2019 Spring Practice

[IzzyFlexion]

I am old enough to remember when John Bodine competed in both football and track in the 1980s. He was all-conference in football and multi-All American in track.

John Bodine - Class of 1987 - Bison Athletic Hall of Fame - North Dakota State

Induction Class of 2005
Men's Track & Field
Only North Central Conference athlete in history to win three different events four straight years (200 meters, long jump and 400 meter relay)...Two-time NCC Athlete of the Meet (1983, 1986)...Scored 258 points in eight NCC meets...Captured 12 individual NCC championships and ran on five more championship relay teams during a standout track & field career...Seven-time NCAA Division II All-American in the long jump, 200 meters and 400-meter relay from 1983-86...NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship winner in 1986...Earned CoSIDA Academic All-America honors in 1986...Three-time Academic All-NCC selection...Finalist for the 1986 NCC Stan Marshall Award...Won four outdoor crowns in both the long jump and 200 meters in the NCC, and captured three indoor long jump championships and one 300 meters crown...Also a member of four straight 400- meter relay NCC champions outdoors and one 1600 meter relay title team indoors...Finished third in the outdoor long jump nationally as both a junior and senior...NCAA runner-up in the indoor long jump as a junior...Still holds the school outdoor mark in the 200 (:20.23) and long jump (25-11)...Also part of record holding indoor 1,600 meter relay team and outdoor 400 and 800-meter relay teams...Held the NCC record in the 200 meters until 2004 when NDSU’s Allen Burrell broke the mark...Graduated from NDSU in 1986 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration...Earned MBA from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management in 1988...Six-time Minnesota state champion in track & field at Barnesville (Minn.) High School in 1981 and 1982...Set 25 meet records during senior year including four at districts, four at regions and three at state...His Minnesota state long jump mark still stands as the Class A record...Scored 968 points during prep track & field career...All-conference selection in football after leading the league in punting and receiving yards...Senior vice-president for the investment bank Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin since 2004...Worked as a financial consultant at American Appraisal Associates in Minneapolis from 1988 to 1993 before joining Valuation Counselors in Chicago as a managing director...Currently resides in Geneva, Ill., with his wife, Kelly, and two children, Maggie (9) and Jack (8).

Great athlete and a great person.
The ONLY NDSU Men's T & F athlete from the 80s to STILL have 2 school records.

[bisonfanette]

I asked about the showcase. I was told TM didn’t even know we could tailgate until middle of the week. Basically, marketing needs to step it up.

Wow... I guess. Keep your fans engaged! Many enjoy the Showcase! I had to go to Rugby (for God’s sake) to bid on bison (& Eagle) memorabilia! (Anyone want a Carson W autographed Super Bowl helmet? I got a little carried away with my bidding, but I made $ for their county fair!) My point is, many of us would have attended the showcase or a function similar to this, & brought the checkbook. (I know, commodity prices are still low! Ugg)
Re: other activities before the spring game, such as the autograph session... It never hurts to engage fans of ALL ages!
A simple fist bump by a Bison fb player is enough to generate a “connection” & suddenly you have fans (new or old) who are enthusiastic about attending games! IMO, a missed opportunity.

[PlainsBison]

I'm disappointed right now. The activities for fans in recent years don't match what we see on the field. The spring game used to be a big deal, with the autograph session and other activities. Now, on a Friday evening, it's difficult to get there unless I take the day off of work and travel. Also, in the past, they used to do some events outside of the Fargo-Moorhead area, such as Bismarck-Mandan (a showcase in Mandan, a trophy stop at Scheels with Coach Klieman, major coaches at the June golf event). Let's just say that it has been pretty quiet in recent years. I don't understand the pull-back. You need to continue to market and do it the right way to match what we see on the field. Maybe the NDSU athletic department could do an online survey and get input from fans. It would show that they value the input of the grassroots and then develop a plan to act on that input.

[westnodak93bison]

Couldnt agree more. It's like they are taking the fan base for granted rather that pushing to excite and expand. It's a head scratcher.

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[BadlandsBison]

As long as the team got better in spring practice, I'm happy.

[Twincitybizon]

As long as the team got better in spring practice, I'm happy.

I hate being a negative Nancy but ....

Team operations and on field activities are in one box.
Marketing, fan engagement, event organization, video production are in another. That second box ain't cutting it recently and should be addressed.

[TransAmBison]

They might be easing out of the spring game business...

[HerdBot]

I'm disappointed right now. The activities for fans in recent years don't match what we see on the field. The spring game used to be a big deal, with the autograph session and other activities. Now, on a Friday evening, it's difficult to get there unless I take the day off of work and travel. Also, in the past, they used to do some events outside of the Fargo-Moorhead area, such as Bismarck-Mandan (a showcase in Mandan, a trophy stop at Scheels with Coach Klieman, major coaches at the June golf event). Let's just say that it has been pretty quiet in recent years. I don't understand the pull-back. You need to continue to market and do it the right way to match what we see on the field. Maybe the NDSU athletic department could do an online survey and get input from fans. It would show that they value the input of the grassroots and then develop a plan to act on that input.

When hardcore fans like me skip out 2 years in a row and forgot it was on TV and never saw a snap, that's the epitome of being disengaged and disinterested. We used to tailgate and never missed it

[HerdBot]

Couldnt agree more. It's like they are taking the fan base for granted rather that pushing to excite and expand. It's a head scratcher.

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Well said and I couldn't agree more.

[PlainsBison]

One thing I wish. If they made a fundamental change in marketing/fan engagement, then tell us fans about the change(s) and the why. Then we could better understand.