The North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's basketball team represents the University of North Dakota NCAA Division I men's basketball. The Fighting Hawks are members of the Summit League. Prior to membership in the Summit, they were members of Division II's North Central Conference and Division I's Great West Conference and Big Sky Conference. The current head coach is Paul Sather. The Fighting Hawks made their only appearance in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 2017.
On July 1, 2018, the school officially joined the Summit League in all sports except for football, in which it remained a Big Sky member before joining the Missouri Valley Football Conference in 2020.
The team was known as the Flickertails until 1929, when it was renamed the Fighting Sioux. It dropped that name in 2011 and went without a nickname until 2015, when it became the Fighting Hawks.
History The North Dakota Men's basketball team is the fourth winningest program in the history of NCAA's Division II basketball.
Championships North Dakota has a total of 19 regular-season championships and six conference tournament championships.
North Central Conference Championship YearsRegular season (18)1928, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1954, 1955, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1982, 1990, 1991, 1995Conference tournament (3)1992, 1993, 1994 Great West Conference Championship YearsConference tournament (2)2011, 2012 Big Sky Conference Championship YearsRegular season (1)2017Conference tournament (1)2017 NCAA Division II tournament appearances Round YearsElite Eight (8)1965, 1966, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1982, 1990, 1991Final Four (3)1965, 1966, 1990
Postseason
NCAA Division I tournament results North Dakota has appeared in one NCAA Division I tournament. Their record is 0–1.
2017 #15 First round Arizona L 82–100
Summit League tournament results North Dakota has appeared in seven Summit League tournaments. Their combined record is 6–7. 2019 7 Quarterfinals Omaha L 76–81 2020 6 QuarterfinalsSemifinalsChampionship South DakotaPurdue Fort WayneNorth Dakota State W 74–71W 73–56L 53–89 2021 5 Quarterfinals Oral Roberts L 65–76 2023 9 First RoundQuarterfinals DenverOral Roberts W 83–68L 80–96 2024 3 Quarterfinals Omaha L 72–73 2025 6 QuarterfinalsSemifinals South Dakota StateSt. Thomas W 85–69L 69–85 2026 3 QuarterfinalsSemifinalsChampionship DenverSt. ThomasNorth Dakota State W 83–67 W 67–66 L 62–70
Big Sky tournament results North Dakota has appeared in the Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament 5 times. Their combined record is 9–4.
Tournament Champions 2013 3 QuarterfinalsSemifinals Southern UtahWeber State W 69–52L 74–76 2014 2 QuarterfinalsSemifinalsChampionship Sacramento StatePortland StateWeber State W 79–76W 79–63L 67–88 2016 5 First RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinals Southern UtahIdaho StateWeber State W 85–80W 83–49L 78–83 OT 2017 1 QuarterfinalsSemifinalsChampionship Portland StateIdahoWeber State W 95–72W 69–64W 93–89 OT 2018 8 First RoundQuarterfinals Montana StateMontana W 76–74L 76–84
Great West tournament results North Dakota appeared in the Great West Conference men's basketball tournament 3 times. Their combined record is 5–1.
Tournament Champions 2010 3 Quarterfinals NJIT L 57–70 2011 3 QuarterfinalsSemifinalsChampionship Texas–Pan AmericanHouston BaptistSouth Dakota W 71–70W 65–63W 77–76 2OT 2012 2 SemfinalsChampionship Texas–Pan AmericanNJIT W 63–59W 75–60
NCAA Division II tournament results North Dakota has appeared in the NCAA Division II tournament 19 times. Their combined record is 29–22.
1965 Regional semifinalsRegional FinalsElite EightFinal FourNational 3rd-place game Minnesota–DuluthMinnesota State–MoorheadSeattle PacificSouthern IllinoisSaint Michael's W 67–57W 82–57W 97–83L 64–97W 94–86 1966 Regional semifinalsRegional FinalsElite EightFinal FourNational 3rd-place game Northern ColoradoValparaisoAbilene ChristianSouthern IllinoisAkron W 84–71W 112–82W 63–62L 61–69L 71–76 1967 Regional semifinalsRegional 3rd-place game Louisiana TechParsons L 77–86W 107–56 1974 Regional QuarterfinalsRegional semifinalsRegional 3rd-place game Monmouth (IL)Southwest Missouri StateSaint Cloud State W 73–67L 63–71W 75–71 1975 Regional semifinalsRegional FinalsElite Eight Missouri–RollaNebraska–OmahaOld Dominion W 72–61W 84–71L 62–78 1976 Regional semifinalsRegional FinalsElite Eight Nebraska–OmahaGreen BayPuget Sound W 86–74 OTW 65–61L 77–80 1977 Regional semifinalsRegional FinalsElite Eight Augustana (SD)Green BayChattanooga W 71–64W 45–43L 52–76 1979 Regional semifinalsRegional 3rd-place game Green BayNebraska–Omaha L 48–63L 75–86 1980 Regional semifinalsRegional 3rd-place game Western IllinoisStonehill L 79–102L 57–70 1981 Regional semifinalsRegional Finals Central Missouri StateGreen Bay W 87–80L 60–72 1982 Regional semifinalsRegional FinalsElite Eight Eastern MontanaNebraska–OmahaCal State Bakersfield W 59–54W 83–75L 65–67 1990 Regional semifinalsRegional FinalsElite EightFinal FourNational 3rd-place game Alaska–AnchorageMetro StateJacksonville StateKentucky WesleyanMorehouse W 78–71W 85–80W 89–64L 92–101W 98–77 1991 Regional semifinalsRegional FinalsElite Eight Kearney StateSouth Dakota StateVirginia Union W 90–60W 54–51L 63–64 1992 Regional semifinalsRegional 3rd-place game DenverSaint Cloud State L 68–73W 80–60 1993 Regional semifinalsRegional Finals Western StateSouth Dakota W 80–61L 64–66 OT 1994 Regional semifinalsRegional 3rd-place game South DakotaMesa State L 76–94W 97–88 1995 Regional Quarterfinals Morningside L 86–92 2000 Regional QuarterfinalsRegional semifinals South Dakota StateMetro State W 73–67L 58–82 2003 Regional Quarterfinals Saint Cloud State L 69–74
NAIA tournament results North Dakota has appeared in the NAIA tournament three times. Their combined record is 1–3.
1949 First RoundSecond Round HawaiiTexas Tech W 70–53L 57–62 1953 First Round Saint Benedict's L 66–69 1954 First Round Saint Ambrose L 70–77
CIT results North Dakota has appeared in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) five times. Their combined record is 0–5. 2011 First round Air Force L 67–77 2012 First round Drake L 64–70 2013 First round Northern Iowa L 66–77 2014 First round Nebraska–Omaha L 75–91 2016 First round UC Irvine L 86–89OT
List of head coaches 1 George Sweetland 1904–19072 David Dunlap 1909–19113 Charles Armstrong 19124 Fred Archer 19135 Thomas Gill 1914–19176 Harry Caldwell 19187 Paul J. Davis 1919–19238 Edgar "Dutch" Houser 19249 Clement W. Letich 1925–194310 Jack West 194411 Red Jarrett 194512 Harold "Cookie" Cunningham 1946–194813 Red Jarrett 1949–195014 Louis D. Bogan 1951–196115 Bill Fitch 1962–196616 Jimmy Rodgers 1967–196917 Dave Gunther 1970–198718 Rich Glas 1988–200619 Brian Jones 2007–201920 Paul Sather 2019–present
Arenas Budge Hall 1904–1905 YMCA 1906 Armory-Gym 1907–1918 New Armory 1919–1950 Hyslop Sports Center 1951–2003 Betty Engelstad Sioux Center 2004–present
NBA draft picks North Dakota has had four of its players selected in the NBA draft. 8 Jon Haaven 1957 2 Phil Jackson 1967 10 Chris Fahrbach 19792 Jerome Beasley 2003
The following players were drafted into the NBA G League 1 Marlon Stewart 2021 Individual awards and honors NCC awards
All-NCC
Walter Burkman (1923) Arthur Busdicker (1923–24) Edmund Boe (1926–27) Albert Wild (1926) Paul Boyd (1927 and 1929) Victor Brown (1927–28 and 1930) Alford Letch (1927–28) Lewis Lee (1928–29) Harold Eberly (1929) William Lowe (1930–31) Verne DuChene (1930) Curtis Schave (1931) Gordon Dablow (1932–33) Fred Felber (1932) Ted Meinhover (1932–34) Bernard Smith (1932–34) Ken Mullen (1934) Emmet Birk (1935–37) Weston Booth (1935) Herman Witasek (1935–36) Robert Finnegan (1936–37) William McCosh (1938–39) Don Pepke (1939) Bruce Stevenson (1940–42) Dudley Draxton (1947–48)
Don Meredith (1949) Ed Weber (1949–1950) Fritz Engel (1950–51) Chuck Wolfe (1951–53) Jon Haaven (1953–54 and 1957) Don Augustin (1954–56) Ron Lackle (1955) Warner Brand (1955) Bob Hokanson (1958) Bill Monson (1959) Larry Exel (1960) Prentiss Thompson (1961) Curt Holt (1962–63) Tom Nesbitt (1964–66) Jim Hester (1965 and 1967) Paul Pederson (1966–67) Phil Jackson (1965–67) Vern Praus (1968–69) Al Jenkins (1969) Mahlon Sanders (1970–71) Chuck Dodge (1970 and 1972) Craig Skarperud (1972) Jim Goodrich (1974 and 1976) Don Gunhus (1974) Mark Lindahl (1975–76)
Jim Goodrich (1976) Fred Lukens (1977) Chris Fahrbach (1977–79) Todd Bakken (1980) Aaron Harris (1981–82) Dan Clausen (1981–82) Steve Brekke (1982–83) Roland Jacobs (1985) Steve Staver (1987) Dave Vonesh (1988 and 1990–91) Mike Boschee (1989) Scott Guldseth (1991–93) Chris Gardner (1992 and 1994) Todd Johnson (1993–95) Travis Tuttle (1995–97) Frank Iverson (1996) Hunter Berg (1998 and 1999) Chad Mustard (2000) Hunter Reinke (2000) Kyle Behrens (2001) Jerome Beasley (2002–03) Jeff Brandt (2002) Evan Lindahl (2004 and 2006) Todd Rypkema (2004–05) Emmanuel Little (2007–08)
NCC MVPs Chuck Wolfe (1953) Jon Haaven (1954) Don Augustin (1955) Phil Jackson (1966–67) Al Jenkins (1969) Dan Clausen (1982) Dave Vonesh (1990–91) Scott Guldseth (1993) Kyle Behrens (2001) Jerome Beasley (2002–03)
Defensive Player of the Year Rico Burkett (1991) Frank Iverson (1996) Harry Boyce (2007)
Newcomer of the Year Broderick Powell (1992) Jerome Beasley (2002)
Freshman of the Year Jeff Brandt (2001)
NCC All-Freshman Team Chris Gardner (1991) Todd Johnson (1992) Travis Tuttle (1993) Brian Ehrp (1994) Dale Aue (1995)
Academic All-NCC Fred Lukens (1975–77) Doug Moe (1979–81) Todd Bakken (1979–81) Jon Sonat (1982) Mark Basco (1986) Pete Stewart (1987) Scott Guldseth (1992–93) Ben Jacobson (1993) Travis Tuttle (1997) Blaine Ristvedt (2000) Kyle Behrens (2001) Steve Bradley (2005) Todd Rypkema (2005) Josh Doyle (2006–08) Jimmy Hoy (2006 and 2008) Derek Benter (2008) Tyler Koenig (2008)
Great West awards
First Team All-Great West Travis Bledsoe (2010)
Second Team All-Great West Troy Huff (2011–12) Patrick Mitchell (2012)
All-Tournament team Patrick Mitchell (2011**) Troy Huff (2011–12) Jamal Webb (2012**)
* = Tournament MVP
Academic All-Great West Derek Benter (2009) Daniel Haskins (2009) Dustin Monsebroten (2009)
Big Sky awards
First Team All-Big Sky Troy Huff (2013–14) Quinton Hooker (2016–17)
Second Team All-Big Sky Aaron Anderson (2013) Geno Crandall (2017–18)
All-Tournament team Troy Huff (2013–14) Quinton Hooker (2016–17**) Corey Baldwin (2017)
** = Tournament MVP
Reserve of the Year Jamal Webb (2014) Cortez Seales (2017)
Academic All-Big Sky Chad Calcaterra (2014) Dustin Hobaugh (2015–16) Conner Avants (2016 and 2018) Dale Jones (2018)
Summit League awards
First Team All-Summit League Marlon Stewart (2020) B.J. Omot (2024)
Second Team All-Summit League Filip Rebrača (2021) Tyree Ihenacho (2024) Treysen Eaglestaff (2025) Greyson Uelmen (2026) Eli King (2026)
Honorable Mention All-Summit League Cortez Seales (2019) Mier Panoam (2025)
All-Defensive team Eli King (2024–26)
All-Newcomer team Amar Kuljuhovic (2024) Greyson Uelmen (2026)
All-Tournament team Marlon Stewart (2020) Treysen Eaglestaff (2025) Greyson Uelmen (2026) Eli King (2026)
Freshman of the Year Tyree Ihenacho (2021) Paul Bruns (2022)
Sixth Man of the Year Matt Norman (2023)
Defensive Player of the Year Eli King (2026)
All-time statistical leaders
Single-game leaders Points: Henry (Doc) O'Keefe (56, 1908) Assists: Doug Moe (14, 1979) Rebounds: Don Augustin (32, 1955) Steals: Dave Vonesh (9, 1990) 3 point FG made: Travis Tuttle (10, 1994), Patrick Mitchell (10, 2010) Free Throws made: Phil Jackson (23, 1967)
Single-season leaders Points: Dave Vonesh (788, 1989–90) Assists: Rico Burkett (232, 1989–90) Rebounds: Dave Vonesh (410, 1989–90) Steals: Troy Huff (79, 2013–14) Blocks: Chris Gardner (93, 1991–93) FG made: Dave Vonesh (303, 1989–90) 3 point FG made: Travis Tuttle (102, 1994–95) Free Throws Made: Phil Jackson (208)
Career leaders