100 years of Dickinson State Football: The voice of the Blue Hawks

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) - When you see Dickinson State football, you often hear the voice of Rod Kleinjan, a voice synonymous with Blue Hawks athletics.

“I knew what I wanted to be by the time I was a junior in high school,” Kleinjan said. “I wanted to be a sportscaster, and that’s what I decided to do, and I did it, and I’m still doing it.”

He’s seen more Blue Hawks football than most people have heard about, traveling with the team for every game, and always in the booth for home games at the Biesiot Activities Center.

“A lot of games,” Kleinjan said.

He has been at nearly every game since 1975.

“My goal was always to do it for 50 years, so I’ve hit 50 years, but then you get to 50 years and you go, ‘Man, I’d like to go a few more years,’” Kleinjan said.

Kleinjan’s first season was spent in the color commentary chair. The next 49 have been as the play-by-play voice of the Blue Hawks with KDIX radio.

“Games I’ve missed? I’d say maybe three or four,” Kleinjan said.

Those few missed games were causes beyond control that changed his life forever, and gave his voice more purpose by the play.

“2006, I had congestive heart failure and a heart attack,” Kleinjan said. “2017, I was diagnosed with early-stage kidney cancer and had major surgery, and now, I’m a year-and-a-half removed from prostate cancer.”

Last May, Kleinjan rang the bell to signify the end of his bout with cancer, and he did it while representing DSU on his hat. Those battles he has had have changed his perspective on the games he sees every week.

“Wins and losses to me when I do sports now are really not important,” Kleinjan said. “There’s just more things sometimes important than a football game, or a basketball game or a baseball game, winning or losing. It’s being able to overcome adversity and that type of thing.”

The work he’s done and the things he has overcome are not lost on Dickinson State.

“Sometimes I get a little emotional when I look at it coming in,” Kleinjan said.

After Kleinjan’s first bout with cancer, the school named the press box after him.

“It’s definitely one of the most coolest things I’ve ever had happen to me, other than getting married and having children,” Kleinjan said.

It’s just a small recognition for the man who’s been behind the call for exactly half of Dickinson State football’s 100-year history. Kleinjan said he hopes to continue behind the mic for at least a couple more years.