BISMARCK, N.D. – North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard have staked a friendly wager on Saturday’s contest for the Dakota Marker between the North Dakota State University and South Dakota State University football teams.
In honor of the two states’ 128th anniversary celebrated Thursday, Nov. 2, Daugaard has agreed to donate $128 to the NDSU Foundation if the Bison win, and Burgum will donate the same amount to the SDSU Foundation if the Jackrabbits emerge victorious in the cross-border rivalry.
Burgum said he’s looking forward to collecting after losing his most recent bet with Daugaard, on the Sept. 16 football matchup between the University of North Dakota and the University of South Dakota. Burgum will be sending a case of bison steaks to Daugaard to settle that wager.
“I’m confident Gov. Daugaard will enjoy the delicious North Dakota-raised bison, which is good, because the only thing the Jackrabbits will be tasting this weekend is defeat,” Burgum said. “The Bison are hungry to reclaim the Dakota Marker they lost last year for the first time since 2009. Of course, the real winners in this game are the fans and residents of our two states who are so well-represented by their top-10 teams in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Go Bison!”
Daugaard has equal confidence in SDSU.
“President Harrison signed the Dakotas’ statehood proclamations at the same time, so no one knows which was first,” Daugaard said. “The state coming in first won’t be so elusive on Saturday when the Jacks keep the Dakota Marker where it belongs, in South Dakota.”
Kickoff for the 14th annual Dakota Marker game is at 2 p.m. Saturday in Brookings, S.D. The trophy is a 75-pound model replica of the original quartzite monuments placed at half-mile intervals along the border in 1891-92.