FARGO — North Dakota State has a performance date set for the Music City.
The Bison football team is scheduled to play in Nashville, Tenn., in 2025 as part of a home-and-home agreement to play Tennessee State. NDSU announced the nonconference games Wednesday.
“One of the things that’s kind of resonated with the fanbase is being able to play at different locations and certainly is a place nowadays people call the new (Las) Vegas," said NDSU athletic director Matt Larsen. "It’s a place that I think Bison fans would enjoy.”
The Bison will host the Tigers at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome on Sept. 7, 2024, and travel to Nashville to play at Nissan Stadium on Sept. 6, 2025. Larsen said the agreement is for a straight home-and-home between the programs with no financial guarantees. He added being able to schedule six home games per season is a priority.
“The chance to be able to get them to come to Fargo first was important for us, too," Larsen said. "Getting home games is always a challenge. Being able to get them to come here and being able to return to a destination-type place was something we were looking to do.”
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The Bison have never played Tennessee State, a member of the Ohio Valley Conference. The Tigers are coached by former Heisman Trophy winner and former NFL veteran Eddie George, who played running back for the Tennessee Titans.
“It’s an opportunity to play a program that has a long history and a very recognizable head coach," Larsen said.
Nissan Stadium has been home to Tennessee State football and the NFL’s Tennessee Titans since 1999. The facility seats approximately 69,000 fans in downtown Nashville.
"It just happens to be that their home venue is an NFL stadium and that played into it a little bit for us," Larsen said.
NDSU will play in another NFL stadium Sept. 2 when the Bison open their 2023 season hosting Eastern Washington in Minneapolis at U.S. Bank Stadium, home of the Minnesota Vikings.
The Bison played another "destination" game to open the 2019 season, playing Butler at Target Field, home of the Minnesota Twins. That game drew 34,544 fans.
“To me those are neat opportunities for our kids, neat opportunities for our fans," Larsen said.
The home game with Tennessee State completes NDSU’s 2024 schedule, which is a 12-game slate that includes a season-opener at FBS Colorado on Aug. 31, a road trip to East Tennessee State on Sept. 14, and a home game with Towson on Sept. 21. Deion Sanders, "Coach Prime," is the head coach at Colorado.
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Larsen expects a strong contingent of NDSU fans to travel to Nashville for the 2025 game, but didn't want to estimate a number.
“I think it will be a pretty good number," Larsen said. “There would definitely be more than a typical away game that would travel to this one. ... I think it will be well received. I think it will resonate pretty positively with our fanbase.”
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