UND hasn't played North Dakota State in a regularly scheduled game in any sport since 2005.
The rivalry went up in smoke when the Bison moved to NCAA Division I in all sports at the start of the 2004-05 school year. The schools' last recorded game came in baseball in spring 2005 in Fargo.
With UND moving to Division I next year in all sports, the hope is that the UND-NDSU rivalry will be restored - sooner rather than later.
Perhaps first up will be a women's soccer matchup between the schools. UND coach Brock Thompson said he and Bison coach Pete Cuadrado have agreed to play Aug. 31, 2009, in Fargo. No contract has been signed, and the Bison schedule for 2009 still needs to be reviewed by the athletic department.
"It's been penciled in," Thompson said, "and I think the contract should be on the way."
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NDSU athletic director Gene Taylor said he doesn't know of any other sports in which Sioux-Bison games are close to signing a contract to play. UND athletic director Tom Buning said he would like to see the schools play in all sports they both offer as soon as possible.
Taylor said the earliest a football game could be played is 2010. The schools haven't played each other in that sport since 2003.
Taylor said whether the Bison could play the Sioux in 2010 in football won't be known until NDSU learns its Gateway Football Conference schedule for 2010. After the Bison conference schedule is set, Taylor said NDSU's first priority will be to secure a nonconference home game and its second priority will be to secure a nonconference Division I-A game.
Could UND-NDSU be the 2010 home game if everything lined up correctly as far as open dates? "I guess it could be," Taylor said.
Thompson is pleased to get the Bison back on the schedule.
"We're excited for the opportunity for our kids, just to kind of renew the rivalry and put our kids in that environment," he said.
Thompson and Cuadrado are friends.
"Neither one of us was really around when they made the move to Division I, when the rivalry kind of ceased," Thompson said. "We've known each other for a while. He's been up to a hockey game. That's helped some. The soccer world is kind of a small world."
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Thompson said he's hopeful other sports will follow soccer's lead and renew rivalries soon. .
"It adds a different level of excitement," he said.
UND women's basketball coach Gene Roebuck said he is interested in playing the Bison as soon as possible.
"They have to decide when they want to play us," Roebuck said. "We're open to play as soon as they're ready to play."
Reach Fee at 780-1127, (800) 477-6572 ext. 127 or kfee@gfherald.com . Read his blog at www.areavoices.com/fee .
