 Brookings, SD South Dakota State 38–0 25 October 12, 1935 Fargo, ND North Dakota Agricultural 7–6 26 November 14, 1936 Sioux Falls, SD North Dakota Agricultural 7–0 27 October 9, 1937 Fargo, ND South Dakota State 13–6 28 November 12, 1938 Brookings, SD North Dakota Agricultural 13–6 29 October 14, 1939 Fargo, ND South Dakota State 6–0 30 November 1, 1940 Brookings, SD South Dakota State 7–0 31 October 11, 1941 Fargo, ND North Dakota Agricultural 25–0 32 October 31, 1942 Brookings, SD South Dakota State 14–0 33 October 12, 1946 Fargo, ND North Dakota Agricultural 6–0 34 November 1, 1947 Brookings, SD South Dakota State 7–0 35 October 16, 1948 Fargo, ND South Dakota State 7–6 36 November 4, 1949 Brookings, SD South Dakota State 33–13 37 October 14, 1950 Fargo, ND South Dakota State 60–0 38 October 20, 1951 Brookings, SD Tie 7–7 39 October 11, 1952 Fargo, ND North Dakota Agricultural 48–14 40 October 24, 1953 Brookings, SD South Dakota State 32–14 41 October 16, 1954 Fargo, ND South Dakota State 50–13 42 October 22, 1955 Brookings, SD South Dakota State 33–7 43 October 27, 1956 Fargo, ND North Dakota Agricultural 26–9 44 October 26, 1957 Brookings, SD South Dakota State 32–14 45 October 25, 1958 Fargo, ND North Dakota Agricultural 33–20 46 October 24, 1959 Brookings, SD North Dakota Agricultural 8–6 47 October 22, 1960 Fargo, ND Tie 14–14 48 October 28, 1961 Brookings, SD South Dakota State 41–12 49 October 27, 1962 Fargo, ND South Dakota State 17–6 50 October 26, 1963 Brookings, SD South Dakota State 40–25 51 October 3, 1964 Fargo, ND North Dakota State 20–13 52 October 2, 1965 Brookings, SD North Dakota State 41–13 53 October 1, 1966 Fargo, ND North Dakota State 35–6 54 September 30, 1967 Brookings, SD North Dakota State 34–14 55 September 21, 1968 Fargo, ND North Dakota State 21–3 56 November 8, 1969 Brookings, SD North Dakota State 20–13 57 October 31, 1970 Fargo, ND North Dakota State 35–0 58 October 30, 1971 Brookings, SD South Dakota State 20–13 59 October 28, 1972 Fargo, ND North Dakota State 34–16 60 October 27, 1973 Brookings, SD North Dakota State 24–14 No. Date Location Winner Score 61 October 5, 1974 Fargo, ND North Dakota State 28–0 62 October 4, 1975 Brookings, SD South Dakota State 13–8 63 October 2, 1976 Fargo, ND North Dakota State 13–0 64 October 1, 1977 Brookings, SD North Dakota State 27–14 65 November 4, 1978 Brookings, SD North Dakota State 28–26 66 October 27, 1979 Fargo, ND North Dakota State 38–14 67 October 18, 1980 Brookings, SD North Dakota State 23–16 68 October 10, 1981 Fargo, ND North Dakota State 48–24 69 October 2, 1982 Brookings, SD North Dakota State 10–3 70 October 15, 1983 Brookings, SD North Dakota State 24–12 71 October 13, 1984 Fargo, ND North Dakota State 55–30 72 October 12, 1985 Fargo, ND North Dakota State 41–7 73 October 11, 1986 Brookings, SD North Dakota State 49–7 74 September 19, 1987 Fargo, ND North Dakota State 43–7 75 September 17, 1988 Brookings, SD North Dakota State 55–26 76 September 23, 1989 Brookings, SD North Dakota State 33–12 77 September 22, 1990 Fargo, ND North Dakota State 40–28 78 September 28, 1991 Brookings, SD North Dakota State 35–0 79 September 26, 1992 Fargo, ND North Dakota State 47–10 80 October 9, 1993 Brookings, SD South Dakota State 42–30 81 October 8, 1994 Fargo, ND North Dakota State 52–39 82 October 14, 1995 Brookings, SD North Dakota State 26–17 83 October 19, 1996 Fargo, ND North Dakota State 31–7 84 October 25, 1997 Brookings, SD South Dakota State 34–27 85 October 24, 1998 Fargo, ND North Dakota State 35–32 86 October 16, 1999 Brookings, SD North Dakota State 28–7 87 October 14, 2000 Fargo, ND North Dakota State 21–3 88 October 20, 2001 Fargo, ND North Dakota State 45–38 89 October 26, 2002 Brookings, SD South Dakota State 25–20 90 September 27, 2003 Fargo, ND North Dakota State 24–0 91 October 9, 2004 Brookings, SD South Dakota State 24–21 92 November 12, 2005 Fargo, ND #22 North Dakota State 41–17 93 November 18, 2006 Fargo, ND #4 North Dakota State 41–28 94 November 17, 2007 Brookings, SD South Dakota State 29–24 95 November 22, 2008 Fargo, ND South Dakota State 25–24 96 October 17, 2009 Brookings, SD #14 South Dakota State 28–13 97 November 13, 2010 Fargo, ND #24 North Dakota State 31–24 98 October 22, 2011 Brookings, SD #3 North Dakota State 38–14 99 November 10, 2012 Fargo, ND #1 North Dakota State 20–17 100 December 1, 2012^ Fargo, ND #1 North Dakota State 28–3 101 September 28, 2013 Brookings, SD #1 North Dakota State 20–0 102 November 1, 2014 Fargo, ND #1 North Dakota State 37–17 103 December 6, 2014^ Fargo, ND #2 North Dakota State 27–24 104 October 3, 2015 Brookings, SD #3 North Dakota State 28–7 105 October 15, 2016 Fargo, ND #11 South Dakota State 19–17 106 December 10, 2016^ Fargo, ND #4 North Dakota State 36–10 107 November 4, 2017 Brookings, SD #8 South Dakota State 33–21 108 September 29, 2018 Fargo, ND #1 North Dakota State 21–17 109 December 14, 2018^ Fargo, ND #1 North Dakota State 44–21 110 October 26, 2019 Brookings, SD #1 North Dakota State 23–16 111 April 17, 2021 Fargo, ND #4 South Dakota State 27–17 112 November 6, 2021 Brookings, SD #9 South Dakota State 27–19 113 October 15, 2022 Fargo, ND #2 South Dakota State 23–21 114 January 8, 2023^ Frisco, TX #1 South Dakota State 45–21 115 November 4, 2023 Brookings, SD #1 South Dakota State 33–16 116 October 19, 2024 Fargo, ND #2 North Dakota State 13–9 117 December 21, 2024^ Fargo, ND #3 North Dakota State 28–21 118 October 25, 2025 Brookings, SD #1 North Dakota State 38–7 Series: North Dakota State leads 66–47–5

^The Marker was not at stake in these six games, as they were playoff games. ^[3]

See also

• List of NCAA college football rivalry games
• List of most-played college football series in NCAA Division I

References

1. "North Dakota's Boundaries".
2. "MARKING YOUR TERRITORY - Sports - NDSU Spectrum". Archived from the original on September 29, 2013. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
3. "North Dakota St vs South Dakota St :: CFB Info". cfbinfo.com. Archived from the original on November 23, 2018. Retrieved November 22, 2018.