NDSU's Klieman Signs Six-Year Contract Through 2021 Season

FARGO, N.D. – North Dakota State athletic director Matt Larsen today announced head football coach Chris Klieman has agreed to a new six-year contract to coach the Bison through the 2021 season.

Klieman is in his sixth year overall and his third as the head coach at NDSU.  He signed a five-year contract as head coach in 2014 and accepted a two-year extension in 2015 that ran through the 2020 season.

“We are glad to have Chris and his family in Fargo for years to come,” Larsen said.  “I am extremely confident in the continued growth of our football program under his leadership.”

NDSU is 28-3 over the past two years, including a 14-2 mark in the Missouri Valley Football Conference and the program’s fourth and fifth straight conference and NCAA national championships.

“I am very blessed to have the best job in FCS football,” Klieman said.  “I am thankful for Matt Larsen and President Bresciani for their continued support and belief in our vision as a staff and football program.  NDSU has tremendous student-athletes who are receiving an outstanding education and foundation for excellence which are showcased and supported by an unbelievable fan base and institution.”

North Dakota State is 17-2 against FCS Top 25 teams under Klieman and has been the No. 2 and No. 3 national seed for the FCS playoffs.  NDSU has had 13 All-America players, including Buck Buchanan Award-winning defensive end Kyle Emanuel.  There have been five CoSIDA Academic All-America® selections.

North Dakota State didn't skip a beat in Klieman's first year despite losing 23 seniors and welcoming seven new assistant coaches.  The Bison scored 34 unanswered points to beat Big 12 member Iowa State in the season opener as part of an FCS-record 33-game winning streak that extended into November.

NDSU replaced seven starters on defense in 2015 and won eight straight games under freshman quarterback Easton Stick after a midseason injury to senior starter Carson Wentz.  The Bison defense continually improved from a season-opening loss at Montana and held four playoff opponents to just 217 yards and nine points per game.

Klieman was named the 2014 Rawlings Football/American Football Monthly FCS Coach of the Year and was a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award presented by The Sports Network to the FCS Coach of the Year.  His 9-0 start was the best by any first-year head coach in NDSU and Missouri Valley Football Conference history.

A native of Waterloo, Iowa, Klieman was a three-time All-Gateway Conference defensive back at Northern Iowa and a four-year letterwinner from 1986-90.  He graduated from UNI in 1990 with a bachelor's degree in health education and earned a master's degree in physical education from UNI in 1992.

Klieman and his wife, Rhonda, are the parents of two sons, Devin and Colby, and one daughter, Haley.