UND Football Gets Ready for Debut Spring Season in Missouri Valley Football Conference

Fighting Hawks start practice on Friday

GRAND FORKS, N.D. — A spring football season is upon us. After following the mandated practice hours in the fall by the NCAA, North Dakota football makes its long awaited debut in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

The fighting hawks are getting ready for eight conference games starting February 20th against Missouri State. It will be their first time playing at the Alerus Center since November 23rd of 2019.

More goes into this season than just staying healthy. It presents a quick turnaround right into next fall for a full slate of match-ups in September.

Head coach Bubba Schweigert says that’s going to be one of the biggest challenges.

“If you look at most teams towards the end of the season, they shorten up practices for that reason. They’ve been through a long physical fall,” Schweigert said. “Maybe we have to start that a little earlier this spring and then it goes into the summertime activities that you have then fall camp next year. All those things have to be consistently evaluated. How you get your guys practicing and playing at a high level yet you still have to take care of them.”

There are many question marks on the depth chart especially at quarterback where Tommy Schuster is the only player to see action in 2019.

Schweigert says answers to those questions will come in time.

“Are we going to see the energy and the excitement on day one and day two? Those types of things,” Schweigert said. “The depth chart is going to work itself out. We’re approaching as all jobs open. We always do that because we feel like our guys should never be comfortable. They should always be striving to improve. Obviously we have a starting point with our depth chart, but we want guys with that sense of urgency and that’s what we really want to see. That sense of urgency on Friday.”

The Hawks finished 2019 with a 7-5 record making the FCS Playoffs before falling to Nicholls State.