South Dakota State Jackrabbits football

College football team of South Dakota State University

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2024 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team

First season

1900; 124 years ago (1900)

Athletic director

Justin Sell

Head coach

Jimmy Rogers
2nd season, 25–2 (.926)

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

655–474–38 (.578)

Playoff record

22–12

Claimed national titles

2 (Div. I FCS): 2022, 2023

Conference titles

NCC (14)
1922, 1924, 1925, 1933, 1939, 1949, 1950, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1961, 1962, 1963
GWC (1)
2007
MVFC (5)
2016, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024

Rivalries

North Dakota State (rivalry)
South Dakota (rivalry)
North Dakota

Colors

Blue and yellow

Fight song

Ring the Bell

Mascot

Jack Rabbit

Marching band

The Pride of the Dakotas

NCAA FCS Playoff Appearances

(14) 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024

Website

Official website

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.

For the 2019 GameDay matchup, the No. 3 Jackrabbits hosted the No. 1 North Dakota State Bison, where they would lose in a close battle 23–16 after losing their starting QB to a season ending knee injury.

As of August 2024, the Jackrabbits possess a 12-year streak of qualifying for the FCS playoffs, the second-longest in the country at the FCS level. The longest FCS qualification streak - as of August 2024 - belongs to North Dakota State at 13.

South Dakota State are two-time national champions. They achieved their first national championship win in school history on January 8, 2023, defeating North Dakota State 45-21.

Then a year later on January 7, 2024, they repeated by defeating Montana (13–2) with a score of 23–3. The Jackrabbits finished the season with a perfect 15–0 record under first-year head coach Jimmy Rogers, who previously served as defensive coordinator and was a captain of the 2009 SDSU team himself.

History

The Jackrabbits were an NCAA Division II program in the North Central Conference until moving to the Football Championship Subdivision in 2004.

In March 2004, 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 South Dakota State and North Dakota State football programs, the Dakota Marker game was featured on ESPN’s nationally televised College GameDay on October 26, 2019, becoming one of only a few FCS programs to be featured on the show.

South Dakota State reached the Football Championship Subdivision semi-finals seven times in 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 respectively.

They advanced to their first national championship game on May 8, 2021 after defeating the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens 33–3 in the national semi-finals. They played No. 2 Sam Houston State for the national championship on May 16, 2021 and lost 23–21. The Jackrabbits finished the season 8–2 and as national runner-ups.

A year and a half later on January 8, 2023 they advanced to the national championship game again where they would win their first national title over conference rival North Dakota State, 45–21.

On January 7, 2024, the Jackrabbits successfully defended their National Title when they defeated the Montana Grizzlies football team 23-3. Their victory capped a 15-0 undefeated regular season for first-year coach Jimmy Rogers, including an 8-0 Missouri Valley Conference record.

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 eight signed to team rosters as of September2024.

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

Records current as of November 2021

Rival	Record (W–L–T)	Winning Percentage
Illinois State	6–8	.429
Indiana State	10–2	.833
Missouri State	14–1	.933
Murray State	0–0	.000
North Dakota	36–47–5	.434
North Dakota State	45–64–5	.413
Northern Iowa	25–32–1	.439
South Dakota	58–54–7	.518
Southern Illinois	11–4	.733
Western Illinois	14–4	.778
Youngstown State	18–7	.720

Postseason appearances

NCAA Division I-AA/FCS playoffs

Through November 2024, the Jackrabbits have appeared in the FCS playoffs fourteen times with an overall record of 24–11 (.686). They have made 13 consecutive appearances in the FCS playoffs, currently the second-longest streak in the nation.

In that span the Jackrabbits have won two national titles, one runner-up finish and have appeared in the semifinals seven times.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2009	First Round	Montana	L 48–61
2012	First Round Second Round	Eastern Illinois North Dakota State	W 58–10 L 3–28
2013	First Round Second Round	Northern Arizona Eastern Washington	W 26–7 L 17–41
2014	First Round Second Round	Montana State North Dakota State	W 47–40 L 24–27
2015	First Round	Montana	L 17–24
2016	Second Round Quarterfinals	Villanova North Dakota State	W 10–7 L 10–36
2017	Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals	Northern Iowa New Hampshire James Madison	W 37–22 W 56–14 L 16–51
2018	Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals	Duquesne Kennesaw State North Dakota State	W 51–6 W 27–17 L 21–44
2019	Second Round	Northern Iowa	L 10–13
2020	First 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
2021	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals	UC Davis Sacramento State Villanova Montana State	W 56–24 W 24–19 W 35–21 L 17–31
2022	Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals National Championship	Delaware Holy Cross Montana State North Dakota State	W 42–6 W 42–21 W 39–18 W 45–21
2023	Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals National Championship	Mercer Villanova Albany Montana	W 41–0 W 23–12 W 59–0 W 23–3
2024	Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals	Montana Incarnate Word North Dakota State	W 35-18 W 55-14 TBD

NCAA Division II playoffs

The Jackrabbits made one appearance in the NCAA Division II playoffs, with a final record of 0–1.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1979	Quarterfinals	Youngstown State	L 7–51

Head coaches

#	Coach	Tenure
1	Morrison	1900
2	L. L. Gilkey	1901
3	J. Harrison Werner	1903
4	William Blaine	1904
5	William Juneau	1905–1908
6	Jason M. Saunderson	1909–1910
7	Fred Johnson	1911
8	Harry W. Ewing	1912–1917
-	No team	1918
9	Charles A. West	1919–1927
10	Cy Kasper	1928–1933
11	Red Threlfall	1934–1937
12	Jack V. Barnes	1938–1940
13	Thurlo McCrady	1941–1946
14	Ralph Ginn	1947–1968
15	Dave Kragthorpe	1969
16	Dean Pryor	1970–1971
17	John Gregory	1972–1981
18	Wayne Haensel	1982–1990
19	Mike Daly	1991–1996
20	John Stiegelmeier	1997–2022
21	Jimmy Rogers	2023–present

Facilities

Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium (19,340 capacity)
Stiegelmeier Family Student-Athlete Center
Dykhouse Student-Athlete Center (Connected to the Stiegelmeier Family Student-Athlete Center 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 Stiegelmeier Family Student-Athlete Center (formerly 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 Stiegelmeier Family Student-Athlete Center 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 Stiegelmeier Family Student-Athlete Center is used by many of SDSU's athletic programs.

All-Time statistical leaders

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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:

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

The Missouri Valley Football Conference and ESPN have signed a six-year media rights agreement, effective from the 2024 season. As part of the deal, a minimum of nine games will be showcased on ESPN, ESPN 2, or ESPN U throughout the contract. Additionally, the MVFC will maintain its "game of the week" digital package on ESPN+. The agreement also includes exclusive airing of additional league contests on ESPN platforms. Jackrabbits games have also been broadcast on Midco Sports Net, Fox College Sports, the Big Ten Network, Fox Sports North, ABC, and various local television networks.

Record against FBS competition

Overall 2–11.

Season	Opponent	Conference	Result	Record
2008	Iowa State	Big 12	L 17–44	0–1
2009	Minnesota	Big Ten	L 13–16	0–2
2010	Nebraska	Big 12	L 3–17	0–3
2011	Illinois	Big Ten	L 3–56	0–4
2012	Kansas	Big 12	L 17–31	0–5
2013	Nebraska	Big Ten	L 20–59	0–6
2014	Missouri	SEC	L 18–38	0–7
2015	Kansas	Big 12	W 41–38	1–7
2016	TCU	Big 12	L 41–59	1–8
2018	Iowa State	Big 12	Canceled by weather
2019	Minnesota	Big Ten	L 21–28	1–9
2021	Colorado State	Mountain West	W 42–23	2–9
2022	Iowa	Big Ten	L 3–7	2–10
2024	Oklahoma State	Big 12	L 20–44	2–11

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of December 20, 2024.

2024	2025	2026	2027	2028	2030
at Oklahoma State	Sacramento State	at Northwestern	at Iowa State	at Nebraska	at Nebraska
Incarnate Word	at Montana State		Southeastern Louisiana
Augustana (SD)	Drake
at Southeastern Louisiana	Mercyhurst

References

"South Dakota State Jackrabbits Media Information". July 17, 2017. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
Zimmer, Matt. "College GameDay: North Dakota State crashes party at South Dakota State". Argus Leader. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
"JACKS MEET UALBANY IN FCS SEMIFINAL - South Dakota State University Athletics". gojacks.com. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
"North Dakota State Bison preparing for unfamiliar experience at Montana State in FCS playoffs". 406mtsports.com. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
"South Dakota State 45-21 North Dakota State (Jan 8, 2023) Final Score - ESPN". www.espn.com. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
"South Dakota State 23-3 Montana (Jan 7, 2024) Final Score - ESPN". www.espn.com. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
"Jimmy Rogers - Head Coach - Football Coaches - South Dakota State University Athletics". gojacks.com. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
"South Dakota State wins the 2022 FCS Championship". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
"2023 Undefeated College Football Teams". www.sportsbetting3.com. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
"2021 Football Schedule". South Dakota State University Athletics. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
"South Dakota State Jackrabbits Football Future Schedules". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved December 20, 2024.

External links

Official website

v t e South Dakota State Jackrabbits football
Venues	Coughlin–Alumni Stadium (1962–2015) Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium (2016–present)
Bowls & rivalries	North Dakota State: Dakota Marker South Dakota
Culture & lore	Jack Rabbit "Ring the Bell"
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1889 1890–1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

v t e South Dakota State University
Athletics	Football Men's basketball Women's basketball
Facilities	Coughlin Campanile Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium Frost Arena McCrory Gardens and South Dakota Arboretum South Dakota State University Innovation Campus Wenona Hall and Wecota Hall
Related	Hobo Day

v t e Missouri Valley Football Conference
Teams	Illinois State Redbirds Indiana State Sycamores Missouri State Bears (leaving in 2025) Murray State Racers North Dakota Fighting Hawks North Dakota State Bison Northern Iowa Panthers South Dakota Coyotes South Dakota State Jackrabbits Southern Illinois Salukis Youngstown State Penguins
Championships & awards	All-time standings Conference champions
Seasons	1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

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