MSU President's column for Traill County Tribune

July 4, 2015 

Mayville State to host Shrine Bowl athletes and coaches

 

For the fourth year in a row, Mayville State University will host the North Dakota Shrine Bowl players and coaches during their week of training prior to this year’s 9-man and 11-man games. The Shrine Bowl will be held at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks on July 18. The North Dakota Shrine Bowl is sponsored by the Kem and El Zagal Temples of Grand Forks and Fargo, North Dakota. Participating players and coaches are selected by the North Dakota High School Coaches Association.

The 138 members of the East and West 9-man and 11-man teams and their 16 coaches will practice at the Mayville State. Accommodations will be provided in Mayville State residence halls and dining services. Shrine game players and coaches will arrive at Mayville State about noon Monday, July 13 and check out the morning of July 18.

In addition to the regular practice schedule, a few special activities are planned for the football players. On Tuesday evening, July 14, they will be treated to a private showing at Mayville’s Delchar Theater. Thursday is Patient Ambassador Day/Press Day. Individual and team photos will be taken, and the Shriners will be holding a hospital screening clinic at Mayville State from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon. There will be a dinner outing for the Shrine Bowl participants at Mayville’s Island Park Thursday evening. Friday, it’s back to “business as usual” with practices in the morning and afternoon. Mayville will provide entertainment Friday evening.

Players and coaches will check out of the Mayville State residence halls Saturday morning and proceed to the Alerus Center for the annual banquet which begins at 10:30 a.m. The 11-man game will begin at 4:00 p.m. at the Alerus Center, followed by the 9-man game at 7:00 p.m. The games are open to the public and tickets can be purchased at the Alerus Center on game day.

This marks the 42nd annual North Dakota Shrine Bowl. Teams are made up mostly of athletes from North Dakota and a few from northwest Minnesota, areas included in the Kem and El Zagal territories. The 16 coaches are all members in good standing with the North Dakota High School Coaches Association. Selections were based on the coaches’ respective 2014 seasons.

We’re thrilled to be hosting all of the players and coaches, and especially pleased that a couple of the coaches who will be participating in the Shrine Bowl are Mayville State graduates. Sandy Laxdal, a 1991 Mayville State graduate is head coach for the 9-man East team. Laxdal coaches at Cavalier, N.D. One of his assistant coaches will be Jason Monilaws, a 1998 Mayville State graduate, who coaches in Hankinson, N.D.

For more information about the North Dakota Shrine Bowl, go to NDShrineBowl.com. Shriners International is a fraternity based on fun, fellowship, and the Masonic principles of brotherly love, truth, and relief. Their philanthropic efforts are committed to the Shriners Hospitals for Children. The hospitals are changing lives every day through innovative pediatric specialty care, world-class research, and outstanding medical education. The 22 Shriners hospitals focus on four specialized areas of care: orthopedic care, burn care, spinal cord injury, and cleft lip and palate care.

We look forward to having the 2015 Shrine Bowl athletes and their coaches on our campus. Our new and updated facilities will help us to provide a great atmosphere and experience for them. I invite you to come over to campus and watch practices between July 13 and 17 to get a preview to the Shrine Bowl 2015.