You may have heard about the new massive scoreboard at the University of North Dakota’s Ralph Englestad Arena. However, the change has caused some unintended consequences.

The old scoreboard was operated by Raymond Schmidt and Dewey Olson. Both men scaled the 65-foot ladder two hours before each game and manually inserted score, time outs and shots-on-goal for the Fighting Hawks.

After 18 seasons of flipping cards, they were informed this past summer that their run was over. “It would get crowded in there but it became a winter home for ‘Ole’ (Olson) and me”, said Schmidt.

The duo never missed a game. Even when Dewey had a severe case of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), they met their game-day responsibilities. “I’ve suffered worse,” said Raymond, “I worked on a pig farm.”

Raymond and Dewey each received custom Big Dawg tree stands for deer hunting season at their farewell celebration. A teary-eyed Raymond wondered if he could hook up the new chair to a support column at the Ralph Englested arena to watch future Fighting Hawk games for free. Said Dewey, “I am truly touched by the kind gesture. If only I can find a tree.”

The new electronic 6 million dollar Daktronics scoreboard is 34 feet wide and 15.5 feet high.

Denver travels to Grand Forks this upcoming weekend for a two-game series.