South Dakota State Jackrabbits 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 after losing their starting QB to a season ending knee injury. SDSU currently has a 10 year streak of qualifying for the FCS playoffs, one of the longest in the country at the FCS level.

South Dakota State Jackrabbits football
2021 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team
First season1900
Athletic directorJustin Sell
Head coachJohn Stiegelmeier
24th season, 173–106 (.620)
StadiumDana J. Dykhouse Stadium
(capacity: 19,340)
Year built2016
Field surfaceTurf
LocationBrookings, South Dakota
NCAA divisionDivision I FCS
ConferenceMissouri Valley
Past conferencesNCC (1922–2003), Great West (2004–2007)
All-time record622–470–35 (.567)
Playoff record14-11
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
RivalriesNorth Dakota State (rivalry)
South Dakota (rivalry)
North Dakota
ColorsBlue and yellow[1]
   
Fight songRing the Bell
MascotJack Rabbit
Marching bandThe Pride of the Dakotas
NCAA FCS Playoff Appearances(11) 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021
WebsiteJackrabbit Football

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

Players in the National Football League

A total of 34 Jackrabbits have played for NFL teams, including four currently.

29 Jackrabbits have been drafted in the NFL Draft. As of 2021, 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 2021[2]
RivalRecord (W–L–T)Winning Percentage
Illinois State6–8.429
Indiana State10–2.833
Missouri State14–1.933
North Dakota State45–64–5.413
Northern Iowa25–32–1.439
South Dakota58–54–7.518
Southern Illinois11–4.733
Western Illinois14–4.778
Youngstown State18–7.720
North Dakota 1-1 .500

FCS Playoffs results

The Jackrabbits have appeared in the FCS playoffs 11 times with an overall record of 14–11. With their best finish being runners-up in 2020. 2021 was their tenth consecutive appearance, one of the longest streaks in the nation.

Year Round Opponent Result
2009First RoundMontanaL 48–61
2012First Round
Second Round		Eastern Illinois
North Dakota State		W 58–10
L 3–28
2013First Round
Second Round		Northern Arizona
Eastern Washington		W 26–7
L 17–41
2014First Round
Second Round		Montana State
North Dakota State		W 47–40
L 24–27
2015First RoundMontanaL 17–24
2016Second Round
Quarterfinals		Villanova
North Dakota State		W 10–7
L 10–36
2017Second Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals		Northern Iowa
New Hampshire
James Madison		W 37–22
W 56–14
L 16–51
2018Second Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals		Duquesne
Kennesaw State
North Dakota State
W 51–6
W 27–17
L 21–44
2019Second RoundNorthern IowaL 10–13
2020First Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
National Championship		Holy Cross
Southern Illinois
Delaware
Sam Houston State		W 31–3
W 31–26
W 33–3
L 21–23
2021First Round
Second Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals		UC Davis
Sacramento State
Villanova
Montana State		W 56–24
W 24–19
W 35–21
L 17–31

Division II Playoffs results

The Jackrabbits have appeared in the Division II playoffs one time with an overall record of 0–1.

Year Round Opponent Result
1979QuarterfinalsYoungstown StateL 7–51

Head coaches
# Coach Tenure
1Morrison1900
2L. L. Gilkey1901
3J. Harrison Werner1903
4William Blaine1904
5William Juneau1905–1908
6Jason M. Saunderson1909–1910
7Fred Johnson1911
8Harry W. Ewing1912–1917
9No team1918
10Charles A. West1919–1927
11Cy Kasper1928–1933
12Red Threlfall1934–1937
13Jack V. Barnes1938–1940
14Thurlo McCrady1941–1946
15Ralph Ginn1947–1968
16Dave Kragthorpe1969
17Dean Pryor1970–1971
18John Gregory1972–1981
19Wayne Haensel1982–1990
20Mike Daly1991–1996
21John Stiegelmeier1997–present

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

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 (3,714 - 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:

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.

Season Opponent Conference Result Record
2008Iowa StateBig 12L 17–440–1
2009MinnesotaBig TenL 13–160–2
2010NebraskaBig 12L 3–170–3
2011IllinoisBig TenL 3–560–4
2012KansasBig 12L 17–310–5
2013NebraskaBig TenL 20–590–6
2014MissouriSECL 18–380–7
2015KansasBig 12W 41–381–7
2016TCUBig 12L 41–591–8
2018Iowa StateBig 12Canceled by weather
2019MinnesotaBig TenL 21-281-9
2021Colorado StateMountain WestW 42-232-9

References
  1. "South Dakota State Jackrabbits Media Information". July 17, 2017. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  2. "2021 Football Schedule". South Dakota State University Athletics. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
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