South Dakota State Jackrabbits football

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South Dakota State Jackrabbits football
2021 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team
First season	1900
Athletic director	Justin Sell
Head coach	John Stiegelmeier 24th season, 173–106 (.620)
Stadium	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium (capacity: 19,340)
Year built	2016
Field surface	Turf
Location	Brookings, South Dakota
NCAA division	Division I FCS
Conference	Missouri Valley
Past conferences	NCC (1922–2003), Great West (2004–2007)
All-time record	618–472–38 (.565)
Playoff record	11-10
Conference titles	NCC (14) 1922, 1924, 1925, 1933, 1939, 1949, 1950, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1961, 1962, 1963 GWC (1) 2007 MVFC (2) 2016, 2020
Rivalries	North Dakota State (main rivalry) South Dakota (rivalry) North Dakota The Dakota Four
Colors	Blue and yellow[1]
Fight song	Ring the Bell
Mascot	Jack Rabbit
Marching band	The Pride of the Dakotas
NCAA FCS Playoff Appearances	(10) 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
Website	Jackrabbit Football

The South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team represents South Dakota State University in college football. The program competes at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level as member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC). The Jackrabbits play their home games at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium on South Dakota State's campus in Brookings, South Dakota. South Dakota State is considered to be among the few perennial powers in the FCS. South Dakota State is also one of only 13 FCS schools to host ESPN's College GameDay. GameDay came in 2019 when the #3 Jackrabbits hosted the #1 NDSU Bison, where they lost a close battle 23-16 [1] after losing their starting QB to a season ending knee injury.

History[]

The Jackrabbits were an NCAA Division II program in the North Central Conference until moving to the Football Championship Subdivision in 2004. The current head coach is John Stiegelmeier. In March 2007, SDSU initially began their Division I FCS era by being a charter member of the now-defunct Great West Football Conference (along with North Dakota State, Southern Utah, Cal Poly, UC Davis, Northern Colorado) and stayed there until 2007 when they were accepted into the Missouri Valley Football Conference and began league play in the 2008 season. South Dakota State University has invested in their football program's facilities recently as they have some of the finest amenities and facilities at the FCS level including the largest video/scoreboard in the FCS (2015) a new 19,340 seat stadium (2016), and a large state-of-the-art student-athlete center in the north end zone (2010). Connected to the student-athlete center is one of the largest indoor practice facilities in NCAA Division I (completed in 2014). Due to the success of the NDSU and SDSU football program, SDSU football and the Dakota Marker game was featured on ESPN’s nationally televised College GameDay on October 26th, 2019, becoming one of only a few FCS programs to be featured on the show. South Dakota State has reached the Football Championship Subdivision semi-finals three times in 2017, 2018 and 2020 respectively. They advanced to their first national championship game on May, 8th 2021 after defeating Delaware 33-3 in the national semi-finals. They played #2 Sam Houston State for the National Championship on May 16th, 2021 and lost 23-21. The Jackrabbits finished the season 8-2 and National Runner-Up.

Classifications[]

• 1952–1972: NCAA College Division
• 1973–2003: NCAA Division II
• 2004–present: NCAA Division I–AA/FCS

Conference affiliations[]

• Independent (1889–1921)
• North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (1922–2003)
• Great West Conference (2004–2007)
• Missouri Valley Football Conference (2008–present)

Players in the National Football League[]

A total of 34 Jackrabbits have played for NFL teams, including two currently.^{[when?][citation needed]}

• Jordan Brown - Washington Football Team
• Dallas Goedert - Philadelphia Eagles

28 Jackrabbits have been drafted in the NFL Draft. Jim Langer is the only Jackrabbit, to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Record versus Missouri Valley Football Conference[]

Jim Langer
2x Super Bowl Champion,
SDSU's sole NFL Hall of Famer

• Records current as of November 2015^{[citation needed]}

FCS Playoffs results[]

The Jackrabbits have appeared in the FCS playoffs 10 times with an overall record of 11–10. With their best finish being runners-up in 2020.

Division II Playoffs results[]

The Jackrabbits have appeared in the Division II playoffs one time with an overall record of 0–1.^{[citation needed]}

Head coaches[]

Facilities[]

Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium – named for university benefactor and former football player Dana J. Dykhouse.

• Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium (19,340 capacity)
• Sanford Jackrabbit Athletic Complex (SJAC)
• Dykhouse Student-Athlete Center (Connected to SJAC in north end zone)

In 2014, South Dakota State University started construction of a new stadium on the location of the current Coughlin-Alumni Stadium. The new stadium has a total seating capacity of 19,340 with easy expansion to 22,500.

The Sanford Jackrabbit Athletic Complex is the Jackrabbits new State-of-the-art indoor practice facility. The facility was opened on October 11, 2014. The SJAC has bleacher seating for up to 1,000 spectators and can be used for football practice, track practice, softball and baseball practice, track competitions, and other events within the SDSU athletic department. The 149,284-square foot facility is the largest indoor practice facility in Division I athletics and features an eight-lane, 300-meter track which is only one of five collegiate indoor tracks of that size in the nation. Inside the track is an 80-yard football field plus end zones at each end and is composed of a soy-based Astroturf. Within the facility it has areas for sports medicine and strength and conditioning. Sports medicine features include rehab space, a training room, weight room expansion, hydrotherapy, a football team room, offices and academic advising facilities. The SJAC is used by many of SDSU's athletic programs.

All-Time statistical leaders[]

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^[when?]

Single-game leaders[]

• Passing Yards: Dan Fjeldheim (460, 9-28-2002)
• Rushing Yards: Zach Zenner (295 2x, 11-24-2012, 9-7-2013)
• Receiving Yards: Jeff Tiefenthaler (256, 9-27-1986)

Single-Season leaders[]

• Passing Yards: Taryn Christion (714 - 2016)
• Rushing Yards: Josh Ranek – (2,055 1999)
• Receiving Yards: Jeff Tiefenthaler (1,534 1986)

Career leaders[]

• Passing Yards: Taryn Christion – (11,535 - 2015-2018)
• Rushing Yards: Josh Ranek – (6,744 - 1997-2001)
• Receiving Yards: Jake Wieneke (5,157 - 2014-2017)

Media coverage[]

All home and road games are covered on the Jackrabbit Sports Network. The broadcast range of the Jackrabbit Sports Network covers eight states (South Dakota, Minnesota, North Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, and Wyoming), and consists of the following stations:

• WNAX 570AM (Flagship Station)
• KJJQ 910AM
• KRKI 99.5FM
• KOLY 1300AM
• KBFS 1450AM
• KGFX 1060AM
• KXLG 99.1FM

The team does not have an official television partner, but Jackrabbit games have been televised on Midco Sports Net, Fox College Sports, the Big Ten Network, Fox Sports North, ESPN+, ESPN, ABC and local television networks.

Record against FBS competition[]

Overall 2-9.

References[]

External links[]

• Official website