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.

Sit Down and Cheer Podcast

Episode 82 - Eric Schmidt and Christine Engel

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.

Episode 81 - Co-Host Search 2019: Paul Ralston

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.

Episode 80 - Co-Host Search 2019: 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.

Episode 79 - I Bid You Hajdu Part III

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.

Episode 78 - Gene Roebuck, Kami Winger Danner, Tiffany Pudenz Mannausau, and Katie Richards

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.

Episode 77 - Dick Clay

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.

Episode 76 - Ryan Powell

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.

Episode 75 - Molli Detloff and Christian Wolanin

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!

Episode 74 - Bill Chaves Part 2

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.

Episode 73 - Chris Citowicki

The guys (finally) reunite and take a deep dive into spring football with receivers coach Danny Freund and safeties coach Joel Schwenzfeier. They’ll talk position battles, the magnitude of Deion Harris’ return to health, what the staff reevaluated after a spate of injuries in 2017, players learning new positions, the difficulties of evaluating quarterbacks during non-contact practices, a renewed emphasis on recruiting quality depth, why they loved spring football as players, why they hated spring football as players, why recruits and their families are excited for the move to the Missouri Valley Football Conference, and even some recruiting stories from their own playing days.

Episode 72 - UND Spring Football 2018

It’s time for one final Road to Reno as the Big Sky Basketball Tournaments are upon us. Mitch Wigness and Ryan Powell cornered Paul Ralston, the radio voice of UND’s men’s team, and Jon Oglesby, who will be handling webcasts for the first three days on both sides for Pluto TV, and we break it all down. Who is the toughest out? Current format— goods and bads? Best matchups for UND? Least ideal matchup? Who is the next NBA guy in the Big Sky? What did Powell get his kids on a 12-day road trip? Paul’s favorite road stop? Answers to all these questions and much, much more on this basketball-bloated pod.

Episode 71 - The Final Road To Reno

Last week, Grand Forks Herald hockey writer Brad Schlossman attended Super Bowl Media Day last week and ended up breaking NFL MVP news, sending the sports Twitter world into a tizzy. This week, he joins the guy to discuss how it all went down, how Twitter may have literally broken his phone, what the Super Bowl Media Day experience was like, why entertainment reporters are the worst, and which donuts are (or aren’t?) Justin Timberlake’s favorite. The conversation then switches to hockey and Schlossman assesses the stretch run for North Dakota and discusses several UND alums doing their thing in the NHL. As a bonus, he also gives us his prediction on who will be the starting quarterback in 2018 for his beloved Minnesota Vikings.

Episode 70 - Brad "NFL Insider" Schlossman

On this episode of Sit Down and Cheer, Junior Varsity fill-ins Ryan Powell and Kyle Doperalski fill in for Jayson and Mitch as they sat down with newly-hired athletics director Bill Chaves. The J.V.-squad touched on a number of topics with their new boss ranging from what made him a sports junkie to how his time at Eastern Washington is going to help keep the UND athletic department moving forward. Chaves also discusses how a kid who grew up with an affinity for most New England professional teams wound up a Pittsburgh Steelers fan and who he thinks will take home the championships in the five major sports.

Episode 69 - Bill Chaves

Part two (Fais 2?) of our conversation with retiring UND Athletics Director Brian Faison, presented by Buffalo Wild Wings. We go in depth on the recent sport cuts at UND, what went on behind the scenes and what was reassessed in the aftermath of those announcements. The guys touch on a number of topics from there, including the opening of the High Performance Center, the future of Memorial Stadium, the move from the Big Sky to The Summit League, Cost of Attendance for student-athletes and whether it impacted the sport cuts, the most challenging and rewarding moments of Faison’s tenure, and even his latest book recommendations. An episode UND fans will not want to miss!

Episode 68 - Brian Faison Part II

UND Athletics' official podcast presented by Buffalo Wild Wings. Our fight song is Stand Up & Cheer but sitting down is much less work. Every week, Jayson Hajdu and Mitch Wigness talk about everything with the biggest personalities from all aspects of UND Sports, past and present.

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Sit Down and Cheer Podcast

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