VCSU football notebook: big things in store for the Vikings in 2025

BY MICHAEL LASQUERO | HSRN
PUBLISHED DECEMBER 31, 2024

With nearly a dozen players from Hawai’i, life in North Dakota as a member of the Valley City State University football team can be similar to living the life back in the islands.

That is until the winter months.

Fortunately for student-athletes like Haiku-native Tobias Vasquez, an expansion to the W.E. Osmon Fieldhouse should make practice easier during the cold season.

VCSU will break ground on the new expansion in the spring of 2025 thanks to a generous $5 million donation by Garth Tharaldson and family. This will help VCSU add an indoor turf practice facility, a 200-meter indoor track, locker and meeting rooms as well as a new Hall of Fame.

“I’m excited because it sucks practicing in the cold,” said Vasquez. “I’m not used to it. It’s hard, but it’s football.”

Vasquez is one of eleven players from Hawai’i that was on the Vikings’ roster in 2024. Although he redshirted this past season, Vasquez is looking to be a contributor for VCSU in 2025 as the Vikings will be leaving the North Star Athletic Association and joining the Frontier Conference in the fall.

“We’re excited for this new adventure with a well-respected and highly competitive conference in the NAIA,” said VCSU coach Dennis McCulloch. “With our five NSAA schools making the move together, the conference can get creative with scheduling to help lessen the anticipated increase in travel time and costs.”

“The daily competition we’ll face in the Frontier is a challenge that our programs will be forced to rise to,” said McCulloch. “With support from our campus and a passionate fan base, we’re confident we can elevate our programs to become more competitive nationally as a member of the Frontier.”

The Vikings are making the move with four other NSAA schools. While majority of the Frontier Conference full-member schools hail from Montana, there are four football-only members that are closer to the islands in Arizona Christian, College of Idaho, Eastern Oregon and Southern Oregon.

Vasquez is looking forward to the opportunity, especially with former King Kekaulike teammates Kingston Kapu and Kalani Puu on Eastern Oregon’s roster.

“I’m excited for it because it’s better teams so more competition, more room to get better and improve,” said Vasquez.

With more opponents closer to home, VCSU just adds to the number of reasons why it’s a solid option for Hawai’i student-athletes wanting to play at the next level.

Scholarship opportunities, like the one sponsored by Fantastic Sams, also make VCSU an affordable option.

There is still time to get recruited by the Vikings. Athletes in Hawai’i that are interested in these scholarship can apply by going to vcsuvkings.com and fill out the ‘Recruit Me’ form.

VCSU offensive coordinator Dustin Yorek, the Hawai’i recruiter for the Vikings, will be looking to hand out scholarships to prospective players in person towards the ending of January and beginning of February 2025.