GRAND FORKS, N.D. - The famed Nickel Trophy may soon reside in Bismarck.

The North Dakota Legislature is on the verge of giving the University of North Dakota two options for the Nickel Trophy, which has gone to the winner of the UND-North Dakota State football game since 1938: put it up for grabs in the rivalry game again or send it to the Heritage Center for display.

That's according to language in Senate Bill 2003, the higher education budget.

UND will choose the latter, said spokesperson Peter Johnson.

"We believe the Nickel Trophy should be sent to the Heritage Center, where the entire state can enjoy the trophy and celebrate its history," Johnson said on Wednesday, April 26.

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Since 2003, UND has housed the 75-pound trophy, which depicts a bison on one side and a Native American on the other like a 1930s nickel.

UND won that 2003 game in overtime before the teams took a 12-year hiatus from playing each other. When the rivalry returned in 2015, then Nickel Trophy was no longer up for grabs as UND ditched its Fighting Sioux nickname and logo, and athletic director Brian Faison said it was being retired.

The next scheduled football game between the teams is in 2019. Then, they will move into the same conference and they're expected to play annually.

UND has brought the Nickel Trophy out at various times for events and fundraisers throughout the years, but it hasn't left Grand Forks since it traveled around the state as part of UND's 125th anniversary celebration in 2008.

It had a penchant for being stolen by fans during the 1990s.

In 1997, NDSU students donned UND janitor shirts to steal the Nickel Trophy from the players' lounge in Memorial Stadium. A year later, UND students swiped it back by obtaining the security codes for the NDSU Memorial Union alarm system, hiding above the ceiling tiles and communicating via walkie-talkies.

The amendment in the higher education budget, brought by Rep. Roscoe Streyle, R-Minot, reads:

"To promote national recognition and statewide enthusiasm, the legislative assembly encourages the University of North Dakota and the North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Science to play for the Nickel Trophy during the course of a National Collegiate Athletic Association football game. If the athletic director or president of either institution elects not to play for the Nickel Trophy, the Nickel Trophy must be permanently displayed in the Heritage Center."