St. Thomas @ UND 9/05/26

[sioux24/7]

43 minutes ago, fightingsioux4life said:

Have we ever had Potato Bowl this early and/or on a holiday weekend?

Potato Bowl last year was 9/6. So not this early, technically, but same weekend. 

[Undertherock]

56 minutes ago, SIOUXFAN97 said:

"better than going on the road?"

play on national tv (maybe)....get a milly (or more).....play a school an anverage fan has heard of (kansas/kansas state).....win the game and build your brand.

What FCS team is getting $1m or more for a buy game?  The most I've ever seen is $700k.  That's nothing to sneeze at but the reality is that P4 don't exactly want to fork over big bucks to play top FCS teams and risk losing.  If UND can become a top FCS team with sustained success, you'll find that the calls from P4 for buy games become less frequent and you'll be lucky to get an FBS game every couple of years.  And FCS teams don't want to show up in Grand Forks to get pasted.  SDSU had to pay Stetson $350k to get drilled Saturday night.  We almost didn't have a game or were at risk of scheduling DII, which would have been more competitive but would have been a knock come seeding.  

[SIOUXFAN97]

22 minutes ago, fightingsioux4life said:

The risk of playing more than one FBS money game in a season is that you are likely to have more injuries, as your opponent will have more size, speed and overall depth. The money isn't worth being a M.A.S.H. unit once the conference schedule begins.

that's why i listed the teams i did ....not a big difference....alabama, wisco, and other p2 or p3 teams i agree but we aren't much different than colorado state or kansas statte

[Kab]

2 hours ago, Undertherock said:

Would you rather your team play UST or another cupcake on the road?  Home games equal revenue and while it's not ideal if your people don't show up, it's better than going on the road.  

No, rather have the Portland game this weekend and the st. Thomas next weekend but that doesn’t always work

what is UND paying st. Thomas to play here 

[gfhockey]

Is wiltshire playing

[Und Princess]

Good Morning Fighting Hawk Fans! I hope you have a wonderful day! I wrote a segment about where UND Football is in this week's polls in today's blog! Where do you think think they landed this week? Read the blog to find out!

https://ftstspotlight.blogspot.com/2026/09/the-tuesday-morning-coffee-your-fresh.html?m=1

Have a Fantastic day!

Und Princess 

[HunterFerguson]

On 8/31/2026 at 7:25 PM, sioux24/7 said:

Potato Bowl last year was 9/6. So not this early, technically, but same weekend. 

Feels early on the calendar, but if it is basically the same weekend as last year then I guess it just looks stranger because of how the dates fall.

Labor Day weekend probably makes it feel even earlier too. I do not mind it though. Starting the season with the Potato Bowl gives the opener a little more atmosphere than a normal early September game. I like when an event actually feels different instead of just being another date on the calendar. Tropical Casino  https://tropical-casino.com/ gets a similar boost when a themed slot, live game night or short promo is tied to a specific event and changes the mood a bit. It does not need to be huge, just enough to make the session feel less routine. For an opener, that extra bit of character works for me.

[GoHawks]

21 hours ago, gfhockey said:

Is wiltshire playing

Yes, both him and Scott will play until the court hearing sometime this month I believe.

[forksandspoons]

On 8/31/2026 at 7:41 AM, UND-FB-FAN said:

Grab your tickets here: https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/060064FBAF85D11D

St. Thomas (1-0) at University of North Dakota (1-0) on Saturday, September 5, 2026, at 3:00 PM at the Alerus Center. 

For those who don’t know, St. Thomas is a an FCS DI football program out of St. Paul, MN(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_St._Thomas_Tommies_football_team).

Enjoy the day. Great day to tailgate and attend the game. Another opportunity for UND football to get better and go 1-0 for the week. Cheer loud and get on your feet when UND is on defense! Take your cheer breaks on offense. Go Hawks!

Agreed! The players deserve a great home environment regardless of opponent. And, recruits are watching/attending. 

[Undertherock]

Yikes.  That's a lot of tickets to sell.  Is Potato Bowl your homecoming?

[sioux24/7]

5 minutes ago, Undertherock said:

Yikes.  That's a lot of tickets to sell.  Is Potato Bowl your homecoming?

No. 

[SiouxHawkGuy]

This better be best broadcast that Midco has ever done

[Kab]

10 hours ago, Undertherock said:

Yikes.  That's a lot of tickets to sell.  Is Potato Bowl your homecoming?

 And all the student tickets are counted as sold, be interesting to see how many students show up on a holiday weekend

thats why you don’t schedule a weak team on a holiday weekend , you can do better AD

[gfhockey]

But Chavez rolled up his sleeves and negotiated well into the night smoking stogies 

[gfhockey]

22 hours ago, forksandspoons said:

Agreed! The players deserve a great home environment regardless of opponent. And, recruits are watching/attending. 

With hinting harvest and a beautiful last lake weekend going to be hard to get amped up for it

[Hambone]

I'll be up for this one - with the kids schedules it's hard to make it so trying to make what I can.  Can't wait!

[Kab]

Isn’tLabor Day weekend typically the last get away weekend for families with kids in school, also the weekend where many people close down their cabins or bring their campers home 

[UND1983]

Are we acting like every single football program goes on the road for Labor Day weekend?  Some of you guys need help  

[gfhockey]

5 minutes ago, UND1983 said:

Are we acting like every single football program goes on the road for Labor Day weekend?  Some of you guys need help  

In the past we played on Thursday on Labor Day weekend 

[Kab]

9 minutes ago, UND1983 said:

Are we acting like every single football program goes on the road for Labor Day weekend?  Some of you guys need help  

Don’t need help, just wishing for a better home schedule,

‘do what hockey does on thanksgiving weekend and promote the heck out of the game, cheaper prices ,free tickets for all school football programs, the concession stands would do a great business 

[jdub27]

1 hour ago, UND1983 said:

Are we acting like every single football program goes on the road for Labor Day weekend?  Some of you guys need help  

I'd guess roughly around half of them....

In general, this was the weekend that worked. Nebraska was scheduled in 2017.
The front half of the Portland State contract was signed in 2019, with the first game to be played in 2020 and then them returning in 2025. The away portion was rescheduled to 2026, when they could get it back on the calendar after COVID canceled it.
That left Labor Day weekend to get a home game, which they did with St. Thomas.

When they were allowed to add a 12th game, there weren't a ton of takers to come to Grand Forks upfront and this year on a Thursday. LIU was the team that finally agreed to it and got the schedule to 6 home games.

[USTBench]

What's cracking guys?