Bison Sports Update: August 11th

Wow! And just like that - summer is coming to a close. You know what that means - time for College Fall sports to return! This upcoming school year for North Dakota State looks to pack quite a punch, and I look forward to sharing it with you all! This month will mainly feature previews of this year's NDSU Fall Sports teams, with one starting quite soon.

Women's Soccer
Alright, women's soccer always starts first so lets get down to business here. The Bison women's soccer team have already started work on their season. NDSU played two exhibition games this year, one of them was last Wednesday at home against NAIA Dakota Wesleyan. The Bison dominated the match as expected, winning the preseason game 12-0. Then, on Saturday, NDSU traveled down to Richfield, Minnesota to play Drake in their final tune-up game. They lost, 2-3. This year's team features quite a few names from last year, and does not include a freshman. The Bison will graduate a potential 8 seniors from this year's team, and they hope to bank on that for most success this year. Last year, the Bison finished with an underwhelming 1-3-4 Summit League record, and a 5-6-6 overall record and no postseason appearance. 
North Dakota State's non-conference schedule features a few intriguing matchups as well as some we have become used to. (The Summit features 9 teams again) The Bison will open the season with a couple games on the road. First they will head to La Crosse, Wisconsin to play NAIA Viterbo this Thursday the 15th. Then they will swing by Green Bay to play the Green Bay Phoenix on Sunday the 18th for their first Division I matchup of the young season. Following the Wisconsin trip, NDSU will come home to host Alabama State on Thursday August 22nd, which will also be broadcast on WDAY Xtra. After the home game, NDSU will head out to the Aloha State for a three game invitational hosted by the University of Hawai'i. It will begin with a game against Hawaii Pacific on August 27th, then a match against Grand Canyon on August 29th, and concluding with a match against the host - Hawai'i on September 1st. After the Hawai'i trip, the Bison will come home to host a pair against Idaho State on September 8th (broadcast on WDAY Xtra) and Weber State on September 12th. NDSU will then head down I-94 to play the Golden Gophers in Minneapolis, in what has become an annual affair, on September 15th. The Bison conclude their non-conference schedule with a NAIA tune-up against St. Ambrose at home on September 20th. 
NDSU's Summit League schedule this year will again feature one game against all league opponents, which is 8 (not including NDSU) for the second year in a row. The Bison will open their conference schedule with three road games in a row - starting with a visit to Omaha on September 26th. Then they will head to Kansas City on September 29th, before heading closer to home to play UND in Grand Forks on October 6th. NDSU will play a one-off home game on October 10th against Oral Roberts before hitting the road again to play regular-season reigning champs Denver on October 13th. Then the Bison will conclude the regular season with three home games. The first one will feature a match against reigning league champ South Dakota State on October 17th, the second one against South Dakota (broadcast on WDAY Xtra) on October 20th, and the final one against St. Thomas on October 27th.
Now, I would expect all NDSU's home games and conference games to be available to watch on the Summit League Network from Midco, even for the majority of games which aren't going to be broadcast by NDSU's media partner - WDAY.

Alright, lets go! The Bison start the season this coming Thursday at 1 PM CT.

In a couple weeks here, I will preview the 2024 football season as well as the 2024 volleyball season.

​Go Bison!!