[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 15, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S253]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   RECOGNIZING THE NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY BISON FOOTBALL TEAM

  Mr. CRAMER. Mr. President, I thank the President for yielding the 
floor and thank you for your previous speech. It is a great honor for 
me to follow the senior Senator from North Dakota, Senator Hoeven, in 
congratulating this remarkable, singular accomplishment by this 
remarkable, singular football team: the North Dakota State University 
Bison.
  Senator Hoeven did a great job of highlighting the highlights of this 
singularly great team as, last weekend, they did win their eighth out 
of nine FCS national championships; that is, NCAA Division I Football 
Championship Subdivision.
  He went through the statistics that are very impressive: the stretch 
of 37 victories in a row; the 16-0 season; the singular accomplishment 
of Trey Lance, this redshirt freshman from Marshall, MN, who threw, by 
the way, in the course of the season, 29 touchdown passes and a grand 
total of 0 interceptions--remarkable to say the least. He was just 
named, in fact, the 2019 FCS National Performer of the Year.
  Senator Hoeven paid tribute appropriately to Coach Entz. Senator 
Hoeven is exactly right--an incredible individual; an incredible, 
undefeated head coach. Not only was he named the Missouri Valley coach 
of the year, he was just named the AFCA FCS coach of the year--a 
tremendous person.
  We can talk about all the great things that the Bison football team 
does, and it is appropriate that we do that and that we celebrate them 
in North Dakota and Fargo and the region and all of Bison Nation, as 
Senator Hoeven said. There is something they don't do that I appreciate 
so much. I watched the game on ABC, as we have watched lots of football 
games lately on the national networks, and the one thing they don't do 
that I love is they never point to the name on the back of their jersey 
because they don't put their names on the backs of the jerseys because 
this is always a team effort. This is a legacy of a team. It is a 
culture of a team. It is the equality of a team. As great as every 
performer is, they are a team. That is the way they win; and, if they 
ever lose, that is the way they lose, but they don't do that much.
  They really have defined--redefined--excellence, but their excellence 
doesn't end on the field. I don't think it should surprise anybody to 
learn of a few other statistics of North Dakota State University. For 
example, just last year, for just the second time in our Division I 
history, all NDSU athletic teams reached a cumulative grade point 
average of 3.0. Let me say that again: All NDSU athletic teams reached 
a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or greater, while also 
achieving our highest overall student athlete GPA of 3.43. Over 280 
student athletes at NDSU scored a 3.0 or better, with 72--72--of their 
student athletes receiving a 4.0--earning, I should say, a 4.0.
  As you can tell, Senator Hoeven and I are proud Senators. We are 
proud of our team. We are proud of our university. We are proud of the 
entire university system in our State for lots of reasons. I think what 
the excellence of the North Dakota State University football team has 
illustrated is an excellence that can be achieved and can be applied 
not only to the gridiron, not only to the fields of athletic 
competition, but to life. As the Presiding Officer knows, their motto 
is that the strength of the herd is in the bison and the strength of 
the bison is in the herd. It is a good lesson in athletics and a good 
lesson in life.
  I join Senator Hoeven in congratulating the Bison.
  Go Bison.
  I yield the floor.

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