Twenty-five years ago, major sports halted amid the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
With 2,977 lives lost, it was most appropriate for the major professional sports leagues and college football to cancel or postpone games during a shocking and somber time. North Dakota State at the time had not announced an official move from Division II to Division I, but the Bison had a Division I-AA team on the schedule that weekend — the Maine Black Bears.
The Bison had a top-tier Division II program with eight national championships, but the Herd sat in an 11-year title drought at that time. NDSU also had a star running back in Lamar Gordon, who was NFL-bound, and he had a quality backup career with multiple teams — starting with the then-St. Louis Rams.
“I remember, selfishly, it was my first time playing a bigger school,” Gordon told the Fargo Forum’s Jeff Kolpack in 2020. “I was excited. The team was excited. We were a little rusty our first two games, and we thought this was going to be our breakout game to get us going.”
Gordon became NDSU’s all-time leading rusher with 4,696 yards between 1998 and 2001. He helped the Bison go 35-11 in that span, and the Herd reached the Division II semifinals in the 2000 season, which ended at Delta State.
Gordon, a third-round pick by the Rams, played in the NFL from 2002 to 2006, and he tallied 774 yards rushing and 490 yards receiving amid five touchdowns. Besides the Rams, he played for the Miami Dolphins, Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions.
The Milwaukee native was living near the NDSU campus at the time of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. He recounted to Kolpack how he found out from late former roommate and former Bison corner back Mike Rhone.
“He was all worked up,” Gordon told Kolpack. “He said we’re under attack.”
Bison Moved Up Division I Ranks in 2 Decades
NDSU indeed had Division I on the radar at the time, and the cancellation for the home match up against a Division I-AA in years didn’t slow down the Bison’s progress. The Bison officially announced the Division I move in early 2002, and NDSU hosted Big Sky Conference power UC Davis in 2003 during the final Division II season.
NDSU moved from the old North Central Conference to the Great West in Division I-AA, which eventually became the FCS. The Bison fared well in the early years and joined the Missouri Valley Football Conference, where the Herd’s FCS dynasty launched in the 2010s.
Continued success for NDSU led to 10 FCS championships in 15 years and hosts of NFL draft picks that eclipsed the highlight of Gordon’s NFL selection. The Bison produced five quarterback draft picks, including two top-three selections, and that matched Alabama and Ohio State for the most quarterbacks drafted between 2016 and 2026.
NDSU’s Mountain West Debut Lands on Historic Anniversary Weekend
NDSU announced the move to the FBS in February this year after receiving an invitation to join the Mountain West Conference. The Bison open Mountain West play on Saturday against Air Force a day after the 25th anniversary of 9/11, also known as Patriot Day.
“The 25th anniversary. That’s sobering, but it also brings to light and a perspective of ‘how blessed are we that if you live in this community, to have the United States Air Force Academy and those cadets right here in our backyard,’” Air Force head coach Troy Calhoun told reporters on Tuesday. “Oh, and by the way, the chance to have a heckuva football game, too. Pretty good stuff.”
9/11 Nixed Historic Game For North Dakota State