Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
The ability to get after it in the weight room is a backbone of Bison football. One of the driving forces of the impressive operation is Football Director of Athletic Performance, Ryan Napoli.
"We get to do this every day. It's the moments of pushing somebody past the brink, or encouraging, or inspiring, or being an ear. All those things to help them grow and be a better person and football player. That is what inspires and drives me every day," said Napoli.
Napoli started his coaching journey in the weight room as an assistant with the Bison. He was on staff for the first Five FCS national championships, learning from the greats that have helped build the program.
"Right when I left he (Tim Polasek) sent me this framed coaching commandments. Treat a man as he is and he'll stay what he is. Treat a man as he should be and he'll become what he could be. I just looked at 'Coach P' and said alright that's the kind of coach I want to be," said Napoli.
With a solid foundation, Napoli learned some times in life a change is necessary.
"The O-line coach at SEMO was coach Polasek's Center in college. So, I'm driving back from Christmas and he had known I'd been starting to look. I'd been here for six seasons. It felt like I needed to go on my own to grow as a coach and move forward because Coach Kramer is a legend and he wasn't going anywhere. So, he called me and said hey there is a job opportunity at SEMO are you interested? I took the call and that is how that worked out," said Napoli.
He spent six seasons in two separate stints with Southeast Missouri State University as the head man in the weight room, with the goal of turning around a struggling program around.
"I tried to bring as much of the formula from NDSU down there as I could. We had some success but I learned it's different. It was kind of an eye opening experience because it was like this isn't Fargo anymore," said Napoli. "We are in a fortunate position that we just have a lot of things in place that have been in place for a long time. So, it's just kind of what the Bison do and most places don't have that or they are trying to do that now and you can't do that."
When the time was right, Fargo came calling again. On Saturday, Napoli's two worlds collided on the gridiron for the first time.
"I just want to watch these guys. We get to go out there every Saturday and you only get so many Saturday's with this squad and at the end of the day it's just another test and I'm really fired up about this football team as we all are. Just to go out on Saturday, compete our tails off and have fun doing it. That's what it's all about," said Napoli.
Prior to Saturday's game, Napoli was able to take some time and reconnect with Redhawks Head Coach Tom Matukewicz. It was also a reunion for Bison freshman quarterback, Preston Brown. He shared the field with his brother Payton, a sophomore running back at SEMO, for the first time since high school. First-year director of football equipment, Brett Reynolds, also saw some familiar faces this weekend. He is a graduate of Southeast Missouri State and spent four seasons on staff there.