The South Dakota State Jackrabbits are the 19 intercollegiate teams representing
South Dakota State University
South Dakota State University is a public land-grant research university in Brookings, South Dakota. Founded in 1881, it is the state's largest and most comprehensive university and the oldest continually-operating university in South Dakota. The ...
that compete in the U.S.
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...
's
Division I (for football:
Football Championship Subdivision). SDSU is currently a member of the
Summit League
The Summit League, or The Summit, is an NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletic conference with its membership mostly located in the Midwestern United States from Illinois on the East of the Mississippi River to the Dakotas and Nebraska on the W ...
, the
Missouri Valley Football Conference
The Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC), formerly the Gateway Football Conference, is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivi ...
, the
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...
and Varsity Equestrian. The university won numerous conference championships and several national titles including the
NCAA College Division The NCAA College Division was a historic subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) consisting of member schools competing at a lower level of college sports. The NCAA initially divided schools into a College Division and a ...
national title in men's basketball in 1963 and the NCAA Division II national title in women's basketball in 2003.
South Dakota State football has become a perennial power, a constant presence in the top ten in the polls and annual national title contender. Winning the MVFC title in 2016 & 2020 and having qualified for 10 consecutive playoffs (11 overall), they’ve been FCS playoffs semifinalists 4 times in that time span and were national runners-up in 2020.
The 2011–2012 season marked the fifth-consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament for the Jackrabbit women's basketball team, capping a season in which the Jackrabbits won the regular-season Summit League title and their fifth consecutive Summit League Tournament title. In 2019 the Jackrabbit women’s basketball advanced to their first appearance in the NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen. They were also the 2022 WNIT tournament champions, defeating Seton Hall 82-50.
The Jackrabbit men’s basketball team qualified for its first NCAA Tournament in the 2012–13 season following a second-place regular season finish in the Summit League and winning the Summit League Tournament title. In 2022 the Men’s basketball team broke the Summit League and school record with 30 wins and also became the first school to run the table in conference play at 18-0. They then qualified for their 6th NCAA tournament, going a full 21-0 against conference foes. They ended their season at 30-5 (18-0).
The Jackrabbit baseball team qualified for the 2013 NCAA Tournament and traveled to Eugene, Oregon, losing the first game to eventual regional champion Oregon and then being eliminated by the University of San Francisco in a 13-inning defensive battle.
In 2018, the school had its first Division I champion wrestler with Seth Gross.
Sports sponsored
Athletic facilities
South Dakota State has some of the best athletic facilities in their region, The Summit League, and the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Some of the university's venues compete as some of the finest in the nation (Sanford Jackrabbit Athlete Complex and the Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium).
* Frost Arena is the 6,500 seat on campus facility that houses men's and women's basketball, and women's volleyball teams. Frost Arena is currently on the master plan to add more modern concessions, restrooms and seating, as well as several building additions which include a wrestling practice facility, and a multi court arena that would double for basketball and volleyball practices as well as a competition venue for wrestling and volleyball.
* Erv Huether Field is home of the Jackrabbit baseball team. Seats 600 spectators.
* Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, the on-campus football stadium with a capacity for 19,340 fans, opened for the 2016 season.
* Fishback Soccer park. seats 1500 spectators. Also on the master athletic plans are an on campus soccer stadium and practice fields.
* 2025 master plan calls for an aquatics competition and practice facility.
* Dykhouse Student Athlete Center. Located in the north end zone of Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium. Houses football staff, sports medicine and athletic training.
* Sanford Jackrabbit Athletic Complex, Connected to the north side of the Dykhouse Athlete Center. it boasts 149,284-square feet of practice space and one of five 300-meter tracks in NCAA Division 1.
* Stanley J. Marshall HPER Center Pool. The six-lane competition pool is 25 yards long. A diving well allows for 1- and 3-meter competitions.
The Dykhouse Student Athlete Center, the home of Jackrabbit football, opened prior to the 2010 football season. The Sanford Jackrabbit Athlete Complex, a state-of-the-art indoor practice and competition facility opened October 11, 2014. It is immediately north of and attached to the Dykhouse Student Athlete Center. The SJAC has bleacher seating for up to 1,000 spectators and can be used for track practice and track meets, football practice, softball and baseball practice, and other events within the SDSU athletic department. It has been recently furbished with a state-of-the-art indoor golf practice area consisting of 4500 square feet of practice space, with slope, sand traps and simulators for rainy weather and the winter months. When completed, the 149,284-square foot facility was the largest indoor practice facility in Division I athletics and features an eight-lane, 300-meter track, one of only 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. The turf in the facility is soy-based Astroturf. The SJAC has areas for sports medicine including rehab space, a training room, additional weight-training facilities, hydrotherapy, a football team room, offices and academic advising facilities. The Dykhouse Student Athlete Center is immediately north of the new stadium for Jackrabbit football, the 19,340-capacity Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, opened in the Fall of 2016. The Dykhouse Stadium was constructed for easy expansion to 22,500 and the potential for future expansion to a capacity of 40,000. Like the SJAC, the turf in the Stadium is soy-based Astroturf.
In November 2018, SDSU finished construction on a new practice facility connected to Frost Arena that contains 2 full-size practice courts for men's and women's basketball and women's volleyball.
Funds are currently being raised for a wrestling practice facility.
National championships
Team
Notable alumni
*
Cleveland L. Abbott — American football coach
*
Colin Cochart — American football player
*
Rod DeHaven — Olympic marathoner
*
Doug Eggers — American football player
*
Steve Heiden — American football player
*
Jim Langer
James John Langer (May 16, 1948 – August 29, 2019) was an American professional football player who was a center
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various ...
— American football player
*
Jon Madsen
Jonathan Michael Madsen (born February 12, 1980) is a retired American mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Heavyweight division of Titan FC. A professional competitor since 2008, Madsen has also formerly competed for the UFC ...
— wrestler; professional
MMA
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...
fighter
*
Paul Miller — American football player
*
Josh Ranek — Canadian football player
*
Wayne Rasmussen — American football player
*
Pete Retzlaff
Palmer Edward Retzlaff (August 21, 1931 – April 10, 2020), known as Pete Retzlaff and nicknamed "Pistol Pete" and "The Baron", was a professional American football player and general manager.
Early life
Retzlaff played football at Ellendale H ...
— American football player, executive
*
Caleb Thielbar
Caleb John Thielbar (born January 31, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut with the Twins in 2013.
Career Early career
Thielbar attended Randolph High S ...
— baseball player
*
Adam Timmerman
Adam Larry Timmerman (born August 14, 1971) is a former American football guard in the National Football League, and Super Bowl champion for the St. Louis Rams and Green Bay Packers.
He played for the Green Bay Packers and St. Louis Rams betw ...
— American football player
*
Blake Treinen
Blake M. Treinen (, born June 30, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for the Baker Wildcats and the South Dakota State Jackrabbits baseball te ...
— baseball player
*
Adam Vinatieri
Adam Matthew Vinatieri (born December 28, 1972) is an American former football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 24 seasons with the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts. Considered one of the greatest ...
— American football player
*
Danny Batten — American football player
*
Nate Wolters
Nate Wolters (born May 15, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for Panathinaikos of the Greek Basket League and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for South Dakota State University and was an All-American for the Jackra ...
— basketball player
*
Zach Zenner — American football player
*
Dallas Goedert
Dallas Clayton Goedert ( ; born January 3, 1995) is an American football tight end for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at South Dakota State, and was drafted by the Eagles in the second r ...
— American football player
*
Dick Beardsley — American marathon runner
References
External links
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