Pat Fredrickson still remembers the date: August 15, 1978.
 
Outside, fall camp was underway for North Dakota State's football team coming off back-to-back conference championships and an NCAA semifinal appearance.
 
Inside the NDSU fieldhouse, Fredrickson shared her first day on the job as the assistant business manager with a new men's basketball coach named Erv Inniger.
 
Now the senior associate athletic director for business, Fredrickson is retiring Friday, Dec. 18, after more than 42 years in the NDSU Athletics business office.
 
Fredrickson worked for four athletic directors and two interim athletic directors. Over the years, she became a veritable historian of the department and a valuable resource during times of transition.
 
"In my position a lot of it had to do with the budget, expenditures and payroll, and I was obviously very well-versed in all of that," Fredrickson said. "I think sometimes when a new person comes in, that's an area they need some guidance."
 
Fredrickson has successfully managed a budget that has grown from approximately $400,000 in her first year to just over $26 million this year.
 
"One of the main things with my job has to do with integrity and honesty, and I think each one of them saw that," Fredrickson said.
 
Not only did athletic directors count on her, but she was the athletic department's point person for the U.S. Secret Service in planning President George W. Bush's speech at the Bison Sports Arena in 2001. It was an unforgettable assignment with an unexpected ending.
 
The building was quiet after the crowd had cleared out, and the president was meeting with staff in a classroom near the ticket office. When he came out to the lobby where Fredrickson was standing with others, she introduced herself.
 
"President Bush, this would never have happened if there hadn't been a woman in charge," she said.
 
"He laughed and said, 'I totally agree with you.' That was a highlight to get to meet and be that close to a sitting president of the United States."
 
Fredrickson had a front-row seat to plenty of big moments in Bison history. She has been part of 24 national championships and helped guide NDSU's successful reclassification to Division I – a move that also meant stepping away from ticket sales and focusing on the financial operations behind the scenes.
 
"Sometimes in my role you have to make tough decisions when it comes to finances," Fredrickson said, "but I can honestly say that if I have had to make some decisions that were not liked, everybody I've worked with respected that I made that decision for the betterment of the department."
 
Fredrickson informed athletic director Matt Larsen of her decision to retire about a year ago, months before the coronavirus pandemic. She says she is not walking away because of the current financial challenges, but that it's just time to retire.
 
"I am going to miss the people. They are part of my family," she said. "I just love coming to work every day and to see the student-athletes excel. It has been such a privilege to work here. I have had more experiences and fun times than I ever would have thought in a million years, but it's now time for me to retire and give up the reins to some younger people."
 
Fredrickson grew up in Fertile, Minn., and went to school at the Minnesota School of Business in Minneapolis. She worked at Gate City Bank for 12 years then spent five years as a stay-at-home mom before starting at NDSU.
 
Her two boys, Scott and Matt, both graduated from NDSU and the family now includes three grandsons and three great-grandchildren that she looks forward to spending more time with in retirement with her husband, Bob.