Bison Open New Era As Dakota Schools Kick Off Season This Week

Detroit Lakes, MN (KDLM) – The college football season gets underway this week, and one of the region’s most familiar programs will start it in unfamiliar territory.

North Dakota State plays its first game as a Football Bowl Subdivision program Saturday, August 29th, hosting Jacksonville State at the Fargodome. Kickoff is set for 4:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network, one of the Week Zero games that opens the national schedule a week ahead of everyone else. The Bison are eligible for the early window because of a later trip to Hawaii.

NDSU announced in February that it was moving up from the FCS and joining the Mountain West Conference as a football-only member. The Bison won 10 of the last 15 FCS national titles and went 12-1 last season under third-year head coach Tim Polasek, reaching the FCS playoffs for a 16th consecutive year. They will face 11 FBS opponents in 2026.

Transition schools were originally barred from postseason play in their first FBS year, but the NCAA Division I Cabinet approved a change in June making them immediately eligible. That puts the Mountain West championship game, a bowl bid, and the College Football Playoff on the table for the Bison right away.

Jacksonville State moved to the FBS in 2023 and went 9-5 last season in Conference USA. Saturday marks the fourth meeting between the programs; the most recent was the 2015 FCS championship game.

The rest of the region opens this week as well.

North Dakota gets the jump on everyone, hosting Long Island on Thursday, August 27th at 7:00 p.m. at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks. It is the first meeting between the two schools. The Fighting Hawks, under second-year head coach Eric Schmidt, are ranked No. 10 in the preseason FCS Top 25.

South Dakota hosts Central Connecticut on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at the DakotaDome in Vermillion, the first meeting between those programs. The Blue Devils won the Northeast Conference last season and made the FCS playoffs. It is the debut for new Coyotes head coach Matt Vitzthum.

South Dakota State closes out the regional slate Saturday night, hosting Stetson at 6:00 p.m. at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings.