Nickel Trophy

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First contested	November 3, 1894 North Dakota State 20, North Dakota 4
Number of meetings	111
Most recent meeting	September 19, 2015 North Dakota State 34, North Dakota 9
Next meeting	September 7, 2019
All-time series	North Dakota leads 62–46–3
Current streak	North Dakota State, 1 (2015–present)

The Nickel Trophy was presented to the winner of the currently suspended annual football game (with the rivalry expected to be reestablished in 2019) between the rival University of North Dakota (UND) Fighting Hawks and the North Dakota State University (NDSU) Bison. The two universities are approximately 76 miles apart on the eastern border of North Dakota. The two schools suspended play in 2003 and resumed play in 2015.

The Trophy

Robert Kunkel, a UND alumnus and Chicago advertising executive, was the originator of the trophy, and Blue Key, an honorary service fraternity at NDSU, and the UND Blue Key (Student Government after their Blue Key Chapter dissolved) administered the annual awarding. It is an oversized 75-pound replica of the James Earle Fraser-designed U.S. buffalo nickel with a buffalo on one side representing NDSU Bison and a Native American head on the other side representing UND, who were known as the Fighting Sioux until 2012. Fraser, best known for his sculpture, "The End of The Trail", was born in Winona, MN and lived for a time in Dakota Territory. The coin-shaped trophy's "mint" date is 1937, the year the trophy was created. Jack Sather, a native of New England, ND, was commissioned to design and act a sculpture of the award. It took six weeks to complete the job and he was paid $65 for his work. Those funds were raised by both NDSU and UND Blue Key chapters from members and friends. The Nickel, at 250 times larger than a regular five-cent piece, weighs 75 pounds and is 2 inches thick and 22 inches in diameter. Both sides were 3/4" relief and, from the original models, plaster casts were poured. The casts were hauled to a St. Paul, MN foundry where plaster copies were recast in an aluminum alloy. The halves were welded together to make the finished piece. It was first awarded in 1938 when NDSU won 17–13. It has been the object of many theft and "kidnapping" attempts by students from both universities. Governor William Langer was asked to participate in the unveiling of the new award in Grand Forks. Moments after the unveiling an unidentified student stepped up to Governor Langer, told him "I'll take care of this for you", and disappeared with the nickel trophy. It turned up 36 hours later on the front lawn of then UND President John C. West (The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, October 21, 1967) and a new tradition of "kidnapping" or "borrowing" the trophy had begun.

The Rivalry

Nickel Trophy
File:Nickel trophy NDSU.JPG The Nickel Trophy – NDSU side
Awarded for	Winning the regular season NDSU/UND football game
Date	1938-2003
Location	Fargo, ND or Grand Forks, ND
Country	United States
Currently held by	North Dakota State Heritage Center

Prior to 2004, the game was one of the longest-running college football contests, with 110 meetings spanning several decades with the first official game in 1894. UND leads the all-time series 62–46, with 3 ties. In games where the Nickel Trophy has been contested (since 1938), UND leads the series 35-30. The last NDSU win in a game in which the trophy was at stake was in 2000, 16–13. The two playoff games between the teams (1994 and 1995) are not considered part of the Nickel series, and it has been agreed on by both schools that only the regular season scheduled game would determine the Nickel's rightful owner according to former Blue Key member and chapter adviser Tim Flakoll. The Nickel Trophy was not at stake in 2015 (a game won 34–9 by the Bison) due to the now-abandoned Sioux logo remaining on one side.

Both teams have had long winning streaks in the series. The most recent streaks of significant length were in 1981–1992, where the Bison won 12 straight games in the series, including two shutout wins (1985 and 1989)- and in 1993–1996, where the then-Fighting Sioux snapped the losing streak by winning four straight regular season games. (As mentioned, the two teams did play playoff games in 1994 and 1995 respectively—the Sioux winning in 1994 and the Bison in 1995). Of more historical relevance, UND had won 12 straight from 1953-1964 before the Bison snapped that streak with a 6-3 victory at Fargo in 1965.

Future

Since 1921, NDSU and UND competed as charter members in the NCAA Division II North Central Conference. In 2002, NDSU announced their intention to move their football program to the Division I-AA level (and athletic program as a whole to Division I). Following NDSU's reclassificationan, agreement for the schools to continue competing on the field could not be reached between the two universities due to UND's athletic department. Thus, UND have held the trophy since October 18, 2003, when they defeated NDSU in the last game for which the Nickel Trophy was used by a 28–21 score in Grand Forks.

In mid-2006, UND announced their intention to move their athletic programs to Division I as well and the 2008 season was their first in Division I. Today, both UND and NDSU are an all-sports member of the Summit League, a non-football conference, and members of the football-only Missouri Valley Football Conference which UND will join in 2020.

Scheduling logistics with their respective conferences and the yearly frequency of the potential resumption of the series were the stated reasons for not resuming. Several high-profile alumni and sports figures had called for a resumption of the series, and there is a grassroots movement for the legislature to require an annual game by law.

On May 16, 2012, UND athletic director Brian Faison announced that UND and NDSU had been planning a contract for two more games between each other, first in 2015 in Fargo (NDSU) and then 2017 in Grand Forks (UND). On August 22, 2014, UND athletics announced the signing of the contract for two games against NDSU to be played in Fargo on September 19, 2015 and September 7, 2019.

The UND–NDSU matchup became a conference rivalry in non-football sports once again in 2018 when the Fighting Hawks joined the Summit League, and will become a conference football rivalry in 2020 when UND reunites with NDSU in the MVFC.

Game results

North Dakota victories

North Dakota State victories

Tie games

No.	Date	Location	Winner	Score
1	1894	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota Agricultural	20–4
2	1894	Fargo, ND	North Dakota Agricultural	24–4
3	1895	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota	42–0
4	1895	Fargo, ND	North Dakota Agricultural	12–4
5	1896	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota	58–12
6	1897	Fargo, ND	North Dakota	39–0
7	1897	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota	20–0
8	1898	Fargo, ND	North Dakota	39–6
9	1899	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota	46–0
10	1900	Fargo, ND	North Dakota Agricultural	16–0
11	1901	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota Agricultural	17–11
12	1902	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota Agricultural	47–0
13	1904	Fargo, ND	North Dakota	22–0
14	1904	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota	17–0
15	1905	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota	23–5
16	1905	Fargo, ND	Tie	11–11
17	1906	Fargo, ND	North Dakota Agricultural	32–4
18	1910	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota	18–0
19	1912	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota	3–0
20	1913	Fargo, ND	North Dakota	20–14
21	1914	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota Agricultural	7–6
22	1915	Fargo, ND	North Dakota	20–0
23	1916	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota	10–0
24	1917	Fargo, ND	North Dakota Agricultural	20–6
25	1919	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota Agricultural	7–6
26	1920	Fargo, ND	North Dakota	14–7
27	1921	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota	38–3
28	1922	Fargo, ND	North Dakota	7–0
29	1923	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota	10–3
30	1924	Fargo, ND	North Dakota Agricultural	20–7
31	1925	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota Agricultural	19–10
32	1926	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota	7–6
33	1927	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota	13–0
34	1928	Fargo, ND	North Dakota	18–0
35	1929	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota	14–0
36	1930	Fargo, ND	North Dakota	14–7
37	1931	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota	20–12
38	1932	Fargo, ND	North Dakota Agricultural	7–6
39	1933	Grand Forks, ND	Tie	7–7
40	1934	Fargo, ND	North Dakota Agricultural	7–0
41	1935	Grand Forks, ND	Tie	20–20
42	1936	Fargo, ND	North Dakota	14–0
43	1937	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota	27–0
44	1938	Fargo, ND	North Dakota Agricultural	17–13
45	1939	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota	18–0
46	1940	Fargo, ND	North Dakota	24–0
47	1941	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota	20–6
48	1942	Fargo, ND	North Dakota Agricultural	26–14
49	1945	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota	20–12
50	1945	Fargo, ND	North Dakota Agricultural	26–7
51	1946	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota Agricultural	31–0
52	1947	Fargo, ND	North Dakota	25–20
53	1948	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota Agricultural	19–7
54	1949	Fargo, ND	North Dakota	13–6
55	1950	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota	33–0
56	1951	Fargo, ND	North Dakota	33–14
57	1952	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota Agricultural	14–13

No.	Date	Location	Winner	Score
58	1953	Fargo, ND	North Dakota	26–6
59	1954	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota	40–7
60	1955	Fargo, ND	North Dakota	21–0
61	1956	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota	14–7
62	1957	Fargo, ND	North Dakota	9–0
63	1958	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota	36–0
64	1959	Fargo, ND	North Dakota	20–15
65	1960	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota	16–7
66	1961	Fargo, ND	North Dakota	26–6
67	1962	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota	30–7
68	1963	Fargo, ND	North Dakota	21–7
69	1964	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota	20–13
70	1965	Fargo, ND	North Dakota State	6–3
71	1966	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota State	18–15
72	1967	Fargo, ND	North Dakota State	34–10
73	1968	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota State	14–8
74	1969	Fargo, ND	North Dakota State	64–14
75	1970	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota State	20–3
76	1971	Fargo, ND	North Dakota	23–7
77	1972	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota State	22–17
78	1973	Fargo, ND	North Dakota State	21–14
79	1974	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota	31–20
80	1975	Fargo, ND	North Dakota	34–17
81	1976	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota State	22–15
82	1977	Fargo, ND	North Dakota State	45–20
83	1978	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota	24–21
84	1979	Fargo, ND	North Dakota	14–7
85	1980	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota	38–20
86	1981	Fargo, ND	North Dakota State	31–7
87	1982	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota State	10–3
88	1983	Fargo, ND	North Dakota State	23–6
89	1984	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota State	14–3
90	1985	Fargo, ND	North Dakota State	49–0
91	1986	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota State	62–13
92	1987	Fargo, ND	North Dakota State	42–10
93	1988	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota State	34–27
94	1989	Fargo, ND	North Dakota State	21–0
95	1990	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota State	42–14
96	1991	Fargo, ND	North Dakota State	35–28
97	1992	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota State	20–19
98	1993	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota	22–21
99	1994	Fargo, ND	North Dakota	34–13
100	1994	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota	17–7
101	1995	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota	21–7
102	1995	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota State	41–10
103	1996	Fargo, ND	North Dakota	33–19
104	1997	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota State	31–10
105	1998	Fargo, ND	North Dakota	39–25
106	1999	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota	13–10
107	2000	Fargo, ND	North Dakota State	16–13
108	2001	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota	19–7
109	2002	Fargo, ND	North Dakota	12–6
110	2003	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota	28–21
111	2015	Fargo, ND	North Dakota State	34–9
112	2019	Fargo, ND
Series: North Dakota leads 62–46–3

See also

• List of NCAA college football rivalry games

References

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