Grand Forks, N.D. – Former linebacker Dale Lian (1976-78) and center Bruce Smith (1965-69) will be back on the UND sidelines on Saturday to serve as honorary coaches for the Green-White Game. Lian will help guide the Green squad, while Smith will serve on the White sidelines.
The duo has been long-time supporters of the program since their respective playing days came to a close. FightingSioux.com caught up with both of them prior to the game to catch up and ask them a few questions about their days as a UND football player.
First a little background, where did you grow up, play HS football and how did you get to UND?
(Dale Lian) “I played high school football at Red River. I was recruited by some smaller NAIA schools, but UND was the only Division II program that recruited me. Coach Gene Murphy was the coach that recruited me. Also, I growing up in Grand Forks, I was already sold on UND.”
(Bruce Smith) “I grew up in a blue-collar neighborhood near The Cities – St. Louis Park. My dad was a mechanic and a gas station clerk and my mom was a house wife in the 1950s. Without a scholarship to play football at UND, I would have done what all my other friends did, which was stay at home, go to the University of Minnesota and get a full-time job. Football would have been out of the question.
“But, talk about a life-changing event, I remember as a 17-year-old kid sitting in class at my high school and getting a note from the head football coach that Marv Helling from the University of North Dakota is going to be in town this afternoon to come down to the coaches' office. I remember sitting out in the hallway waiting for him and here he comes. He offered me a scholarship to play football at the University of North Dakota. I had no idea they were even recruiting me. I think it was one of those things where they liked both me and (Bill) Gresko and thought they could get both of us to come and fill two slots.”
What is the fondest athletic memory you have from your playing days at UND?
(Dale Lian) “Mine was beating the Bison my senior year. We were behind at half and came back to win 24-21. My close buddy Steve Olson had three turnovers in that game.”
(Bruce Smith) “I narrowed it down to three. The first was the Morningside game (in 1969) when Willie (Dave Williamson) broke the (single-game) rushing record (40 carries for 247 yards). It was a wet, soggy and snowy day. Kent Stephenson was our offensive line coach and he would later go on to coach the offensive line for the Seattle Seahawks and Pittsburgh Steelers. He was an absolutely fantastic coach and a genius at being able to look at what we had on the offensive line and figuring out ways we could beat the defense with the talent we had.
“In this particular game, he decided to pull the center. We had worked on it all week. I would hike the ball, then pull kind of like a guard does now. They do that a lot today, but never did it back when I played. So, I would snap the ball and pull to get outside, then come back in and take out the middle linebacker on our sweep plays. I spent the whole day taking out the middle linebacker and watching Willie go down the field. He had 247 yards to break the single-game UND and NCC rushing records at the time. I think that stood for 28 years. The highlight there was the way Stephenson set up the blocking.
“The second one involved Pat Kenney, who set the (single-game) receiving record at Augustana with 209 yards in 1968. That stood for even longer (34 years) than Willie's record. The thing he did in that game was he had an 82-yard touchdown reception, which was also the longest in UND history at the time.
“We used to tease him about it because the record before that was 80 yards and this happened on the second play of the game. Augustana kicked off and we had the ball on the 20-yard line. On the play before, we ran a sweep to Kenney's side and he completely missed the block. He did not even come close, so the guy made the tackle for a two-yard loss. Then, the next play to Pat went for 82 yards. We used to tease him about deliberately missing the block to get the extra two yards.
“Pat held the record until 2004 and I am at the game when it was broken. It was not a designed play, the quarterback just kind of flipped it out to the wide receiver out in the flat and he went the whole way for a touchdown. I looked and I thought that was a long way. So, they showed the replay and I went, ooh, Pat Kenney is going to be unhappy. I am probably the only person in the history of the world who saw both of those passes live.
“Those were two memorable moments because they lasted for so long. At the time you thought they would be unbreakable records, but obviously they were not.
“The third one goes back to an individual play. We were playing South Dakota during my senior year down in Vermillion. They were better than we were, had a better record and it was towards the end of the season. We really did not have a lot of offense, but in this particular game we were ahead, but we could tell South Dakota was rallying in the end. They had us backed up in our end and we were only up by two. We had to punt. It was one of those punts into the wind and I remember going into the huddle. I was playing the gaps and usually those guys got a free run down the field. I remember telling the guys to cover this one hard because they might fumble. Sure enough they did and I got the fumble recovery. The next play we ran was a trap up the middle with Willie and I got a clean shot on the opposite guard and the other guards took out the linebackers. I just remember Willie going by me and making a sharp cut to the right, then going 45 yards for a touchdown. So, from those two plays we ended up winning 35-26.”
What is the one thing you cherish the most from being a member of the Fighting Sioux football team?
(Dale Lian) “I would say being elected captain my senior year by my teammates.”
(Bruce Smith) “I think receiving the 1969 Most Valuable Lineman award because it was a team-elected award. There were really two MVPs back then, a most valuable back and a most valuable lineman and they did not distinguish between offense and defense. So, with it being a team award, that made it that much more special.”
Since you left the program, what stands out as your proudest moment for the team in terms of being an alum?
(Dale Lian) “I would say the 2001 National Championship game. I was in the stands with several of my former teammates and other Alumni.”
(Bruce Smith) “The 2001 National Championship game – (UND) President Kupchella could not go, so he designated Tom Clifford to go in his place. So, we flew down to Florence on (a UND) plane. We got down there and because Tom was with us, the NCAA put us in the president's suite. Well, they also have several people from Grand Valley State in there. The president at Grand Valley had only been in place for a year or so. And, I think Grand Valley that season averaged more than 50 points per game on offense, so, they came in expecting to win and were just doing the formality of the game before celebrating.
“We sat up there with the Grand Valley folks. They had this one obnoxious booster that had flown the president in and he went on the whole game about how great Grand Valley was and all that. Finally at the end, it's fourth-and-four (UND is down 14-10) and this obnoxious booster comes over to the president of Grand Valley, shakes his hand and says, 'congratulations Mr. President on your first national championship.' I sat there quietly thinking I hope he is wrong and I would not say that for one more play.
“The next play, we got the ball down to the one-yard line and they were pretty quiet after that. I went down stairs and Ed Schultz was doing the commentary on live radio and I knocked on the back door and told Ed he would not believe what just happened. I told him the story and he put it on the air. The thrill there was to see Tom Clifford hold up the national championship trophy along with the team.”
If you had a chance to address the team or tell a future recruit what it meant for you to be a part of Fighting Sioux football and this program, what would you tell them?
(Dale Lian) “It meant a lot to me. One of the biggest lessons was time management. Playing Football, I had a full academic plate, I was married and had a young son. Balancing all of these taught me a life-long lesson in ignoring the small things and concentrating on the important things in life. I still stay close with my teammates. I see my good friend Steve Olson frequently. Also see Mike Compton and Mark Dickson quite a bit.”
(Bruce Smith) “It meant everything to me. Just to give you an idea, the e-mail I sent before this interview was to Bill Gresko, who was my roommate and best friend from college. He is still my best friend to this day. That has gone on now for 46 years, these guys are still my best friends, my brothers, more than brothers actually.
“I'd tell them to cherish the friendships - that was kind of my message to the team when Coach Mussman asked me to talk about the logo. I told them it is not so much about the logo, but about the people you wear the logo with. They are your best friends for life. They will be in your weddings, they will be the god parents of your children and the reality is, when you get to my age, you start going to each other's funerals.”
– Go Sioux –
