Polansky in his 5th and final year with the Bison herd

Undefeated at 4-0 so far, Grygla High School Alumnus, Daniel Polansky, is a proud member of the Bison football team as a wide receiver. This is his 5th and final year of playing for North Dakota State University; he redshirted his freshman year with the team. 

Daniel will be graduating in December with a degree in Electrical Engineering and a Minor in Mathematics.

Daniel’s parents, Gary and Laurie Polansky, of Gatzke, have made it to all of the Bison home games so far this year and they usually bring some friends or other family with. As for the away games, having family in attendance usually depends on the location, but Daniel says his sister, Rebecca, and her husband, Scott, who live in Oregon, were able to make it to the game in Cheney, Washington, on September 9th. Daniel’s aunt Marilyn also plans on making it to a few of his away games that are located in the Midwest. “We get 4 tickets to give away for home games and 2 for away games. Players can transfer tickets to other players if they aren’t using them that week,” he explained.

Daniel has a lot of great experiences on the field, including the win against Iowa last year, even though he suffered an injury in the game. He has also been a part of the exciting history when the team won 5 consecutive NCAA Division I FCS National Championships between 2011 and 2015. NDSU is the only college football program to ever win 5 consecutive NCAA national championships!

“I think the best experiences are just all the days of getting to be with the guys and bonding as teammates – even if we get a little rowdy sometimes,” Daniel smiled. He says he has made so many great friends and it will be a big change not seeing them every single day at the weight room, meetings or practice.

His time on the Bison roster isn’t over yet, though. NDSU plays at Indiana State this Saturday, October 7th, and again on Saturday, October 14th, at Youngstown State in Ohio. The next home game is set for October 21st against Western IL.

With the hard work he puts on the field, Daniel works hard off the field, as well. With preparations to graduate in December, he is currently working at JDES (John Deere Electronic Solutions) in Fargo. He has been working there since May of 2016, full-time in the summer and part-time during the school year. He is interning in Product Verification and Validation, and has accepted a full-time position in Electronic Design, which will start with the company in January.

Best of luck to Daniel and the rest of the Bison team this season; we’re cheering them on from back home.