UND Today

University of North Dakota’s Official News Source

Bowled over

The annual football tilt between the Law School and the SMHS is a series steeped in history and tradition even though few really know for sure when it actually started.

Samantha Howards runs the ball
Samantha Howard, a third-year law student and tested quarterback for the women’s team came back for the 2016 Malpractice Bowl after suffering an injury last year. Photo courtesy of Daniel Yun/Dakota Student

“A doctor and a lawyer walk into a football stadium” might sound like the beginning of a joke.

But in the case of the annual “Malpractice Bowl” football game between the School of Law and  the School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) at the University of North Dakota, it’s the beginning of a story filled with competition, camaraderie and occasional on bumps and bruises.

Leaving litigation and bed-side manners on the sidelines, students from the Law School and the SMHS resumed their good-natured battle of the grid iron on Friday, Sept. 9, at Memorial Stadium.

Dr. Joshua Wynne, UND Vice President for Health Affairs and dean of the SMHS, showed up this year to cheer on his students. Wynne said the Malpractice Bowl is about a lot more than just a football game.

“I think it’s important for a couple of reasons,” Wynne said. “We have a big focus on wellness, so I’m very happy to see people exercising. I think it’s good to have friendly competition and it’s important to distinguish friendly competition, like on the football field, from the importance of collaboration and coordination in other venues, such as in the classroom and in life.”

On this day, victory would go to both the women’s and men’s teams from the School of Law in their respective games. The final score of the women’s game was 19-14, and the Law School men defeated the SMHS 28-12.

Connecting disciplines

Christopher Waind, a second-year medical student who is leaning toward family medicine as his focus, is a man of many hats this year. Along with helping coach the defense for the SMHS women’s team and organizing the men’s team, he also plays middle linebacker for the SMHS.

Tackling his studies as aggressively as he handles his opponents, Waind says he can relate to the experiences of the typical law student.

“I think it’s good to connect with other disciplines on campus,” Waind said about the Malpractice Bowl. “It’s a good way just to relieve stress.”

With so much on his plate, Waind looks forward to one thing when he takes the field.

“The competition,” he says. “I’m excited to get out there and compete. It’s always nice to stop practicing against your own guys and play against other people.”

New trophy

Lee Kiedrowski, a third-year medical student and veteran Malpractice Bowl player, was unable to play this year as a result of his busy schedule, but he still found a way to be involved. Kiedrowski had decided long ago that something was missing from the annual tilt between the Law School and the SMHS — a trophy.

“It all started when I realized the history of the malpractice bowl wasn’t recorded,” Kiedrowski says. “I don’t know exactly when it started, but it’s been going on for many decades. There are even some grey-haired doctors and lawyers who are still talking about when they played in the Malpractice Bowl.”

Believing an event as unique as the Malpractice Bowl deserved a little more “pomp and circumstance,” Kiedrowski designed a trophy to pass down for future generations of aspiring physicians and lawyers.

Kiedrowski reached out to Tom Krebs, a friend from back home, for a little help actually making the trophy.

Krebs’ business, Krebs’ Kreations, based in Dickinson, N.D., specializes in steel fabrication, but also dabbles in art.

“Tom is an incredible artist,” Kiedrowski says. “He’s done pieces that are on a grander scale and in more detail than the Malpractice Bowl trophy.”

The trophy was finished before last year’s game and was shared by the both schools as the SMHS won men’s game and the Law School was victorious in the women’s contest.

This year, however, saw the completion of another identical trophy. So now both genders have something to play for.

Samantha Howard, a third-year law student and tested quarterback for the women’s team came back for the 2016 Malpractice Bowl after suffering an injury last year. Howard says she plays because she misses competing in sports. She added that she has met some of her best friends in previous Malpractice Bowl games.

“These are some of the most competitive people you’re going to meet,” Howard says about her peers’ off-the-field demeanors. “(The game)is just another outlet for that. Some of my best friends in Law School were my defensive linemen in the Malpractice Bowl.”

Murky history

Rob Carolin, director for Alumni and Public Relations for the UND School of Law, is the law school’s biggest fan when it comes to the Malpractice Bowl. Trying to remember when the game actually began, Carolin struggles to decide on either the 1940’s or the 1950’s — but he isn’t alone.

The official start-date of the game is regularly debated but the spirit of the game transcends any official documentation.

History aside, Carolin says, the game is just a great way for both of professional schools at UND to get together, play a little football and make new friends.

“Both schools really support it very well,” Carolin says. “A lot of our faculty will show up — and staff as well as a huge student group.”