Moments after the unveiling an unidentified student stepped up to Governor Langer, told him "I'll take care of this for you", and disappeared with the nickel trophy.

It turned up 36 hours later on the front lawn of then UND President John C. West (The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, October 21, 1967) and a new tradition of "kidnapping" or "borrowing" the trophy had begun.

While the rivalry was renewed in 2015, the trophy remained retired and is currently displayed at the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck.

The Nickel Trophy was not at stake in 2015 (a game won 34–9 by the Bison) due to the now-abandoned Sioux logo remaining on one side.

[4] Since 1921, NDSU and UND competed as charter members in the NCAA Division II North Central Conference.

Following NDSU's reclassification, agreement for the schools to continue competing on the field could not be reached between the two universities due to UND's athletic department.

North Dakota joined the Big Sky Conference, complicating the matter for scheduling future games.

Scheduling logistics with their respective conferences and the yearly frequency of the potential resumption of the series were the stated reasons for not resuming.

Several high-profile alumni and sports figures had called for a resumption of the series, and a grassroots movement from for the legislature to require an annual game by law.

[10] On September 9, 2015 #2 ranked NDSU hosted the newly rebranded Fighting Hawks in the first Nickel Trophy matchup in 12 years.