It doesn’t take but a few seconds next to, or in the shadow of, Richard Hanson to realize he cast an imposing presence for North Dakota State on the gridiron. His handshake swallows your hand whole and part of your forearm. Inducted into the Bison Athletic Hall of Fame in 1984, Hanson’s affiliation with NDSU stretches back more than 40 years to his days as a standout defensive end for the Bison championship football teams of the late 1960s. A native of Hillsboro, N.D., he played several years of professional football with the New York Giants in the early 1970s before beginning a distinguished career in higher education. 

 

That distinguished career led back to his alma mater last October when Hanson was selected by the State Board of Higher Education as the interim president of NDSU. Hanson views his role as bridging the gap between the presidency of Joseph Chapman and his successor. “The best part is the privilege of serving this great institution and its great people,” Hanson said. He earned his bachelor’s degree in sociology and a master’s degree in child development and family relations from NDSU; he earned his doctorate in applied behavioral science from the University of California-Davis. “It’s extraordinary. It’s not a long gig, but it’s really cool to be able to provide this bridge for the university,” Hanson explained. “It doesn’t make it an easy job, but it’s a real privilege.”

 

Dual lenses

Hanson, in all likelihood, is one of the few, if not the only, college president in the United States who played professional football. After his days with the New York Giants, Hanson served a stint as a graduate assistant football coach for the Bison before embarking on his current path in academia. Most recently, Hanson was the president of Waldorf College, a liberal arts bachelor’s college in Forest City, Iowa, with approximately 600 students. During the mid-1980s and for several years in the 1990s, Hanson held several positions at NDSU, including Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs from 1992–1995. 

 

This experience gives him a unique vision, a dual lens, through which to view the relationship between the often conflicting worlds of intercollegiate athletics and academics. “I think the relationship between academics and athletics was simpler 40 years ago than it is today. It’s obviously a much bigger business,” observed Hanson on the differences between his playing days at NDSU and his current role as its president. While most of the economy is just starting to recover after a tough recession, the business of college athletics has boomed to a multi-billion dollar economic driver for many universities during the last few years. Revenue is generated through television contracts, sponsorships, licensing and royalty fees, ticket sales, concession deals and the immeasurable value of the exposure successes on the playing field bring to a university. 

 

To put some perspective on the big business nature of college athletics, consider the following: The biennium budget for the entire state of North Dakota from 2007–2009 was nearly $6.5 billion dollars. In 1999, CBS signed an 11-year, $6 billion deal with CBS to air the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. In August the Southeastern Conference, including schools like Florida and Alabama, signed a record television deal with ESPN and CBS for more than $3 billion. Under the terms of the agreement each SEC school will receive $17 million per year. 

 

Notwithstanding, Hanson is adamant that NDSU maintains an appropriate balance between academics and athletics.  “I want to say that here at NDSU we have a very nice combination of athletics and academics. We take the term student-athlete very seriously and put students first,” Hanson said. “In fact, the move to Division I actually helped that because of higher academic standards and greater monitoring by the NCAA. I think our relationship is very positive.” 

           

The coexistence between college athletics and academics at North Dakota’s largest university manifested itself only a few days into Hanson’s tenure. In mid-December, Hanson sent an e-mail to the entire campus announcing a temporary hiring freeze to ensure a balanced appropriated budget. A big question on the minds of Bison football fans was how this freeze would affect the search to fill several coaching vacancies on Craig Bohl’s staff, particularly the search for a new defensive coordinator. “Neither of them are being actively pursued right now,” Hanson said.

 

Before Bison fans get too excited, Hanson pointed out that the defensive coordinator position would likely qualify as emergency hire. “Certainly the defensive coordinator position is one of those I think we can easily describe as an important position. My intent was to probably go ahead with that one,” Hanson elaborated. “The other one (for a linebackers coach) I think we’ll go ahead and wait on that just like all the others.” 

 

Fortunately, the skies should clear by spring ball. “Hopefully, this temporary freeze will go away in a couple of weeks. That’s the hope,” he said. “Once I get an idea of spring enrollment I’ll have a better idea of revenue and then I’ll know better what we have to do to move the chairs on the deck to balance the budget by June 30.” The experience of having lived in both worlds – academics and athletics – figured into his decision. “I think my perspective has been developed over the years,” Hanson said. “Now that I’m here in this position I understand where they (athletics) are coming from very, very well, and I think they understand where I am coming from.” 

 

Major changes?      

A new administration may provide the impetus behind renewing a century old rivalry with the University of North Dakota. Icy tensions after the teams’ bitter split following NDSU’s jump to Division I in 2003 appear to be thawing. “I think we’ll have it back. I’ve already spoken to the president of UND,” explained Hanson, who played in three games for the Nickel Trophy from 1968-1970. 

 

Although his stay in the president’s chair may be brief, Hanson could cement his place in North Dakota athletic lore as being the NDSU president that pushed for the treaty that brought back the greatest game to ever be played in North Dakota. “He (UND President Robert Kelley) has some things he has to deal with, and I think once those things are dealt with we’ll be looking to bring the game back,” he explained. Hanson was non-committal on the timeline but is confident in the end result as delicate negotiations proceed. “I can’t say when, or how often, but I’m sure we’re going to have it again,” added Hanson. 

 

With the UND nickname controversy headed towards a resolution, Hanson hopes students and fans will welcome the game and do so on terms befitting of the two landmark higher education institutions in North Dakota. “Both Bob Kelley and I agree that we want the game to operate on a higher level. Sometimes the insanity of [UND] week was overwhelming,” recalled Hanson. “I even remember some crazy things that would happen that were inappropriate, (like) some of the T-shirts we used to see.” Hanson’s teams never lost to UND, including a lopsided 64 -14 Bison victory in 1969. 

 

Diehards headed to the printers to revise shirts like those containing the infamous UTIGAF logo should think twice. “I expect as soon as this game gets announced we’ll be seeing those T-shirts again. I would really like that not to be the case,” Hanson cautioned. “I really like the idea of competing on the football field. I don’t like the idea of demeaning each other. We are going to work very hard to see if we can prevent that.” 

       

From a Hall of Fame career as a student-athlete to a distinguished career in higher education, and now as the interim president of NDSU, Hanson has come full circle back to his alma mater. With a legacy stretching five decades, Hanson is bridging not only the gap from the past to the present, but from the present to the future in leading NDSU to its next steps on a remarkable journey.