THE ARCHITECT OF THE BISON FOOTBALL DYNASTY
NDSU makes Craig Bohl’s storied tenure as head coach official with Hall of Fame induction
BY JEFF KOLPACK
The Forum FARGO
The Division I football career of Craig Bohl crisscrossed the country like a pilot, which in fact he was with his own small airplane when he was the head football coach at North Dakota State. Bohl retired after last season, putting 10 years at Wyoming and 11 at NDSU behind him.
So, at 66 years old, time to take the leisure retirement lifestyle of golf and horseback riding?
Hardly. As the executive director of the American Football Coaches Association, he’s smack dab in the middle of one of the most transformative times in college football history. Bohl has another word for it.
“Chaotic,” he said.
“We’re in as chaotic of times as I can remember in 42 years of coaching.”
Chaotic will take a brief vacation this week.
He’ll be enshrined into the Bison Athletic Hall of Fame, a reward for taking a Division II program in 2003 when he arrived in Fargo and turning it into one of the most dominant dynasties in the history of NCAA football.
It didn’t happen overnight. There was the fiveyear reclassification, which Bohl showed the Bison could win right away. They had back-toback 10-1 seasons in 2006 and 2007, which included eye-popping performances against FBS programs.
That was never thought possible when he took the reins after being let go at the University of Nebraska. Former NDSU athletic director Gene Taylor went against the
grain of public opinion and hired Bohl over favorite son Gus Bradley, a move that was made because of Bohl’s Division I experience as an assistant at Tulsa, Rice, Wisconsin, Duke and Nebraska.
Bohl was fired as the Nebraska defensive coordinator a year earlier after the Cornhuskers’ national title hopes took a big tumble. It’s generally regarded that head coach Frank Solich made the move to try and calm the fan base.
Bohl said he’ll forever have an appreciation for Taylor for hiring him despite the rocky ending in Lincoln. “Hiring a guy who hadn’t been a head coach before,” Bohl said. “It was really a special time for me because that transition when I had left Nebraska on not a great note and had a chance to
be embraced.”
The working relationship between Bohl, Taylor and then university president Joe Chapman was the springboard to Division I success. Add in a Team Makers booster group that was all in on the move, the city of Fargo that allowed the coaching staff to move its office to the Fargodome, and the recipe became obvious.
“You had a lot of people rolling the exact same way,” Bohl said. “The transition of the program was really heartwarming. It was a great example of a lot of teamwork. Anytime you have a university president, an athletic director and a head coach all in the same alignment, that’s really important. There was no doubt in my mind NDSU was in position to make a successful transition.”
That transition is now in a good place in his memory bank, with the day-to-day rigors of coaching no longer on the plate. He still has an engraved nameplate that was on his desk at the Fargodome that reads “Just Coach the Team.” It was a reminder to focus on the players and football instead of worrying about all the external factors that went with the job. It helped him not to get distracted with the basic principles of being a head coach. He’s been back to Fargo a few times in recent years, and stays in touch with NDSU head coach Tim Polasek, who was an assistant under Bohl for seven years at NDSU and three years at Wyoming.
Bohl spoke to the team during August practice.
“Coach laid down an unbelievable foundation,” Polasek said. “He
deserves to be in the Hall of Fame based on rolling his sleeves up from what he had to do from 2003 to get this thing in position to where we are in Division I.”
Bohl hired Polasek as a graduate assistant in 2006, and during his first stint at NDSU, Polasek’s father passed away. It was Bohl who arranged a private flight to the funeral with the entire staff in attendance.
“All of a sudden, he became a little bit of a father figure to me probably when I needed it the most,” Polasek said. “I was in my late 20s, early 30s.” For instance, it was Bohl who was there for advice when Polasek first met his wife Jill.
“He said, when you cook spaghetti, make sure it’s red wine,” Polasek said. “He was that kind of guy for me in those little moments.”
Two weeks ago, Bohl was at the North Carolina at University of Minnesota game on AFCA business, but was on his phone constantly monitoring the NDSU at University of Colorado outcome. He had bonded with the Bison players after his August practice appearance.
“It was really special walking into the team room, talking to the players and certainly pulling for them,” he said. As for the future of college football, that could get interesting. Bohl served on the AFCA Board of Directors in the past before succeeding Todd Berry in his current role. It helps that he’s had the vast array of experience like being a Division I assistant at several schools, a Division II head coach his
first year at NDSU and a Division I head coach at the FCS and FBS levels. He’s also on the FBS Oversight Committee that regulates the sport in the regular season and playoffs. He’s pushed agenda items like reorganizing the recruiting calendar, allowing quality control and analyst positions to coach on the field and narrowing the transfer portal from two windows to one.
He recently traveled to NCAA headquarters and had a one-on-one meeting with NCAA president Charlie Baker. Originally scheduled for a half hour, it lasted over an hour.
“I have not seen coaches with as much anxiety, angst and uncertainty just trying to have some clear vision on where we’re going,” Bohl said.
“In the midst of all this chaos, while we don’t deserve a seat at the head of the table, our voices deserve a seat at the table. Maybe in a small way I have an opportunity to help.”
Small may turn to big.
It’s been Bohl’s way of operating. He took Wyoming, a hard-to-recruit FBS school that fell on tough times before he got there, to bowl games. He took NDSU from a small, Division II mindset to unforeseen levels.
When the Bison take the field against the University of Towson on Saturday afternoon, they’ll do so with nine FCS national titles on the Fargodome banner. It was Bohl who started that.
“When I reflect back on it, 11 phenomenal years,” he said. Readers
David Samson/Forum Communications Co.
North Dakota State head football coach Craig Bohl hoists a cowboy boot representing Frisco, Texas, after it was presented to him by president Dean Bresciani after defeating Georgia Southern in 2011 during the Division 1 Football Championship Subdivision semifinal at the Fargodome.
Matt Krohn/USA Today Sports
Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck, North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Mack Brown and AFCA Executive Director Craig Bohl pose for a photo with the AFCA National Champion Coaches’ Trophy before the game at Huntington Bank Stadium on Aug. 29.
Bryce Lance • WR
With 15 receptions in three games, the junior is off to one of the better starts for a Bison receiver, especially for a first-time starter
Marty Brown • RB
The Bison have been using a committee of three, but the redshirt freshman from Omaha appears to be best bet for a featured back
Mekhi Collins • WR
Slowly but surely, the highly-touted recruit from Mankato in 2022 is making a presence on the field had couple big receptions last week
BUCCANEERS
Devin Matthews • RB
The team's leading rusher at over 7 yards per carry, will need to help create a running game like East Tennessee did last week
Carter Runyon • TE
The senior a preseason all-CAA first team selection, is a big target at 6-foot-6 and leads the team in receptions with seven
Will Middleton • LB
The senior transfer from FCS Saint Francis led the team with seven tackles against Villanova including a forced fumble
Home Turf. Home Team.
North Dakota State already pulled the redshirt from the freshman from Omaha
BY JEFF KOLPACK
The Forum
FARGO — In high school at Millard West just outside of Omaha, Jackson Williams was a finalist for Nebraska’s Mr. Football. There was more to his prep career, including being a standout baseball player with a fastball that reached 92 mph.
He doesn’t run that fast as a wide receiver at North Dakota State, but certainly quick enough to have his redshirt pulled. Head coach Tim Polasek confirmed as much this week that Williams will be part of the regular rotation at receiver and as a kickoff returner.
NDSU was without starting receivers Braylon Henderson and RaJa Nelson last week, putting Williams in that role plus Nelson’s job as a kickoff returner. He almost broke one against East Tennessee State with a 55-yarder.
“I think it’s like one guy away every time,” Williams said. “I’m getting a lot of crap for getting run out of bounds by the kicker, you know, 1,000 push ups. We’ll get it right the next time.”
Williams also had a crucial reception in NDSU’s fourth-quarter rally. On the first play after the Bison forced a Buccaneer punt, he took a short pass from quarterback Cam Miller and turned it into a 20-yard gain to the ETSU 31-yard line.
The Bison scored five plays later to pull within
“I think it’s like one guy away every time. I’m getting a lot of crap for getting run out of bounds by the kicker, you know, 1,000 push ups. We’ll get it right the next time.”
JACKSON WILLIAMS
35-30 with 1:59 remaining.
“When I caught the ball, it was just second nature to find my way around and find space,” Williams said.
NDSU coaches first approached Williams about having his redshirt pulled at the start of practice in early August. At Millard West, he twice tied a state record with a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
“I told them I’m ready to do whatever is best for the team and that’s my main goal,” he said. “I just needed to keep learning as best I could, learn the offense and get with the older guys. It feels a little bit more natural. College football is a lot harder than high school football, obviously, but I’m getting used to it.”
Said Polasek: “Here’s another guy who has been given the opportunity because somebody goes down. The time is right now and he provides a punch.” Bohl on Polasek: Authenticity resonates
Former NDSU head football coach Craig Bohl, who was inducted into the Bison Athletic Hall of Fame on Friday, said
Polasek’s experience with other head coaches like Kansas State’s Chris Klieman and Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz will treat him well in his job with NDSU.
Count Bohl in that mix, too.
“Just his broad base of experience,” Bohl said. “No. 1, he’s very passionate about the program and that authenticity resonates. He knows the recipe for success and he’s really determined to have the Bison take steps toward the national championship.”
Polasek came to NDSU in 2006 as a graduate assistant and worked his way up the ladder. He was the running backs coach from 2007-09 and then added tight ends and fullbacks to that mix the next three years.
He left for one year in 2013 to FBS Northern Illinois, then returned to Fargo in 2014 as offensive coordinator when Klieman was hired.
Towson coach returns to dome
It won’t be the first trip to the Fargodome for Towson head coach Pete Shinnick. As an assistant at St. Cloud State from 1995-97, he made two trips
to Fargo as the offensive coordinator with the Huskies.
Moreover, he recruited in the state of North Dakota while at St. Cloud.
“Went there in September, October and November and it snowed,” he joked. “Actually went on a recruiting trip in December and there was definitely snow there.
Shinnick later moved on to Azusa Pacific (Calif.), where he became a head coach at 33 years old. His breakthrough was taking West Florida to the Division II championship in 2019. He’s in his 26th year as a head coach.
“Come here, I feel like we have all the resources and we have the opportunity to be one of the top teams in the country,” he said.
Shinnick is the son of Don Shinnick, a former NFL linebacker who played with Baltimore Colts legend Johnny Unitas. The Towson stadium
is named after Unitas. Pete Shinnick has for years had a picture in his office of his father and Unitas hugging after a game.
“When this opportunity arose, I said, are you kidding me? I’m going to be working in Johnny Unitas Stadium,” he said. Towson using two quarterbacks
Towson starting quarterback Carlos Davis was injured in a win against Morgan State two weeks ago and missed last week’s narrow 14-13 loss at Villanova. Shinnick said he was available last week on an emergency basis and is back ready to go this week.
The quarterback mix also includes Nathan Kent, who was the starter last season. As of earlier this week, it was uncertain who would get the start against the Bison.
“Sean just had a great week of practice,” Shinnick said. “I just think that
made us a better football team overall. When you have two quarterbacks you feel good about, you always feel like you’re in a position where you can attack people and get after it.” In his two games, Davis completed 42 of 65 passes (65%) with three touchdowns and one interception. Last week, Brown was 20 of 36 (56%) with one touchdown. Etc. etc. etc. The Missouri Valley and Big Sky Conference dominated the Stats Perform top 25 media poll this week, with teams from both leagues combining to hold 10 of the top 13 spots. That doesn’t include Valley teams Northern Illinois at No. 17 and Northern Iowa at No. 25.
• Towson played in Fargo once before, a 1983 Division II quarterfinal playoff game won 24-17 by the Bison at Dacotah Field. NDSU won 35-7 in 2021 at Towson and by the same score in the 2013 national title game in Frisco, Texas.
The Tigers are in the middle of playing three ranked teams. Last week it was No. 5 Villanova, this week No. 2 NDSU and after a bye week No. 12 William & Mary.
The Bison had an 11-game homecoming winning streak snapped last year in a 24-19 loss to South Dakota.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Jeff Kolpack at jkolpack@forumcomm.com.
David Samson/The Forum
North Dakota State’s Jackson Williams returns a kickoff against East Tennessee State’s Ray Coney at William B. Greene, Jr. Stadium in Johnson City, Tennesee on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024.