Eight Slated for Bison Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Sept. 26

FARGO, N.D. – North Dakota State University will induct eight individuals into the Bison Athletic Hall of Fame on Friday, Sept. 26. This year’s honorees will comprise the 53rd annual class to be inducted.

The 2025 inductees are five-time All-America track and field athlete Andrew Aakre, national champion and two-time all-region softball outfielder Nikki (Almquist) Mead, four-time All-America sprinter and football wide receiver Allen Burrell, 10-time All-America jumper Crystal (Cummins) Schneider, nine-year NFL safety and Super Bowl champion Craig Dahl, all-region and two-time all-conference volleyball setter Janna (Ruebke) Engel, all-region and two-time all-conference basketball center Brian Sand, and former university president Joseph A. Chapman.

Tickets for the induction ceremony and luncheon are on sale at GoBison.com/tickets now through Sept. 12. Tickets will not be available at the door. For questions, please contact Krisanne Mogck at (701) 231-5614 or Krisanne.Mogck@ndsu.edu.

The event will be held on campus in the Nodak Insurance Basketball Performance Center at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex. Lunch will begin at 11:30 a.m. with the induction ceremony to start at noon.

The hall of fame class also will be recognized at halftime of the Sept. 27 homecoming football game against South Dakota.

Here is a closer look at the inductees:

Andrew Aakre, men’s track and field, multi-events, 2001-2005

Five-time Division II All-American and seven-time North Central Conference champion…Ran on three straight NCC champion and All-America 4×400 indoor relays…Placed third and second in the decathlon behind two-time NDSU national champion and 2019 Bison Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Nathan Schmidt…Ineligible for NCAA championships his final season of competition due to reclassification…Personal-best score of 7,641 in the decathlon his senior year would have won the 2005 Division II championship and ranked fifth at the Division I championship…Won two NCC indoor titles in the triple jump, one in the outdoor triple jump, and one in the outdoor 4×100 relay…Also won a D-I independent championship in the triple jump his senior year…Competed in 26 different events over his career…Once held school records in the pentathlon, decathlon and 4×400 relay, and still holds the 4×200 relay record…NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship winner…Two-time Academic All-American®, once in Division II and once in Division I.

 

Nikki (Almquist) Mead, softball, outfielder, 1998-2001

Starting left fielder on 2000 NCAA Division II national championship softball team…North Dakota State advanced to NCAA tournament all four seasons including a pair of North Central Region titles, finishing fifth nationally in 1999 and winning it all in 2000…NDSU won the 1999 North Central Conference tournament championship…The Bison compiled a 238-45 record during her career…Named to the 2000 NCAA North Central Region all-tournament team…Two-time NFCA All-North Central Region selection, including first team honors in 2000…Two-time All-NCC pick…Three-time NCC Player of the Week…Had a career .342 batting average with 23 home runs and 153 RBIs over 243 games including 228 starts…Stole 56 bases in 67 attempts, scored 140 runs and hit 35 doubles…On the NDSU career charts, finished second in walks (81), third in home runs and RBIs and sixth in hits (225), total bases (341) and runs scored.

 

Allen Burrell, men’s track and field sprints/relays, football wide receiver, 2002-2005

Spent three seasons in the Bison track program and two seasons in the Bison football program after transferring from Nebraska-Kearney…Four-time Division II All-American, eight-time North Central Conference champion, and three-time Division I independent champion…Ran on the national runner-up 4×400 outdoor relay in 2004 and was also sixth in the 4×100 relay…Back-to-back All-America honors in the outdoor 100m placing eighth in 2003 and fifth in 2004…Won the NCC indoor 200m title in 2004…Swept the NCC outdoor 100m and 200m titles in 2003 and 2004, then won both events in the 2005 D-I independent championships…Also ran on the winning 4×100 relay at the 2004 NCC outdoor and 2005 D-I independent championships…Won NCC 4×400 outdoor relays in 2003 and 2004…Still holds school records in the 100-meter dash (:10.22), 200-meter dash (:20.69), 4×200 and 4×400 indoor relays, and the outdoor 4×200 relay…Honorable mention All-NCC wide receiver in 2003…His 56 receptions that year were then second-most in NDSU single-season history…Had 570 receiving yards and four touchdowns, plus three rushing touchdowns on three carries…Part of the first Division I football team in 2004…Had 13 catches for 228 yards and three TDs and also scored on a 90-yard kickoff return…Played professionally with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the CFL and with the Sioux Falls Storm and Omaha Beef indoor football teams from 2006 to 2012.

 

Crystal (Cummins) Schneider, women’s track and field, jumps, 1999-2003

Ten-time Division II All-American in the high jump, long jump and triple jump…Highest finish was second in the 2002 indoor triple jump to help NDSU win the NCAA Division II national championship…All-America in all three events at both the 2002 outdoor and 2003 indoor national meets…Four-time North Central Conference champion and 26-time placewinner…Named 2003 NCC indoor championship MVP and USTFCCCA North Central Region indoor athlete of the year after winning the high jump (5-8) and long jump (19-4 3/4) and helping the Bison to their fourth straight NCC title…Also part of five NCC outdoor title teams…Still ranks in the Top 10 in school history for the indoor triple jump (40-7) and high jump (5-8 1/2), and the outdoor long jump (19-11 1/2), triple jump (41-10 3/4) and high jump (5-9)…Named to the Fargo South High School Hall of Fame in 2021 and the North Dakota High School Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2011…Five-time North Dakota Class A state champion and 16-time placewinner for Fargo South.

 

Craig Dahl, football, safety, 2003-2006

Three-year starting strong safety…Earned All-Great West Football Conference first team honors in 2004 and 2006 and second team in 2005…Two-time GWFC Defensive Player of the Week…2006 Academic All-America® first team…2004 Academic All-District first team…Three-time GWFC All-Academic…Played in 43 career games with 229 total tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, 7 interceptions and 11 pass breakups…Set the school career record for solo tackles (132)…Captain on the 2005 and 2006 teams…Part of a GWFC championship team in 2006…Played in the 2007 North-South All-Star Classic…Selected to the NFL Scouting Combine…Signed as an undrafted free agent and played nine years in the NFL with the Giants (2007-08, 15), Rams (2009-12) and 49ers (2013-15)…Member of the Super Bowl champion New York Giants his rookie year.

 

Janna (Ruebke) Engel, women’s volleyball, setter, 1996-1999

1998 AVCA All-North Central Region selection…Two-time all-North Central Conference in 1997 and 1999…Four-time NCC Setter of the Week including three awards in 1997…Three-time NCC All-Academic team…1999 Academic All-America® third team…Helped the Bison to the NCAA tournament all four seasons including a national runner-up performance in 1998 and the quarterfinals in 1999…NDSU won North Central Conference championships both years…Set school records for assists in a three-set match (56 vs. Northern Michigan in 1998) and five-set match (78 vs. West Texas A&M in 1998), and her record for a four-set match (72 vs. Minnesota-Morris in 1997) still stands…On the NDSU career charts, still ranks third with 4,220 assists and fourth with 9.93 assists per set…Led the Bison in assists in 1997, 1998 and 1999, and in service aces with 52 in 1997 and 67 in 1998…Also selected for induction into the Ada-Borup-West Cougar Hall of Fame this September…Still holds four track records at the school, where she competed in volleyball, basketball and track and field.

 

Brian Sand, men’s basketball, center, 1992-1996

Second team all-region selection in 1996…Two-time all-North Central Conference in 1995 and 1996…Led the Bison to three straight NCAA Division II North Central Regional tournaments after an 11-year postseason drought…Finished fifth on NDSU’s all-time scoring list with 1,540 points, second in field-goal percentage (.562), fourth in field goals made (617) and fifth in blocked shots (68)…Scored 563 points his senior year, fourth-most in school history at the time…One of only four players to lead the Bison in scoring three consecutive seasons along with hall of fame members Marv Bachmeier, Mike Kuppich and Denver TenBroek.

 

Joseph A. Chapman, NDSU president, 1999-2009

Served as the 13th president of NDSU from 1999 to 2009, a tenure marked by significant growth and transformative initiatives across all facets of the institution, including the athletics program…Driving force behind NDSU’s Division I reclassification, a strategic move to elevate NDSU’s profile which saw six sports (volleyball, men’s basketball, wrestling, softball, men’s track and field, and women’s track and field) advance to NCAA postseason competition by 2008-09, the school’s first year as an active, certified Division I member…His 11 years as president saw NDSU enrollment rise from 9,600 to 14,200 while increasing doctoral programs from 18 to 44 and research expenditures from $44 million to $115.5 million…NDSU earned R2 status as a Carnegie Research Institution for the first time…The university established a research and technology park in 2001 attracting major companies and creating new jobs…Major building projects included expansion into downtown with Barry Hall for the College of Business, Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics, Center for Global Initiatives and Leadership, and the North Dakota Trade Office…NDSU also opened Renaissance Hall and Klai Hall downtown.