South Dakota State Jackrabbits football

South Dakota State Jackrabbits football
2023 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team
First season 1900
Athletic director Justin Sell
Head coach Jimmy Rogers
1st season, 15–0 (1.000)
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 657–477–35 (.577)
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 (4)
    2016, 2020, 2022, 2023
Rivalries North Dakota State (rivalry)
South Dakota (rivalry)
North Dakota
Current uniform
Colors Blue and yellow
   
Fight song Ring the Bell
Mascot Jack Rabbit
Marching band The Pride of the Dakotas
NCAA FCS Playoff Appearances (13) 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
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. 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. The Jackrabbits currently have a 12-year streak of qualifying for the FCS playoffs, the second-longest in the country at the FCS level (the longest being North Dakota State at 13). They achieved their first national championship win in school history on January 8, 2023. A year later on January 7, 2024, they repeated defeating Montana (13–2) by a score of 23–3 and finished a perfect 15–0.

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 six times in 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 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.

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 seven 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.

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

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

FCS Playoffs results

Through December 2023, the Jackrabbits have appeared in the FCS playoffs thirteen times with an overall record of 22–11 (.667). They have made 12 consecutive appearances in the FCS playoffs, currently the second-longest streak in the nation.

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

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
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 – 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 2–10.

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

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of June 17, 2023.

2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031
at Oklahoma State at Montana State at Northwestern at Iowa State at Nebraska at Nebraska
at Southeastern Louisiana Drake Southeastern Louisiana
Utah Tech at Tarleton State