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Oct. 3—GRAND FORKS — A few of college football’s rituals occurred after UND beat North Dakota State 49-24 last season in the Alerus Center.
The students jumped over the railings and stormed the field. The Fighting Hawks players stayed to celebrate with them. The fans who remained in the stands roared in approval as UND celebrated a much-awaited win over a rival.
But there was one thing missing.
There was no sprint to the end zone to grab a traveling trophy to celebrate.
For the first time since 1937, UND did not get the Nickel Trophy after beating the Bison.
The Nickel Trophy, depicting a buffalo on one side and a Native American on the other, was retired after UND removed its Fighting Sioux nickname in 2012 and replaced it with the Fighting Hawks in 2015.
The Nickel Trophy now sits on display at the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck.
The last time it was awarded was 2003, when UND beat NDSU in overtime in the Alerus Center.
The following year, NDSU moved to the Division-I level and the football programs didn’t play again until 2015 — eight years after UND jumped to Division-I. They’ve played six times as Division-I opponents, four since UND entered the Missouri Valley Football Conference in 2020, without awarding a trophy.
Will a new traveling trophy, a staple of college football rivalries, be re-instated to the UND-NDSU rivalry soon?
It does not seem so.
While UND is open to it, NDSU is not as receptive.
“Now that we’re back in the same conference, playing on a regular cadence, I think we certainly would be open to that conversation,” UND athletic director Bill Chaves said. “No question about it.
“There hasn’t been much discussion at this point. I think what’s fair is we needed to let our entrance into the Missouri Valley breathe a little bit. We were quickly greeted by a global pandemic. It’s been a little bit…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nickel-trophy-retired-chances-und-003200409.html
Author : Grand Forks Herald
Publish date : 2024-10-04 00:32:00
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