FARGO, N.D. – North Dakota State University will induct seven individuals and one team into the Bison Athletic Hall of Fame on Friday, Sept. 20. This year’s honorees will comprise the 52nd annual class to be inducted.
The 2024 inductees are three-time national champion and NDSU’s all-time winningest head football coach Craig Bohl, men’s basketball career leading scorer Ben Woodside and career leading rebounder and second-leading scorer Brett Winkelman, All-America outfielder and NDSU baseball’s all-time leading hitter Matt Mann, three-time Academic All-America® softball outfielder Sarah Schmitz, six-time All-American and two-time NCAA track and field throwing champion Diandra (Bauer) Gallagher, national champion and three-time All-America wrestler Wayne Mooney, and the 1998 NCAA Division II national championship wrestling team.
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.
Tickets for the Sept. 20 induction ceremony and luncheon are on sale at GoBison.com/tickets now through Sept. 6. Tickets will not be available at the door. For questions, please contact Krisanne Mogck at (701) 231-5614 or Krisanne.Mogck@ndsu.edu.
The hall of fame class also will be recognized at halftime of the Sept. 21 homecoming football game vs. Towson University.
Here is a closer look at the inductees:
Craig Bohl, head football coach, 2003-2013
Five-time finalist and two-time Eddie Robinson Award winner as FCS Coach of the Year (2012-2013)…Two-time AFCA FCS National Coach of the Year (2012-2013)…Two-time AFCA FCS Regional Coach of the Year (2011, 2013)…Liberty Mutual FCS Coach of the Year (2013)…Three-time MVFC Coach of the Year (2011-2013)…GWFC Coach of the Year (2006)…All-time winningest coach in NDSU football history with a 104-32 record over 11 seasons from 2003 through 2013…Guided the Bison through their final season of Division II football with a landmark victory over then Division I-AA power Montana in his second game…Quickly transitioned the Bison program to Division I prominence with a Great West Football Conference championship in 2006 and back-to-back 10-1 seasons…Beat FBS opponents Ball State, Central Michigan, Minnesota (twice), Kansas, Colorado State and Kansas State…Reached the NCAA FCS playoffs four times from 2010 to 2013…Won three straight Missouri Valley Football Conference championships and FCS national titles from 2011 to 2013…Led the Bison to a 15-0 record in his final season before accepting the head coaching position at Wyoming, where he took the Cowboys to six bowl games (four victories) in 10 seasons and went 61-60 overall…Served as president of the AFCA in 2022 and also served on the AFCA Board of Trustees, NCAA Division I Football Competition Committee, NCAA Division I Football Oversight Committee…Named executive director of the AFCA in 2024 after his retirement from coaching…Between NDSU and Wyoming, he compiled a 165-92 record in 21 seasons (.642).
Ben Woodside, men’s basketball, guard, 2004-2009
MVP of 2009 Summit League championship…2009 Summit League Player of the Year…2009 AP All-America honorable mention and CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major All-American…2009 NABC All-District first team…2008 All-Summit League first team…Three-time Summit League Player of the Week…Three-time Summit League Athlete of the Month…2006 and 2007 D-I All-Independent first team…2006 D-I Independent Newcomer of the Year…NDSU’s career scoring leader with 2,315 points…League- and school-record 60 points scored, 30 free throws made and 35 free throws attempted against Stephen F. Austin on December 12, 2008…Tied the NCAA record for free throws made…League-record 766 points in 2008-09, including an NCAA tournament-high 37 points against Kansas…Made the winning basket with 4 seconds left in the 2009 Summit League championship game, sending NDSU to the NCAA tournament in its first year of Division I postseason eligibility…Selected to Hershey’s College All-Star Game…Started all 118 games of his career…Played his first two years on Division I independent teams before NDSU joined the Summit League for his final two years of eligibility…Averaged 22.02 points over his two years in the league, the second best in league history upon graduation…Played eight years of professional basketball in France, Slovenia, Georgia, Turkey, Italy, Spain and New Zealand.
Brett Winkelman, men’s basketball, forward, 2004-2009
2008 and 2009 Summit League Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year…2009 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship winner…Three-time Academic All-American® including 2009 Academic All-American® of the Year…2009 NABC All-District second team…2008 and 2009 All-Summit League first team…2009 Summit League All-Tournament Team…Three-time Summit League Player of the Week and one-time Summit League Athlete of the Month…2007 D-I All-Independent first team…NDSU’s all-time leading rebounder (874) and second leading scorer (1,962)…Also finished second in school history with 475 free throws made and was among the top five in free throw attempts and field goals made and attempted…Shot 42.5% from 3-point range finishing ninth in school history with 119 made 3-pointers…Started all 118 games of his career…Averaged 16.6 points and 7.4 rebounds while shooting 51% from the field and 80% from the free-throw line…Scored 613 points his senior year, third most in school history…Led the Bison in rebounding his final two seasons and steals his senior year…Played his first two years on Division I independent teams before NDSU joined the Summit League for his final two years of eligibility…Part of the NDSU team that won the 2009 Summit League championship and qualified for the NCAA tournament in its first year of Division I postseason eligibility.
Matt Mann, baseball, outfielder, 2000-2002
One of only four All-Americans in Bison baseball history, earning third-team honors in 2001…Also named to the 2001 All-Central Region team…Three-time All-North Central Conference…NCAA Division II batting champion in 2001 with a school-record .517 batting average…Had 19 doubles, three triples and five home runs for a school-record .862 slugging percentage in 2001…Has two of the top four single-season batting averages in school history and had a school record for doubles twice with 18 in 2000 and 19 in 2001…Hit .441 with 10 home runs and 53 RBIs as a sophomore in 2000 to lead the Bison to a North Central Conference regular-season championship…NDSU’s all-time leading hitter with a career .435 average in 117 games with 44 doubles, four triples, 22 home runs and 134 RBIs…Also finished as the career record holder for slugging percentage (.719), on-base percentage (.495) and doubles (44)…Finished second in RBIs (134), total bases (299) and hits (181) and was third in runs scored (128) and sixth in home runs (22)…Also was a Northwoods League batting champion and all-star during his collegiate career…Played five years of independent minor league baseball including two seasons in the Northern League with the F-M RedHawks and Winnipeg Goldeyes…Named Central League Rookie of the Year in 2003 with the Coastal Bend Aviators and also played with the Amarillo Dillas…Hit .287 with 37 home runs and 258 RBIs in his pro career.
Sarah Schmitz, softball, outfielder, 1996-1999
Three-time Academic All-American® earning first-team honors in 1998 and 1999 and second team in 1997…Four-time National Fastpitch Coaches Association Academic Scholar-Athlete…1998 NCAA Division II North Central Region all-tournament team…Four-time NFCA Division II All-North Central Region and All-North Central Conference…Three-time Academic All-North Central Conference…Started in 270 of 271 games and was part of the program’s first NCAA regional appearance in 1998 and first national tournament appearance in 1999…Helped the Bison win the 1999 North Central Conference and North Central Region championships…Career .385 batting average with 39 doubles, eight triples, 190 runs scored and 145 RBIs…Stole 84 bases in 106 attempts…No. 10 all-time with a .989 fielding percentage and only four errors in 365 fielding chances…Had 15 outfield assists…Still ranked in NDSU’s top 10 in 15 different categories including third in games played and hits (310), fourth in stolen bases, fifth in batting average, sixth in runs scored, eighth in RBIs and total bases, and ninth in doubles.
Diandra (Bauer) Gallagher, women’s track and field, throws, 1997-2001
NDSU’s first two-time NCAA champion in women’s track and field…Won the 2001 weight throw indoors and hammer throw outdoors…Six-time All-American…Had two NCAA indoor runner-up finishes in the weight throw, a third-place finish outdoors in the hammer and a fifth-place finish in the discus…North Central Conference champion for the 20-pound weight throw in 2000 and 2001…Broke the NCC weight throw record by six feet in 2000 and broke her own record again in 2001…U.S. Track Coaches Association North Central Region Indoor Female Athlete of the Year in 2000…Won the weight throw in all eight meets her senior year…Set the Bison Sports Arena record in the weight throw with a throw of 62 feet, 7 ¼ inches…Held NDSU records for more than 12 years in the weight throw with a mark of 62 feet, ¼ inch in 2001 and in the hammer throw with a mark of 186 feet, 4 inches in 2001.
Wayne Mooney, wrestling, 1996-2000
2000 NCAA Division II national champion at 157 pounds…Three-time NCAA Division II All-American…Placed seventh in 1998 at 150 pounds and fourth in 1999 at 157 pounds…2000 North Central Conference champion at 157 pounds…Finished his career with a four-year record of 96-30-0…Compiled a 26-4 record as a senior including 11-1 in duals with four pins on his way to winning the 2000 NCAA Division II and North Central Conference titles at 157 pounds…NCC runner-up at 157 in 1999, and was a four-time conference placewinner overall…Member of the 1998 and 2000 NCAA Division II national championship teams for Hall of Fame coach Bucky Maughan.
1998 NCAA Division II Wrestling National Champions
North Dakota State qualified eight wrestlers for the 1998 Division II wrestling national championship held in Pueblo, Colorado…All eight competitors earned All-America honors including two national championships from senior Mark Pazdernik at 158 pounds and freshman Steve Saxlund at 167 pounds…The Bison scored 112 points to outdistance second-place South Dakota State by 34 points and claim NDSU’s second of four national titles on the mat…Seniors George Thompson (134), Jason Cuperus (142) and Ryan Wolters (190) all made third-place finishes, sophomore Kris Nelson (126) placed fourth, and sophomores Wayne Mooney (150) and Dave Clymer (heavyweight) both placed seventh…Thompson, Pazdernik and Saxlund all won North Central Conference championships for the Bison, who scored 83 points to beat Nebraska-Omaha by a 12 ½ point margin…It was the 14th NCC championship in program history, but the first since 1994 for the Bison…NDSU went 8-4 in dual meets, including a 6-1 mark in conference…The 1997-98 Bison wrestling team included six wrestlers who have been inducted into the Bison Athletic Hall of Fame: Wayne Mooney, Kris Nelson, Mark Pazdernik, Steve Saxlund, George Thompson and Ryan Wolters.