Quick, name the most successful athletic program affiliated with North Dakota State University in the mid-1980s and mid-1990s.

Football? Nope, but that’s close.

Women’s basketball? Amy Ruley couldn’t even string together as many consecutive titles as these guys did.

 

In fact, the North Dakota State University Men’s Club Hockey team won more titles in a 10-year stretch than any program at NDSU. The Bison skated away with the American Collegiate Hockey Association’s top prize each year from 1985-1989 and returned to prominence again in 1991, winning another three titles before 1994. “I can remember the nights when the (John E. Carlson) Coliseum would just be packed with people,” said John Hanlon, a 1997 graduate of the school of pharmacy and hockey fan. “It was a good brand of hockey. The Bison had a lot of talent. And when they were winning, that was the place to be in the winter.”

 

But Bison hockey wasn’t always at club status. Men’s hockey was introduced as a varsity sport to colleges nationwide in 1922, and North Dakota State approved a men’s program in 1925. The team skated to six losses in its first season (1925-1926) and played a full slate in 1926-1927. By 1930, head coach Pat Purcell and the Bison were beating up on the University of North Dakota, much to the delight of Fargo fans. The school fielded both varsity and freshmen teams throughout the early 1930s. But, when the Great Depression set in, funding dried up like North Dakota farmland, and the hockey program was cut after the 1935 season. By the end of the 1930s, hockey was listed by the school as a “minor” sport, which meant the program was not tapped into NCAA funding. 

 

It remained a popular sport throughout the years at State, including a brief revival as an intercollegiate activity in 1952, but the revival proved short-lived. Dropping the program from the list of varsity activities cleared the way for UND’s rise to prominence, while the Bison skated at a club level. The club got a big boost in the 1980s, joining the ACHA as a Level 1 club. In 1983 the club took the shape that it remains to this day. And, after a slow start in the ACHA play top-tier club competition, the Bison began their rise to prominence in 1984-1985, when they made an unexpected run through the ACHA playoffs to their first-ever ACHA crown. That team was an offensive power, scoring 215 goals and winning 24 of 30 games, both club records that stand to this day.

 

The Bison men’s team played a memorable, triple-overtime game against the University of Arizona in 1987, when goalie Bill Bye led North Dakota State to the title with an outstanding performance. Bye is just one of the outstanding players to hold records with the hockey club. Ryan Christianson and Mike Grothman were both part of national championship clubs. Todd Bork (a great hockey name) still holds the record for most assists in a game by a defenseman. And Robb Hanson’s 95 points in the 1991-1992 season remains a team high. Hanson had 45 goals and 50 assists in that run, which ended short of a national title.

 

As a club activity, the program was given funding through NDSU’s student government. The relationship worked well until the late 1990s, when mismanagement of the funds led to a school investigation and a brief shutdown of the club. It was reborn in 2003-2004 and again given a funding relationship with student government; today, student government sets aside $26,000 per season for the men’s program, granted through a reimbursement program that has been created and closely monitored. Money given to the club pays for everything from ice time to game referees. The rest of the money needed to operate the club is collected through players’ fees. This season, the players pay about $450 each to be a part of the program.

 

Hockey at North Dakota State has expanded with the rebirth of the club, with a Bison women’s team entering the mix. The Bison women skaters also play in the ACHA. As an ACHA program, neither the men’s nor women’s team can offer scholarships to players. But, the NCAA oversees all game and practice activity. Though the Bison club teams won’t ever build a rivalry with the University of North Dakota, the men’s team has built a bit of an in-state battle with Minot State University-Bottineau, after MSU head coach Brian Wilkie left Minot in 2004 to don the green and gold. Wilkie’s comments about MSU going “as far as it could go” were bulletin-board material in the Magic City. Wilkie has since left for Iowa State, where he is an assistant coach. Head coach John Douglas, who is in his second year with the Bison, now leads the men’s club. Meanwhile, Drew Woolf is entering his fourth season as head coach with the North Dakota State University women’s hockey club.

 

For information on either club, visit the Bison hockey Web site at www.hometeamsonline.com/NDSUHOCKEY.