Sit Down and Cheer Podcast

It’s THAT week. UND/NDSU football happens Saturday and we get you prepped with former UND linebacker and current defensive coordinator Eric Schmidt. He’ll give us the insight on THE game, his memories of the series as a player, some breakdown from the first-week rout of Drake and much more. He says it doesn’t matter what the scoreboard says as long as its UND in front, but we challenge him on that based on a 2001 playoff game vs. UC Davis. We also caught up with new UND head track and field and cross country coach Christine Engel to get her thoughts on their opening meet down in Fargo last week and a host of other topics to include: North Dakota topography, weather, jogging (it might be soft J), and if it’s Clem-son or Clem-zon. All that on the fifth season’s first episode of Sit Down and Cheer. Oh yeah, and we got a new co-host (Darrin Looker). You know him as the public address announcer at UND hockey games, you know, HEEEEERRRRRRRRE’S your University of North Dakota SCOOOOOOOOORING guy.

The search for a new co-host continues as Mitch brings UND Sports Radio man Paul Ralston on to the pod. Mitch and Paul talk about the 2019 UND Sports Hall of Fame inductees including Lee Davidson, Jessica (Neva) Gardner, Gene Roebuck, Robert Toftey, Tisha (Yantzer) Lezer, and the 1998-99 national championship women's basketball team. Additionally, current Minnesota State Moorhead head women's basketball coach Karla Nelson will receive the Tom Clifford Award, while longtime UND superfan Loyall Jahnke will be recognized with the Honorary Letterwinner Award.

With Jayson gone, Mitch starts his search for a new co-host. This week, he sits down with UND Hockey public address announcer Darrin Looker.

Its the final part of the trilogy of farewell podcasts (See Bill Chaves Podcasts for parts I & II) as Jayson spends one of his final days with Mitch and special guest Brad Schlossman at Buffalo Wild Wings reminiscing about his career at North Dakota.

Paul Ralston sits down with members from the 1997, 1998, and 1999 women's basketball teams that each claimed a NCAA Division II National Championship.

In his 34th and final season at North Dakota, cross country coach Dick Clay reflects on his career as the longest-tenured coach in the history of UND Athletics. He discusses what went into his decision to retire, why his one and only season in The Summit League holds special meaning to him, what drives his former runners to give back to the program, what has changed for student-athletes since his career started, his fondest road trip memories, the innocuous conversation that sparked his team at the NCAA DII Championship, and so much more. Join us for this trip down memory lane with a UND coaching legend. Presented by Buffalo Wild Wings.

Presented by Buffalo Wild Wings

The guys return from summer hiatus to say farewell to associate media relations director Ryan Powell, who is leaving his post in the athletics department after being named assistant commissioner with The Summit League. The Three Best Friends That Anybody Could Have reflect on Ryan’s decade-long tenure and the memorable teams and student-athletes he worked with along the way. They also discuss his path to UND, working with coach George O’Leary at Central Florida, and the Heisman Trophy campaign he put together for Kevin Smith. Finally, Ryan shares some insight into his early to-do list for UND’s new conference home. Also, tales of Ryan’s legendarily tightwad ways! A fun farewell, presented by Buffalo Wild Wings.

PRESENTED BY BUFFALO WILD WINGS

Molli Detloff and Christian Wolanin, UND’s 2017-18 Female and Male Athletes of the Year, join the unofficial “year-end” podcast for a wide-ranging discussion. We learn from both that neither of them were highly-recruited by schools other than North Dakota, how they use that to fuel their competitive fire, what challenges the modern student-athlete faces, which teammates they lean on the most, which teammates drive them nuts, how they find middle ground with coaches regarding differences of opinion, why UND is so important to them both, and much more! Special mention to Jeff Groven and his staff at Buffalo Wild Wings for hosting the show.

PRESENTED BY BUFFALO WILD WINGS

New UND Director of Athletics Bill Chaves returns to the pod for his first lengthy sit-down with the guys. After obliging Mitch and Jayson with some baseball geek talk (Doug Mirabelli??), Bill gets into some of the things that make him tick, both at the office and away from it, including his upbringing in Connecticut, life as a Red Sox and Whalers(!) fan, the bottle of champagne he finally got to uncork in 2004, what led him down his career path, what he sees as the biggest challenge facing the modern student-athlete, what he’s identified as some of his priority projects at UND, his relationship with his predecessor Brian Faison, and a whole lot more! As always, a big thank-you to Jeff Groven and our friends at Buffalo Wild Wings for hosting the show!

PRESENTED BY BUFFALO WILD WINGS.

UND associate head soccer coach Chris Citowicki joins the guys for a conversation unlike any other they’ve had. Born in Poland, Chris’ fascinating journey to the United States started with his family defecting from their native country and included stops in Italy, South Africa and Australia. His story was often fraught with peril, with true tales of murder, ocean voyages and even pirates. Chris also tells us how his life experiences have shaped his coaching philosophy, why hockey coaching legend Herb Brooks was such a profound influence on him, how a fateful recruiting trip landed him his job at UND, and how the Fighting Hawks were able to put together their best-ever Big Sky season in the first year of a new coaching regime.