WHAT'S GOOD?
• UND holds a 5-5 record in season openers at the DI level. The Fighting Hawks picked up their first DI season-opening road win in 2015 at Wyoming and the 24-13 victory over the Cowboys was the program's first win over an FBS foe. Last season, North Dakota hung tough with 25th-ranked Utah, before falling, 37-16.
• UND owns a 13-7 mark at the Alerus Center under the direction of head coach Bubba Schweigert.
• North Dakota is 7-2 all-time in the month of August, out-scoring its opponents, 373-105.
• In the building all-time, North Dakota is 83-25 in 17 seasons.
NORTH DAKOTA BY THE NUMBERS
•26 Number of conference championships won by UND
•55 Wins at the Division I level for UND
•645 Number of all-time wins for UND (645-423-30)
•2013 The last time UND opened a season at home (Valpo, W, 69-10)
•3,159 Senior John Santiago's career rushing total (4th all-time at UND)
•983,770 Total attendance at the Alerus Center all-time (avg. 9,109/game)
ON TAP
North Dakota opens the season Thursday with a home tilt against fellow NCAA FCS member Mississippi Valley State. The Delta Devils reside in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). This will be the first meeting all-time between these two schools.
INDEPENDENT GEORGE
North Dakota begins its two-year NCAA Independent status this season as it transitions from the Big Sky Conference to the Missouri Valley Football Conference in 2020. UND will still be eligible for the NCAA FCS Playoffs, but will have to do so through an at-large bid, not eligible for a conference automatic berth.
CAPTAINS
UND named five players captains for the season: seniors Tanner Palmborg and John Santiago were previously named captains with senior Austin Cieslak, senior Adam Stiner and junior Andrew Zimmerman joining them before the season's start.
GOING FOR A MILLION
The University of North Dakota has welcomed 983,770 fans into the Alerus Center in the 17 seasons since it opened in 2001. Last season, an average of 10,428 fans attended each game, the second-highest average attendance in the building's history.
FOUR-GAME REDSHIRT RULE
This season, a new rule has been instituted by the NCAA Division I Council which will allow players to participate in up to four games in a season while maintaining their redshirt status starting this fall. Previously, only players who did not play a snap in a season or were sidelined by injury before playing in more than four games were generally granted redshirts by the NCAA. This rule would allow those four games to be played anywhere throughout the season, leaving some flexibility for coaching staffs around the nation.
AWESOME TIMES IN AUGUST
North Dakota will be playing its ninth game in the month of August, with a sparkling 7-2 record in previous games in that month. UND's lone losses have both come to FBS opponents with the first in Bubba Schweigert's first game as head coach at North Dakota, a 42-10 setback at San Jose State and then last year's 37-16 loss at Utah.
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