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[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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