North Dakota State University filled the final date of its 2005 football schedule with the University of Arkansas at Monticello The game is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 1, at the Fargodome. The announcement was made today by NDSU Director of Athletics Gene Taylor. He said the game will either have a 6 or 7 p.m. kickoff.

The University of Arkansas-Monticello is a member of NCAA Division II and the Gulf South Conference. This will be the first meeting between the two schools. NDSU has compiled a 4-4 record in eight previous meetings against GSC schools. The last meeting came in the 2000 NCAA Division semifinals, a 34-16 loss at Delta State. The Boll Weevils compiled a 6-5 record overall last year including a 5-4 mark in league play.

UAM head coach Gwaine Mathews was hired earlier this month. Mathews was the defensive coordinator for Delta State during the Statesmen run to the 2000 NCAA Division II national title. The Boll Weevils have their annual spring game this weekend.

NDSU's first road game is against Southland Conference champion Northwestern State University at 6 p.m. Sept. 10, in Natchitoches, La. The Bison defeated Northwestern State 30-17 in Fargo last season in the first meeting between the teams.

Northwestern State is another team on the 2005 NDSU schedule that advanced to the NCAA I-AA playoffs last year. Northwestern State (8-4) lost at eventual runner-up Montana, 56-7, in the opening round.

North Dakota State will play Montana State University at 2:05 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24, in Bozeman, Mont. The Bobcats were 6-5 overall and 4-3 in conference play last fall. It will be the first meeting between the schools since 1980 when Montana State posted a 21-19 win.

For the second straight season, NDSU opens Great West Football Conference play on the road. The Bison play defending league champ Cal Poly (9-2) at a time to be announced Saturday, Oct. 8, in San Luis Obispo, Calif.

The Bison will close the season with Southern Illinois University, the defending champion of the Gateway Conference. SIU was ranked No. 1 for nine straight weeks heading into the NCAA I-AA playoffs. NDSU plays the Salukis at 3 p.m. Nov. 19, in Carbondale, Ill. The Bison and Salukis will be meeting for the second time. Southern Illinois defeated NDSU 20-15 in Carbondale in 1963.

North Dakota State finished the 2004 season with an 8-3 record under the direction of head coach Craig Bohl. It was NDSU's first year of Division I-AA football. The Bison finished 23rd in The Sports Network's Top 25 poll, 23rd in the ESPN/USA Today Top 25, 20th in the AGS (Any Given Saturday) Poll Final, 17th in the GPI (Gridiron Power Index) Final Poll and 15th in the Football Gazette's Top 40.