BUFFALO, N.Y. — John and Marcia Richman were among a large gaggle of North Dakota State fans sitting in the first couple of rows of seats closest to the court at KeyBank Center on Wednesday afternoon as the Bison basketball team went through a 40-minute shootaround a day prior to playing Michigan State in the NCAA tournament.
John and Marcia are the parents of Bison coach Dave Richman. A conversation with them revealed the dozen or so people surrounding them were family in one form or another, including Dave’s wife, Stephanie, and her parents, Larry and Annegine Vipond of Herman, Minnesota.
“There are a lot of Viponds in Herman,” Marcia said. “They have about 120 people at their house for Christmas. We have 15.”
This was only the second-best nugget revealed by the Richmans during a 20-minute interview, the purpose of which was to highlight how John and Marcia attend so many Bison basketball games coached by their son. They are at all the home games at Scheels Center, they make some close games reachable by car and they were at the Summit League tournament in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Here’s the best tidbit: The tall, lanky men’s basketball coach at NDSU started off as a hockey player in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
Wait … what?
“Yes, he was about 5 years old and he started in hockey. I was working for Pat Behrns as the offensive line coach and offensive coordinator for the UND football team,” John said. “He became a great skater. We thought he was going to be a hockey player.”
Really?
“Even when we moved to Wahpeton (John became head football coach at North Dakota State College of Science) he continued to skate for another couple of years,” Marcia said. “Then he came home one day and said, ‘I want to play basketball.’ We told him, actually, he kind of had to make a decision.”
North Dakota State head basketball coach Dave Richman gives direction during practice for the NCAA tournament opener on Wednesday, March 18, 2026, in Buffalo, New York.
David Samson / The Forum
The Richmans have been fixtures at Bison basketball games for years, first when Dave was an assistant coach under Tim Miles and Saul Phillips for 11 years before replacing Phillips as the head coach in 2014. That’s 23 years of following the bouncing ball.
“It means everything. I’ve challenged a lot of people when I’ve gotten in front of a microphone to, like, don’t be a friend of your kids. Parent your kids,” Dave said. “This probably sounds arrogant, but I really appreciate my parents and how they parented me. Held me accountable. Made me do hard things. For them to have them by my side, it’s just more conviction.
“Mom takes way too many photos, but my family’s here. My parents are here, my mother-in-law and father-in-law are here. And who am I at the end of the day? I’m family.”
It began when both were still working, John as the football coach and athletic director at Science and Marcia as a social worker, and has continued into their retirement.
“We love him and we love the games, you know?” Marcia said. “That’s what we do. We only know sports. I’ve always said that if I had to fill out a resume about what I do, I’d say, ‘Spectate our kids and grandkids in sports.’ David just continued playing games, or coaching them, as his profession.”
Dave and the Richmans’ daughter, Mary, used to help on the sidelines of John’s football games. Now Dave’s four daughters are into sports and Mary’s two children are playing softball and basketball, so it’s more of the same for John and Marcia.
“It’s kind of a year-around thing now. We just wake up in the morning and say who is playing what and where?” Marcia said. “It just so happens David is the head coach of a Division I basketball team.”
North Dakota State team members take the floor during practice for the NCAA tournament opener on Wednesday, March 18, 2026, in Buffalo, New York.
David Samson / The Forum
Dave’s first game as the head coach was in 2014 at Texas. His parents made it to that game, as they have most of the contests against Power 4 opponents.
“One year Marcia and I went to Branson, Missouri, and then continued to watch David and the team play at Arkansas. A couple of days later we swung up and watched them play at Kansas,” John said. “That was really special, just to experience the atmosphere and history at the fieldhouse in Kansas while our son was coaching there. It’s fun. At those places, we get treated like royalty when the fans see we’re from North Dakota State. Of course, they’re pretty sure they’re going to win, but everyone treats us so nicely.”
Added Marcia: “It’s not like going to Jackrabbitville.” That would be rival South Dakota State.
The Richmans have made it to every NCAA tournament with which Dave has been involved, from the game against Kansas in Minneapolis in 2009 to his first tourney game as the head coach against Gonzaga in Seattle in 2015 to Buffalo against Tom Izzo and Michigan State this year.
But Marcia’s favorite game was none of those. It was the Summit League title game against North Dakota in 2020, won by the Bison 89-53 after they took leads of 13-0 and 21-2.
“There was a car movie that came out that year and the premise was about building a car for the perfect lap. All the work they were doing was in pursuit of the perfect lap,” Marcia said. “David always wants more, always thinks we can be better, but he said, ‘I’m looking for that perfect lap.’ We believe it was that UND game.”
What if Dave decides to leave NDSU for greener pastures and takes a different job far away from Fargo? Then what becomes of going to so many of his games?
“That would be great for him if that’s what he wants to do and if his family is happy,” John said, before smiling. “We’d just want it to be somewhere warm.”
On this day, the Richmans had to settle for Buffalo and the sights it had to offer.
“We’re going to Niagara Falls after this. It’s like a 20-minute drive. Marcia’s always wanted to see it,” John said.