GRAND FORKS, N.D. – University of North Dakota Athletic Director Bill Chaves announced on Tuesday that head football coach Bubba Schweigert has been extended for an additional two seasons, which will keep him on the Fighting Hawks sideline through the 2025 season.

"We are excited to announce Coach Schweigert's extension through the 2025 season," said Chaves. "Our football program is in great hands under Bubba's leadership. His commitment to the student-athlete experience is tremendous while also being an outstanding ambassador for UND and the state of North Dakota."

Over his previous eight seasons as the football head coach, Schweigert has led the Fighting Hawks through a successful transition from the Big Sky Conference to the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) by coaching the team to back-to-back winning seasons as Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Independents, highlighted by FCS playoff appearances in 2019 and 2020. Schweigert was also named the 2016 Big Sky Coach of the Year and the Fighting Hawks earned a national playoff seed at the end of that season. In total, Schweigert has a coaching record of 47-40 at North Dakota and 69-61 overall.

Five winning records, three postseason appearances, the 2020 Missouri Valley Conference Championship and the 2016 Big Sky Conference title all happened under Schweigert's eight-year tutelage, with the Zeeland, N.D., native being named the Big Sky and FCS Region 5 Coach of the Year in 2016.

"It continues to be a humbling experience to be a part of a special program with a rich tradition and I am grateful for the opportunity to resume this role," Coach Schweigert said. "All of us have an obligation to hold each other accountable to represent the Flagship University and UND football in a first-class manner at all times."

Most recently, Schweigert navigated through an up-and-down second campaign in the MVFC to finish with a 5-6 record and 3-5 mark in conference play to sit just outside the playoff picture in 2021.

During the spring 2020 season during the global pandemic, the Fighting Hawks finished with a 5-2 record, advancing to the FCS quarterfinals for the first time in school history after knocking off No. 12 Missouri State at the Alerus Center. The Hawks also became the first program in MVFC to claim the conference title in their first year as a member of the conference.

"We have an obligation to put forth our very best effort to move our program to the top of the Missouri Valley Conference, which means the ultimate objective is to bring home an FCS Championship to UND and its loyal alumni, outstanding supporters and passionate fans," said Coach Schweigert. "I am thankful Bill Chaves and Dr. Andy Armacost have placed their trust in the leadership of the program to continue. It is truly an honor to serve the University of North Dakota as its head football coach."

The Fighting Hawks have excelled in the classroom as well, earning the 2020-21 MVFC All-Academic Award with a conference record GPA of 3.383. A total of 52 Fighting Hawks recorded a grade point average of 3.5 or higher and 20 of them finished with a perfect 4.0.

North Dakota earned 14 MFVC All-Academic honors the past two seasons, with eight in 2021 and six in the 2020 season. During the pandemic, the program earned a selection to the MVFC All-Academic Team and finished with a team GPA over 3.0, with 17 players named to the Dean's and President's Lists.

In the Division I era, North Dakota has shattered record after record academically, most impressively by placing a program mark of 19 players on the All-Big Sky Academic Team in 2016. This came after notching previous records of 16 and 18 student-athletes on the team in 2014 and 2015, respectively, before repeating the mark of 18 in 2017 as UND's final year in the Big Sky Conference.

Nationally, UND has placed 20 student-athletes on the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame Hampshire Honor Society, two earn FCS Athletic Directors Association Academic All-Star Team nods and linebacker Davo Idowu selected to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team.

Schweigert began his coaching career at his alma mater, now the University of Jamestown, from 1985-1988. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Jamestown and a master's degree from UND. In 2002, he was honored with Jamestown's Rollie Greeno Award for outstanding commitment in the field of education and coaching.