UND football starts fall camp amid construction projects
Aug. 2—GRAND FORKS — For many years, the UND football program kicked off fall camp by practicing outdoors at Memorial Stadium.
On Wednesday, the Fighting Hawks held Day 1 of fall camp in an especially unique setting.
Not only were the 100-plus members of the UND football team inside at the Fritz Pollard Jr. Athletic Center, but construction equipment and workers were busy inside and outside the school's indoor training facility.
Across the Memorial Stadium turf field from the Pollard, construction workers continued building Memorial Village, a five-story structure that will feature athletic offices and academic support for student-athletes on the first floor, with the remaining four stories housing 99 market-rate apartments.
Inside the Pollard, two lifts were stationed on the track surface as crews prepared the inside of the Pollard for the upcoming construction on the exterior. A new entryway was created on the north side of the Pollard to allow for construction at the original entryway.
The construction adjacent to the Pollard is the privately funded $20 million addition, a project just beginning the early stages of construction. The additions will include new locker rooms, weight rooms and a facility for UND's sports medicine department.
"Exciting for our program," UND coach Bubba Schweigert said. "Lots of optimism when you look to the future.
"We want to stay in the present and in the moment, but it's sure exciting for the program."
UND's fall camp anticipates some possible adjustments to the routine in order to accommodate the construction process.
"Every once and a while, it causes us to adjust a little bit," Schweigert said. "We might have to go around a crane or a payloader, but we'll take it because we're looking forward to the future. Right now, though, we're trying to stay in the moment and get better every day."
UND will practice again Thursday, Friday and Saturday mornings with Saturday's practice expected to take place outdoors on the grass field south of the Pollard.
Details: UND practiced in helmets and shorts from 8:45 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the Pollard. Temperatures outdoors were approaching 80 degrees on a sunny, humid morning with little breeze.
Play of the day: In passing drills, backup quarterback Trey Feeney fired deep over the middle to wide receiver Caden Dennis for a touchdown.
Keep an eye on: Sophomore Nate Demontagnac, a candidate to emerge with the graduation of Garett Maag, was a steady target during team work, catching passes from Tommy Schuster and Feeney.
* Schuster was announced as a member of the Walter Payton Award watch list early Wednesday. In his traditional style, Schuster downplayed the honor to the assembled area television outlets after practice.
* UND's helmets featured white facemasks for the first time. The facemasks were previously black.
* Some notable UND players did some number-swapping in the offseason. Wide receiver Red Wilson now wears No. 12, while defensive end Ben McNaboe wears No. 18.
* While addressing a question about running back depth, Schweigert told the media Luke Skokna, who was injured for most of the 2022 season, had a strong offseason.
* UND's offense just misfired on a pair of deep balls during the team portion of practice. Schuster overthrew Bo Belquist, while rookie Jerry Kaminski did the same to true freshman tight end Noah Gehin.
* At least one NFL scout was in attendance on Day 1 with the Detroit Lions represented.
