MSUM Dragon Football vs Mankato

MOORHEAD — Minnesota State Moorhead is taking its athletic department on the road for a couple future events, more specifically, across the Red River.

The Dragons are calling the venue changes the “Red River Roadshow.”

“I want to make sure that we are creating a fantastic student-athlete experience and finding new ways to do that,” said MSUM athletic director Chad Markuson.

The Dragons are moving their Saturday, Nov. 14, game against Minnesota State Mankato from Alex Nemzek Stadium to the Fargodome, a game slated for a noon kickoff.

“With the momentum of our football program, I wanted to shine a light on our student-athletes,” said Markuson of Tuesday’s announcement.

The Dragons football team (5-2, 4-2 NSIC) has won three consecutive games and the Nov. 14 game against the Mavericks is the final game of the regular season. MSUM has a 3-0 record in the NSIC North Division, which is good for first place. Mankato (7-0, 6-0) leads the South Division.

“I don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves, but I think it’s a great opportunity,” said Dragons football coach Steve Laqua. “It’s a place that’s got a lot of history in the community. It’s one of the best places in college football to play.”

MSUM has three games before that potential showdown on Nov. 14 against the Mavericks.

The Dragons football team (5-2, 4-2 NSIC) has won three consecutive games and the Nov. 14 game against the Mavericks is the final game of the regular season. MSUM has a 3-0 record in the NSIC North Division, which is good for first place. Mankato (7-0, 6-0) leads the South Division.

“I don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves, but I think it’s a great opportunity,” said Dragons football coach Steve Laqua. “It’s a place that’s got a lot of history in the community. It’s one of the best places in college football to play.”

MSUM has three games before that potential showdown on Nov. 14 against the Mavericks.

The Dragons have played three previous football games in the Fargodome with the most recent coming in 2000.

“It’s a great chance for us to take our show from Moorhead and get it into the bigger Fargo-Moorhead community for our fans, our alumni, our students who can get over into Fargo,” Laqua said.

Markuson said he remembers a snowstorm causing issues with a football game near of the end of a season a few years ago. At the time, he thought it would have been nice to move that contest to the Fargodome, he said.

“It resonated as an idea and this year the schedules aligned for it. It was an opportunity to take advantage,” Markuson said.

Laqua said multiple players on the roster have played in the Fargodome during their high school careers, since the venue regularly hosts North Dakota’s Dakota Bowl and Minnesota section championship games.

For those who haven’t, it’s a welcomed new experience.

“It’s a benefit for our players to play in an environment where they haven’t played before,” Laqua said.