FARGO — The last time Christian Dudzik was a part of the North Dakota State football program, he was a standout in the Bison secondary nicknamed the “Wolf Pack.” That was in 2014, and Dudzik left the program with four Division I FCS national championship rings.

Last month he returned to college, but this time he’s part of a team with a different nickname: “The Night Owls.”

As the director of creative content for the athletic department, it’s not uncommon for the multimedia staff in general and Dudzik in particular to work late into the night. It’s been 10 years since Dudzik put on a soccer uniform, but that time away hasn’t taken away from the excitement on game day.

He’s back. When the Bisons play East Tennessee State in Johnson City, Tenn., late Saturday afternoon, Dudzik will be there with his camera and video technology.

“The smells on game day take you back to playing and I definitely had the adrenaline,” Dudzik said of last week’s home opener against Tennessee State. “It’s definitely a new world for me, but it’s strange because a lot of things are familiar and I understand how a lot of things work here. Yeah, sometimes I just want to put the camera down, hit guys in the head and start doing drills.”

David Samson/Forum Communications Co.

As it stands now, he will be doing close-up shots of players with his camera. He will be doing wide-angle shots. Nothing with a camera is impossible. It is his first full-time job in the video business after several years in the personal training industry, a feeling that he is doing something he was made for.

It’s been a hobby since the days he was growing up in Omaha, Nebraska, and his brother would film him with an old camcorder. Kyle Dudzik was probably 6 years old when Christian edited a video of himself tossing a basketball from one side of the yard to the other, with the ball going into the hoop.

In high school, at Omaha Skutt Catholic, Dudzik edited videos a Skutt teacher shot during football games and turned them into a highlight video.

“It was the first time I really felt an artistic flow,” he said. “I was just in the zone when I was making this video. I always caught myself realizing that this just happened hours ago, but now we’ve had it forever. I think that’s really powerful.”

Now he’ll edit Bison games that could be archived forever. It helped that Tim Polasek was hired as head coach — Dudzik was a Bison player when Polasek was an assistant at NDSU.

“I didn’t know what it would be like to work with him, but I knew what it was like to be a player for him,” Dudzik said. “I didn’t know exactly what to expect, but it was what I hoped it would be with him. He’s given me a free hand for the most part and has confidence that I’m not going to put out things that are going to reflect poorly on our program.”

Polasek has been a willing PR machine since the day he was hired. Last week, Dudzik filmed a promotional video of Polasek rousing fans for the team’s new “Stampede March” before the game against Tennessee State, a six-take video.

“The relationship that we have, after the third take I said that’s good, but let’s do one more, take a few deep breaths and do it again,” Dudzik said. “The last one was amazing. He really embraces the communication with the fans and understands the value of what we can do here in terms of recruiting and engaging the fans.”

The content can be found on the major social media platforms X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, YouTube and Facebook.

Forum file photo

“I treat this and see this as an art,” Dudzik said. “I think the best artists pay attention to the vision and the storytelling, deliver that and let the fans decide what they appreciate.”

Not long after graduating with a degree in sports management, Dudzik began personal training with former NDSU player Cole Jirik in South Fargo. After a few years, Dudzik returned to his native Omaha to do the same.

Yet the video virus never went away.

“I was in denial for a long time,” he said. “I realized that this is what I should have been doing all along, but I was very grateful for the opportunities I had with personal training.”

The return to Fargo began with a phone call from Wes Offerman of the NDSU sports information office, who is the director of creative communications and strategy. Dudzik’s position had been vacant for about a year, and the school was struggling to find someone qualified.

While playing for the Bison, Dudzik was an intern for former NDSU multimedia coordinator Kasey Byers. It was Byers who brought the athletic department into the video world.

Dudzik reached out to Byers, now senior director of creative services at the University of Washington, after the Offerman interview to discuss the position, knowing he would have Byers’ assistance if needed.

“I think it was always his calling to do this,” Byers said. “He’s always had a mind that thinks differently than others. He’s a deep, deep thinker and that was evident to me when I was there. I’m telling you, once he understands how to get the vision out in his head and develops his core skills, he’s going to be different. Christian hasn’t even scratched the surface of what he can do.”

The two have stayed in touch and continue to trade ideas. They spoke Saturday night after the Bison defeated Tennessee State 52-3 at Gate City Bank Field in the Fargodome, and talked less about the game and more about video strategy.

Dudzik used a camera on the catwalk near the roof of the dome for a post-Game X video. Two weeks ago, the University of Colorado Athletics Department had three people shoot video of an away game for the first time, a sign to Dudzik that they are willing to invest in the process.

“That shows me that they appreciate what we do here,” he said.

Typically, multimedia assistants Ben Cohen and Jake Morgan post the short segments on social media, while Dudzik does the match recap. Dudzik has also shown interest in going through archived videos from the 1940s, 1960s and the title teams of the 1980s.

He’s been reviewing clips from his 2011-14 teams and has found one shot from former teammate Esley Thorton on the sideline in the 2014 national title win over Illinois State. Thorton sealed the win with an interception.

“He was in tears, I sent that to him and he said he’d never seen it before,” Dudzik said. “It was a great way to reconnect with those guys.”

That includes current Bison assistant coaches Carlton Littlejohn, Devin Klieman and Jared Taylor, who were with the program when Dudzik played.

You can take the footballer out of Dudzik, but you can’t take the feeling out of him. Sometimes, to get away from the office, he comes to training to get to know players better.

“Christian has been shaped by Bison football,” Byers said. “His discipline, winning mentality, impactful leadership and pride for the position are going to go the extra mile. He’ll be the last one to turn out the lights in his office.”

Like a real night owl.

Jeff would like to dispel the idea that he was there when Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press, but he has been reporting for Forum Communications for three decades. Jeff is the son of a reporter and an English teacher, and the brother of a reporter. He has worked at the Jamestown Sun, Bismarck Tribune and, since 1990, The Forum, where he has covered North Dakota State athletics since 1995.
Jeff has covered all nine of NDSU’s Division I FCS national football titles and has written three books: “Horns Up,” “North Dakota Tough” and “Covid Kids.” He is the radio host of “The Golf Show with Jeff Kolpack” from April through August.