UND-North Dakota State football game expected to be sellout

GRAND FORKS — The rivalry college football game between UND and North Dakota State on Saturday is “very close” to a sellout, said UND and Ralph Engelstad Arena Director of Ticket Operations Heather Reardon on Wednesday morning.

The only possibility for remaining tickets opening up would be if various groups return any previously set aside for those groups.

The student ticket allotment is sold out, too, Reardon said.

The last time the Bison and the Fighting Hawks played in the Alerus Center, the game drew 12,846 fans in 2021. The 16-10 NDSU win over UND in 2021 was the first time the two teams played in Grand Forks since 2003.

The 12,846 fans at the Alerus Center were the most in the venue for a UND football game since the building opened in 2001.

UND has hosted three football games at the Alerus this season, winning all three by at least two touchdowns.

The season opener against Drake drew 8,504 fans, the Potato Bowl against Northern Arizona drew 10,009 and last weekend’s homecoming matchup with Western Illinois drew 9,758.

UND enters the in-state matchup ranked No. 15 nationally and with a 3-2 record with the only losses on the road to the preseason Mountain West Conference favorite Boise State and the preseason FCS national champion favorite South Dakota State.

The Bison are ranked No. 6 in the FCS with a 4-1 record, with the lone loss coming to South Dakota in Fargo two weeks ago.

The teams will meet for the 116th time on Saturday, with UND holding a 62-50-3 lead in the all-time series including a 34-22-2 lead in the series in Grand Forks.

The rivalry dates back to 1894, tying it for the eighth-oldest college football rivalry.

UND and NDSU no longer play for the Nickel Trophy following the retirement of UND’s former Fighting Sioux nickname.

In 2003, the last time the teams played for the Nickel Trophy, UND beat the Bison in Grand Forks 28-21 in overtime. The trophy now resides at the Heritage Museum in Bismarck.

In the last 24 games in the Alerus Center, UND is 22-2 with the team’s only losses coming to that year’s eventual FCS national champion — NDSU in 2021 and SDSU in 2022.

It’s going to be a busy day in Grand Forks on Saturday, as UND hockey also hosts Wisconsin at Ralph Engelstad Arena in the Icebreaker Tournament at 6:07 p.m.

The UND-Wisconsin hockey matchup will likely be a sellout of the nearly 12,000-seat venue.

The football game kicks off at 1 p.m. The game will be televised on both the ABC in-state networks (WDAZ Channel 8 in Grand Forks), as well as Midco Sports.

The Midco Sports broadcast will be the one streamed by ESPN-Plus.