FARGO, N.D. – North Dakota State athletic directortoday announced head football coachhas accepted a two-year contract extension that will keep him with the Bison until January 2021.Klieman's recently completed first season ended with a 15-1 record, a fourth straight Missouri Valley Football Conference championship and an unprecedented fourth straight NCAA Division I FCS national championship."Chris understands the culture of Bison football and what it takes to continue the program's high level of success," Larsen said. "The excitement around the football program has never been greater and I look forward to having Chris and his family in Fargo for the long term."Klieman, 47, came to NDSU in 2011 as the defensive backs coach and was the defensive coordinator in 2012 and 2013 before taking over as the Bison head coach in January 2014. He was a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award, presented annually to the FCS National Coach of the Year."Chris is a man of high integrity and character, and his leadership of the young men in this program goes beyond the football field," Larsen said. "He is developing successful students who will go on to great things after football. I am impressed with his passion, energy, and the level of respect he's earned from his players, staff and the local community."NDSU didn't skip a beat in Klieman's first year despite losing 23 seniors and welcoming seven new assistant coaches. The Bison scored 34 unanswered points to beat Big 12 member Iowa State in the season opener as part of an FCS-record 33-game winning streak that extended into November.North Dakota State went 9-1 against Top 25 competition and earned the No. 2 national seed for the FCS playoffs. NDSU had nine players named All-America, including Buck Buchanan Award-winning defensive end, and four Capital One Academic All-America® selections."Thank you to our president, Dean Bresciani, and our athletic director,, for this opportunity," Klieman said. "I'm excited to continue to build on the great tradition of Bison football. My family enjoys being in Fargo and I am extremely thankful for how this community and Bison Nation have embraced my family and me."NDSU led the nation in scoring defense each of Klieman's three years on the defensive staff. He was named the 2012 Football Scoop FCS Coordinator of the Year and coached two-time Buck Buchanan Award finalist Marcus Williams.A native of Waterloo, Iowa, he was a three-time All-Gateway Conference defensive back at Northern Iowa and a four-year letterman from 1986-90. He graduated from UNI in 1990 with a bachelor's degree in health education and earned a master's degree in physical education from UNI in 1992.Klieman was an assistant coach at UNI from 1991-93 and 2006-10 along with other assistant coaching stints at Western Illinois (1994-96), Kansas (1997), Missouri State (1999) and Loras College (2002-04). He was the head coach at Loras in 2005.He and his wife, Rhonda, are the parents of two sons, Devin and Colby, and one daughter, Haley.