Nov. 5—GRAND FORKS — Former UND tight end Jim Kleinsasser will be honored Saturday during the Fighting Hawks’ matchup with North Dakota State at the Alerus Center.
The National Football Foundation & College Football Hall of Fame will honor Kleinsasser as a 2025 Hall of Fame electee.
UND and NDSU kick off at 1 p.m. The game will be televised on WDAY, Midco Sports and streamed on ESPN+.
“One of the greats in our program,” UND head coach Eric Schmidt said. “A specimen. Just a special athlete in any era. There are certain guys that you think about … if he walked into the building here today, you’d be like ‘that’s different.’ He could play in any era.
“(Kleinsasser) was good every step of the way. I remember the first time I saw Jim Kleinsasser was at a holiday basketball tournament in Bismarck, North Dakota. I was a sophomore and he was a senior. I think he had our starting five laying on the ground in the tournament in the first two minutes of the game. He was a really, really terrific athlete.”
According to a release from the NFF, the Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute program, which began with the inaugural NFF College Football Hall of Fame Class in 1951, has become a hallowed tradition and the signature events remain the first of numerous activities in the NFF Hall of Fame experience.
During the NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salutes, each electee returns to his respective school to accept an NFF Hall of Fame plaque that will stay on permanent display at the institution.
One of Kleinsasser’s signature plays at UND came against North Dakota State in Fargo. In 1998, Kleinsasser caught a slant pass over the middle and outran Bison defensive backs to a touchdown and a UND victory.
A two-time First Team All-American (1997, 1998), Kleinsasser helped UND to an overall record of 32-10, earning two NCAA Division II playoff appearances.
Playing at 6-foot-2 and 273 pounds, Kleinsasser caught 88 passes for 1,309 yards and averaged 14.8 yards per catch during his career.
Kleinsasser, a Carrington, N.D., native who went on to a 13-year career with the Minnesota Vikings, becomes the second UND player to enter the Hall of Fame, joining Jim LeClair who was inducted in 1999.
Kleinsasser’s son, Carter Kleinsasser, is a true freshman for the Fighting Hawks in 2025.
“The thing about Jim is just how good of a teammate he was and how good of a person he is,” Schmidt said. “Now having Carter on the team and seeing him as a father, how everything went down with recruiting his son … just first class in everything that he does. I’m excited for him to be able to get that recognition here this weekend.”
