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.

There’s ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ — and then there’s ‘Hawai’i’s Eleven.’

Valley City State University in North Dakota was home to eleven football players from Hawai’i during the fall 2024 season.

But just like the movie franchise, that number will probably grow.

VCSU offensive coordinator Dustin Yorek, the Hawai’i recruiter for the Vikings, is looking to continue the pipeline from across the Pacific Ocean.

Players from Hawai’i on VCSU’s roster include ‘Iolani running back Ka’ua Nishigaya, Waipahu offensive linemen Moziah Rogers-Tivao, Kishaun Salavea-Glover and Taison Tisalona and Kaiser skill position players Mason Nelson and Hunter Phelps.

Also on the roster are Castle’s Ksen Warren, ‘Aiea’s Micah Kealoha, Kea’au’s Malachi Torres, Campbell’s Rowen Bucao and Pearl City’s Tobias Vazquez.

“It feels more like home because we have each other and we always talk to each other and hang out with each other so so it feels just like home with all of them,” Vazquez said.

Yorek credits the coaching that players in Hawai’i get that allows them to be successful at the next level.

“Football is loved in Hawai’i and kids there can train year round with great coaches,” said Yorek.

“Our offensive linemen we get from Hawai’i are polished because of organizations like Trench Warriors or Trench Dawgz that train these guys year round.”

Yorek added that players from Hawai’i have a higher chance to see the field early in their careers playing for the Vikings.

“We have had offensive lineman come here and travel right away. I think part of the reason is we cap our roster at 100-110 players so each athlete has a real shot at making the 57-man travel roster. Hawai’i athletes also have a hand up getting onto the field early in their careers because like Texas, there are some tremendous coaches that coach these athletes and football year round.”

VCSU competes in the NAIA, which is very similar to Division II college athletics, but because it is not affiliated with the NCAA, a different governing body allows for slightly different eligibility and recruiting rules.

This allows the university to stack academic and athletic scholarships together. Combined with the low cost of living in North Dakota, the school provides a great opportunity for higher education with little to no debt.

“We have had great success with Hawai’i players coming here first and foremost because we are an affordable option,” Yorek said.

In addition to academic and athletic scholarships provided by the university, Fantastic Sams Hawai’i has partnered with VCSU on additional scholarship opportunities to Hawai’i student-athletes.

“Fantastic Sams has been a huge supporter of youth, high school and college sports in Hawai’i for over two decades now,” said regional director Chad Nelson.

Last year, Fantastic Sams awarded scholarships to five football players from five different OIA schools.

“In 2021-2022, I discovered that VCSU was recruiting heavily in Hawai’i, and I had to find out why and wanted to learn more about their program,” Nelson added.

“When I asked one of the of the assistant coaches why a small school from North Dakota would come so far to recruit these local boys, he gave me the answer we already knew ‘They’re straight dawgs on the field, I don’t know what it is, but they’re built different.’ And the second part of his answer we already knew too. ‘Off the field they’re some of the kindest, most respectful young men we’ve seen…

“They get it. The decision to support local athletes committing to VCSU was easy, and through the Fantastic Sams scholarship, we’re able to bring more awareness to this great opportunity, helping them get to that next level.”

Athletes in Hawai’i that are interested in these scholarship can apply by going to vcsuvkings.com and fill out the ‘Recruit Me’ form.