Two former Bulldog football players were part of the NDSU entourage who visited the White House earlier this week. The NDSU football team took part in a ceremony with President Donald Trump to honor NDSU’s 2018 NCAA Division I FCS national championship in January.

 

Dillon Radunz and Beau Pauly were part of the championship team that enjoyed presenting the 45th POTUS with a team jersey. then enjoyed a meal consisting of burgers, sandwiches, french fries and sodas — just what young men tend to like, the President said.

 

“I know you people,” Trump said to laughter, “We like American companies.”

 

The NDSU traveling party consists of the 108 players who finished the season at the Division I FCS national title game in Frisco, TX, and two players who joined the team after Christmas: transfer quarterback Zeb Noland from Iowa State and early high school graduate Griffin Crosa, a kicker from Powell, OH.

 

 

No players opted out for political reasons, unlike the Clemson visit when several Tigers, in a way of showing displeasure for Trump, decided against attending the ceremony.

 

“We addressed it,” Bison head coach Matt Entz said. “This isn’t a political trip, this is a Bison trip and, personally, I sold it as two things: It’s one more opportunity for the 2018 team to be together, but also in my mind the start of the 2019 season and the things we’re going to do together.”

 

Entz was named the team’s coach in December, moving up from defensive coordinator when Chris Klieman was named head coach at Kansas State.

 

The experience included a tour and lunch at the Capitol hosted by North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven (R). The players spent 2½ hours late in the afternoon to visit monuments or tourist sites.

 

The Bison, who have the most titles in the NCAA Division 1 Football Championship Subdivision, ended the season on Jan. 5 with a 38-24 win over Eastern Washington University.