The University of North Dakota announced today that Athletics Director Bill Chaves has received a four-year contract extension. Chaves, who was named UND’s 16th athletics director in 2018, will now be at UND through spring 2026.
“Bill Chaves has done a fantastic job of managing and promoting UND athletics, as well as seeing to the well-being of our University’s student athletes during challenging times,” said UND President Andrew Armacost. “He’s displayed outstanding leadership and has been an extraordinary partner across all divisions and units on campus.
“We are proud that under his leadership, our student athletes have demonstrated their ability to shine in sports, in the classroom and in the community, fulfilling the most important mission of an institution of higher education,” Armacost added. “Bill has also played an instrumental role in guiding UND’s transition into two new athletics conferences. I look forward to working with him over the next four years.”
Chaves said he, too, is looking forward to continuing his work under Armacost’s leadership.
“UND is an amazing institution of higher learning, and I have been so fortunate to be able to serve for the past four years,” he said. “I look forward to continuing to work with so many great colleagues on campus and in our department.
“I continue to wake up every day trying to figure out how to make our student-athletes’ experience a memorable one, and the best it can be, while also continuing to try and make our State, alumni and supporters proud.”
Four more years
Under Chaves, UND introduced its first official mascot in the University’s history. Since fall 2018, the Fighting Hawks nickname and likeness have touched all corners of campus as the newest features of UND’s institutional identity – this includes the minting of “fightinghawks.com” as the official website for UND Athletics.
Chaves’ tenure also saw the Athletics Department develop and adopt a strategic plan, called the Flight Plan. The plan dovetails with the University’s strategic plan and was developed with input from athletes, coaches, alumni and supporters, among other constituents.
Along with those developments, UND and most of its sports teams joined the NCAA Division I Summit League conference during the 2018-19 academic year. The football team, which joined the Missouri Valley Football Conference in 2020, became the first team to win a conference championship in its first year. During Chaves’ tenure, UND has so far made two FCS playoff appearances and reached the quarterfinals for the first time in program history in 2020 – nationally ranking as high as No. 2 during the season.
With those successes in mind, UND extended its usage agreement with the City of Grand Forks/Spectra Entertainment to play football in the Alerus Center through 2030.
Also during Chaves’ tenure, UND extended its usage agreement with the Ralph Engelstad Arena through 2030, ensuring a home for the University’s Division I hockey program. The team is consistently ranked among the best in the nation, having most recently won an NCAA Championship in the 2015-16 season. In 2021, the Ralph Engelstad Arena played host to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff – the first of such tournaments to be played on a college campus.
The Fighting Hawks have won back-to-back NCHC regular season championships, and this year, they may well become the first in conference history to win a third consecutive Penrose Cup.
In addition to the recent successes of the hockey and football programs, the Fighting Hawks men’s basketball team earned its first win over a Power Five Conference team in UND’s Division I history, against the University of Nebraska in 2019. That season, Head Coach Paul Sather became one of only three other head coaches to take his team to the Summit League Tournament Final in his first season. Also during that season, the women’s basketball team reached the Summit League Semifinals.
(UND release)
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