In the 10-year history of the North Star Athletic Association, only two schools have ever won the football conference championship. That will continue this season.
 
Valley City State University and Dickinson State University meet Saturday afternoon in Dickinson with the 2023 conference championship hanging in the balance. Between them, the Vikings and Blue Hawks have won all 10 NSAA football championships. If Dickinson (7-1, 6-0 NSAA), wins on Saturday, the Blue Hawks will clinch this season's outright conference title. If Valley City State (6-2, 5-1 NSAA) wins, the Vikings and Blue Hawks will be tied for first place with just one game remaining.
 
Saturday's game kicks off at 3 p.m. CT/2 p.m. MT in Dickinson. Pregame radio coverage begins at 2 p.m. CT on KOVC 1490 AM/96.3 FM and online at www.newsdakota.com.
 
LIVE LINKS: RADIO | VIDEO | STATS
 
VCSU won the North Star's first two conference titles in 2013 and 2014. Since then, Dickinson State has won the last eight football titles. Valley City State has finished in second place for seven of those eight seasons. Dickinson is currently in the driver's seat for this year after defeating VCSU 34-10 back on Oct. 30 in Valley City. The Vikings must beat Dickinson State on Saturday and then win against Waldorf on Nov. 11 to clinch at least a share of the conference championship.

Saturday's game features the top two defenses in the North Star Athletic Association. Valley City State is allowing only 19 points and 324 yards per game this season while Dickinson State is giving up just 14.6 points and 275 yards. The Vikings lead the NSAA with 25 sacks, while Dickinson State is second with 21.
 
(NOTE: THE NAIA PLAYOFF SECTION BELOW HAS BEEN CORRECTED FROM AN EARLIER VERSION OF THE STORY)
Starting this season, the NAIA has expanded its playoff field to 20 teams. Every outright conference champion receives an automatic bid to the NAIA playoffs. In the event of a shared conference championship, the automatic bid will be determined by a tiebreaker. In the NSAA, the tiebreaker is head-to-head matchups first, and then point-differential in head-to-head games. If a third tiebreaker criteria is needed, it would be the fewest points allowed in all conference games.