Northern State's new football stadium

[tsull]

Friend of mine moved to Aberdeen, South Dakota, a few years ago. It's the home of Northern State, an impressive D2 school. They just finished a new football stadium, and previously were playing at a high school on the edge of town. My friend said that wasn't a good look for the school. Here's the link to the new stadium, opening this fall!

https://nsuwolves.com/sports/2018/12...dium-home.aspx

My friend is from Portland, graduated from a Pac-12 school and upon moving to Aberdeen was super impressed with Northern State. They average over 4K in men's hoops and got this football stadium built. He said they do a great job raising money athletically and also school-wide with their foundation.

He said they don't look at themselves as a D2 school or any type of division school, but a good university that provides a good education for its students, and it being a positive place to attend. My friend with little connection to the school donated to the football stadium. He wanted to be part of the NSU community and they also asked him if he would donate.

[SW_Mustang]

Your friend's assessment is spot on - they don't care about the division label, they care about the school, the athletes, and the community. Even though we are rivals in basketball, I find it very easy to root for them in the postseason.

Their football team has had some good years, but has struggled overall - yet the fans show up. Swisher Field is basically in a cornfield on the edge of town, next to a high school - but the fans showed up. I remember a few years back, ESPN even came out to broadcast a game from there on ESPN3.

Basketball is on another planet up there. They are really good. They get so much support, their attendance consistently ranks higher than USD, SDSU, and Augustana. I believe volleyball also ranks #1 in attendance nationwide. I'm not sure what types of support their other teams get, but I'm sure the fans show up for those as well.

Best of all - throughout all of this, the arena remodel, the new stadium, and their success, I haven't heard any discussion about them needing to move up. They are right where they need to be and are making it work for them. Easily a model program that I wish more D2 schools could strive to achieve.

[laker]

I think that this is great for NSU. I wish that more NSIC would look at this- especially the one that wears purple and gold. The Wolves have great local support & have embraced D2 as they should.

[SW_Mustang]

I think that this is great for NSU. I wish that more NSIC would look at this- especially the one that wears purple and gold. The Wolves have great local support & have embraced D2 as they should.

The contrast between the two programs is interesting - especially given the size difference in both population and enrollment.

[tsull]

The contrast between the two programs is interesting - especially given the size difference in both population and enrollment.

What's really impressive is they are an isolated town with 26,000 people and they pack them out. Washington State, a Pac-12 school in a town of 33,000, over the years has averaged everywhere from 1,000 to 3,000 to 9,000 (when they had Tony Bennett). Northern State in hoops draws more than most of the Big Sky except for Weber and Montana. They draw better than a lot of Summit and WAC schools in hoops.

Really nice football stadium, super impressed.

[unknown]

[SW_Mustang]

What's really impressive is they are an isolated town with 26,000 people and they pack them out. Washington State, a Pac-12 school in a town of 33,000, over the years has averaged everywhere from 1,000 to 3,000 to 9,000 (when they had Tony Bennett). Northern State in hoops draws more than most of the Big Sky except for Weber and Montana. They draw better than a lot of Summit and WAC schools in hoops.

Really nice football stadium, super impressed.

Northern draws more on average than Augustana, USD, and SDSU. Yeah, Aberdeen is slightly larger than Brookings and a lot larger than Vermillion - but still, that's impressive.

I remember when they made the title game in 2018. I tried to go but couldn't get a ticket - the game sold out immediately after the semi-final. I think tickets were going for something bonkers like $200 on the secondary market, but I don't remember. It looked great on TV though.

[IronOre]

Northern draws more on average than Augustana, USD, and SDSU. Yeah, Aberdeen is slightly larger than Brookings and a lot larger than Vermillion - but still, that's impressive.

I remember when they made the title game in 2018. I tried to go but couldn't get a ticket - the game sold out immediately after the semi-final. I think tickets were going for something bonkers like $200 on the secondary market, but I don't remember. It looked great on TV though.

It probably helps that Aberdeen is hours from any actual city, so there's not a lot of competition when it comes to entertainment.

[SW_Mustang]

It probably helps that Aberdeen is hours from any actual city, so there's not a lot of competition when it comes to entertainment.

Possibly, though they are a fairly large hub city so they do have a lot for their size. There are a lot of towns that are in similar geographical positions that don't draw nearly as well. Minot comes to mind.

It's cultural, IMO. East River is basketball country, and Northern dominates. Don Meyer is basketball royalty, too.