More to offer
For years upon years football has been king at NDSU.
Fans show up in droves to witness the gridiron gang take to the field and go toe-to-toe with other giants.
The football team has not averaged fewer than 10,000 fans in home games since the 1990 season.
The last two years have seen a revitalization for the men’s basketball team.
With faces like Ben Woodside, Andre Smith, Mike Nelson and company leading the way, the team has taken shots at teams like Marquette and Kansas State with a lot of success. The Bison drew 6,110 fans to the Kansas State game as the Bison came up just two points short.
The student sections of these two sports always seem to be filled with hard-hat wearing Bison fanatics cheering on their teams.
While the full stands are great to see for those two sports, what about the rest?
Women’s basketball has taken a dive over the past couple of years despite fielding teams that finished above .500 two of the past three seasons.
The team averaged less than 1,400 fans at home last season.
I was at nearly all of the home games and the product on the floor deserves a better turnout than it received.
How about the volleyball team?
First year head coach Erich Hinterstocker led the team to a 17-13 record including two wins over South Dakota State, something the team had not done since the move to Division I.
They averaged a grand total of 735 people at home, despite some legitimately exciting moments.
Both the softball and soccer teams have played exceptionally well in the past couple of years.
Despite their success, the attendance figure can generally be counted with an abacus.
The baseball team has struggled the past couple of years, but still plays in the beautiful Newman Outdoor Field.
A baseball game is a great place to sit in the sun, get a tan (or in my case a burn) and take in America’s pastime.
All of the so-called “lesser” sports at NDSU have multiple reasons to draw fans.
Many people around campus do not even know when these sports play, which is a shame.
Take a look at the schedules for more sports than just the big two.
Come watch coaching legend Amy Ruley work her magic on the women’s hoops team. Take in some sunshine and a soccer, softball or baseball game.
Visit a volleyball match and hear how hard Kelly Lopez can hit a volleyball.
Football and men’s basketball are great, don’t get me wrong.
But they are not all that is great.
Don’t believe me?
Take in some games and find out for yourself.