A reported 15 to 20 potential high school football recruits will make unofficial visits to North Dakota State on Saturday.
If they couldn't make it, all they would have to do is turn on their TVs to get a sense of the excitement and passion that surround NDSU football.
ESPN's popular "College GameDay" show will broadcast from downtown Fargo once again at the corner of Broadway and Third Avenue - in front of the Fargo Theatre marquee - to spotlight NDSU's FCS championship program. The show, which stars Chris Fowler, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, David Pollack and Samantha Ponder, visited the Missouri Valley Conference school last September while the Bison were on their way to capturing a third straight national title.
Locally, "GameDay" will air from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. CT. The Bison, who are 2-0 this season and have won an FCS-record 26 straight games since 2012, will then play their home opener in the afternoon against Incarnate Word at the 19,000- seat Fargodome.
"Anytime we can showcase Fargo and show 'GameDay' and NDSU athletics, no doubt it's a positive," Bison assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Nick Goeser told The Forum newspaper. "It's certainly something we highlighted. Anytime we talked to a kid or called a kid on the phone, you mention 'GameDay' was here on Saturday. It was a big part of our recruiting and it helped us in the long run."
Only four other non-FBS schools, including three on the FCS level, have hosted "GameDay" since 1993. NDSU will join Air Force as the only schools outside the "Power 5" conferences and Notre Dame to host the show more than once.
[SportsNetwork.com]
