UND football expecting big walk-up crowd for home opener
Aug. 26—GRAND FORKS — A year ago, all six home UND football games exceeded 10,000 fans for the first time. UND officials expect to continue that trend to kick off the 2026 season, although the school will still rely on a walk-up turnout when the Fighting Hawks take on Long Island University at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Alerus Center. As of late last week, UND was sitting at roughly 3 percent ...
Grand Forks — As the 2026 season approaches, University of North Dakota (UND) football officials anticipate another large turnout for the home opener against Long Island University. UND games have consistently drawn over 10,000 fans for the first time in six home games that took place a year ago. Currently, UND holds around a 3% attrition rate for season tickets compared to the previous year, but this figure has started to improve recently, according to UND deputy athletic director Erik Martinson.
Season ticket sales for UND have generally fluctuated between 5,000 and 6,000 in recent years, with the NDSU home-road game often being the determining factor. The Bison are no longer on UND's schedule as they have moved to the Mountain West Conference this season. UND's defense is underpinned by their impressive 10-year streak without a home opener loss, dating back to a 1986 defeat to Texas A&M-Kingsville at the Potato Bowl.
This year, UND is aiming to maintain that winning streak, and they expect a significant walk-up crowd at the Alerus Center on opening day. The Bison, ranked No. 10 in the Stats Perform Preseason FCS Top 25, have not lost a home opener since 1986, a testament to their consistency and strength from previous years.
Written by urgent.news from Yahoo Sports's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
