Nov. 28, 2018

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SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT-RUN INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1885

10 OF

YEARS D I V I S I O N I AT H L E T I C S

A D E C A D E O F D O M I N A N C E A N D E XC E E D I N G E X P E C TAT I O N S

TABLE OF CONTENTS 4-5

Fishback, Miller

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Football

8

Men’s basketball

9

Women’s basketball

10

Soccer, volleyball

12

Wrestling

13

S-JAC

14

Division I decision

16

Baseball

17

Softball, XC, T&F

18

Swim & dive, golf

19

Equestrian, tennis

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Volume 134 • Issue 10

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Hunter Dunteman News Editor

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Carson Herbert Sports Reporter

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The Collegian is the independent student newspaper at South Dakota State University in Brookings, S.D. The Collegian is published by and for South Dakota State University students under the First Amendment guarantees of free speech and a free press.

Opinions expressed on these pages are not necessarily those of the student body, faculty, staff or administration.

The Collegian is published weekly on Wednesday during the academic year of SDSU.

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Congratulations SDSU on 10 years of Division I Athletics

1

NCAA Division I individual champion

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times men’s basketball has played in the NCAA Tournament

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Dakota Marker wins

8

times women’s basketball has played in the NCAA Tournament

21

sports compete at the Division I level

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NCAA DIVISION I wrestling qualifiers

3

Fishback leaves mark on SD State LANDON DIERKS Sports Reporter

Van Fishback currently serves as the chairman of Fishback Financial Corporation as well as vice president on the Brookings High School Board. He and his wife, Barbara, have their names enshrined in the Fishback Honors College at SDSU.

Bold.

This is the word Van Fishback used to describe the initial decision for South Dakota State athletics to make the jump to Division I competition. He admits the transition period and first few years in Division I were not always the smoothest for all involved, but the overall successes of the athletic programs here makes the decisions of nearly 15 years ago seem like a no-brainer.

Fishback, the chairman of the Fishback Financial Corporation and a Brookings native, did not attend SDSU. Instead, he opted to attend Stanford University for undergraduate and graduate studies and the University of Minnesota for law school, but that never stopped him from following SDSU and its athletic programs.

“I was a big fan growing up here,” Fishback said. “But even when I left for a while, I never took my eye off the university.”

students,” Fishback said.

Fishback takes a great deal of pride in supporting South Dakota State — he even refers

“My wife and I have devoted almost all our available time and energy to the well-being of South Dakota State University and its students.”

VAN FISHBACK

Chairman of the Fischback Financial Corporation

Fishback’s fingerprints can be found all over the university, including the athletic programs — the soccer complex where the Jackrabbits play bears his name (so does the Honors College) and the Fishback family has made several generous donations to SDSU over the years.

“My wife and I have devoted almost all our available time and energy to the well-being of South Dakota State University and its

to the University as the “crown jewel of Brookings.” His decision to invest in the educational and athletic experience has never been a difficult one.

“We have lived in Brookings for a long time and have a business tied to the community,” Fishback said. “With that, Barb and I see a great opportunity and certain obligation to reinvest in and support the university.”

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Miller spearheaded move to D-I BRADY NICOLAUS Sports Reporter

mug shot

Peggy Miller was the first female president of SDSU. During her tenure she helped move the university into Division I in hopes of furthering South Dakota college student retention and recruitment.

Peggy Gordon Elliot Miller held university presidency from 1998-2006 and led the charge to move SDSU athletics to Division I in her tenure. She was the 18th president of South Dakota State University.

“The credit goes to the coaches and students over the years before I was here.

I was just the lucky one who was determined to kick open the door,” Miller said.

“I wouldn’t give up,” Miller said. “That’s how I would describe my role in it all.”

During this upward push in the division, which was completed in 2008, the university got a great deal of national exposure. This exposure put South Dakota State on the

“I wouldn’t give up.

That’s how I would describe my role in it all.”

PEGGY MILLER

18th President of South Dakota State University

map for school and athletics and encouraged many out-ofstate students to look into the university.

Along with bringing in more student athletes, the move to Division I helped to keep college students in state as most would leave the state to pursue better opportunities.

“Our athletes would leave the state in order to move up in their careers, and sometimes

didn’t even get interviewed if they weren’t Division I”, Miller said.

While the move to Division 1 was the most significant development during Miller’s time at the university, she also helped with many more programs and projects.

Miller oversaw the construction of the Performing Art Center and Caldwell Hall, as well as the renovation of the University Student Union and Crothers Engineering Hall.

In addition, initial plans were put in place to develop the Research Park and Wellness Center. The Jackrabbit Guarantee, which rewards students who score a 24 on their ACT with a minimum of $1,000, was also implemented during her tenure as president.

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FOOTBALL LANDON DIERKS Sports Reporter Now a decade into the Division I era at South Dakota State, the Jackrabbit football program has established itself as one of the premiere programs in the FCS and continues to trend upward on the national scene.

“I think it’s been tremendous,” head coach John Stiegelmeier said. “Our success both in the classroom and on the football field has far exceeded what the people outside the locker room thought would happen and it has far exceeded where we were as a Division II program, so I’m really proud of what we’ve done.”

Under Stiegelmeier, SDSU has compiled an 80-46 overall record and made seven trips to the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.

The Jacks own a 55-25 mark in Missouri Valley Football Conference competition and have never had a losing record in conference play. This is especially impressive since SDSU competes in what many consider to be the premiere conference at the FCS level of competition — the MVFC has been represented in the FCS national championship game each of the last seven seasons.

“Your best business card is your win-loss record,” Stiegelmeier said.

SDSU has made the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs six times in a row (one of only four schools to accomplish that feat) and reached the national semifinals last season. They ended the season ranked third in the country — the program’s best finish in school history.

John Stiegelmeier and his coaching staff have also brought several outstanding athletes to Brookings. At least one Jackrabbit football player has been named an AllAmerican each season since 2012 and nominated for a national award every season of the Division I era.

Players who highlight that group are Zach Zenner, Austin Sumner, Taryn Christion, Jake Wieneke and Dallas Goedert.

Zenner is the SDSU all-time leader for all-purpose yards (8,211) and was the first Division I running back in history to

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record three consecutive seasons with 2,000 rushing yards. The star back went on to the NFL and played three seasons for the Detroit Lions. He is currently a free agent.

Sumner had his name all over the SDSU record book when he left Brookings. His final two SDSU records — career completions (737) and career passing yards (9,458) — fell earlier in the 2018 season to Christion.

think it’s it’s been been tremendous. tremendous.

“I“I think Our success success both both in in the the Our classroom and and on on the the football football classroom field has has far far exceeded exceeded what what field the people people outside outside the the locker locker the room thought thought would would happen happen room and itit has has far far exceeded exceeded where where and we were were as as aa Division Division IIII we program, so so I’m I’m really really proud proud program, of what what we’ve we’ve done.” done.” of JOHN STIEGELMEIER Head football coach

Christion, statistically, is the best passer in the history of Jackrabbit football.

In addition to holding 13 school records, the senior from Sioux Falls, South Dakota became the MVFC all-time leader in total offense against Youngstown State this season.

He was named a finalist for the STATS FCS Walter Payton Award after his sophomore and junior seasons.

Wieneke holds a trio of career receiving records in the SDSU record books. The star wide receiver ended his Jackrabbit career with 288 receptions for 5,157 yards and 59 touchdowns. The star wideout was the first Jackrabbit football player to be recognized as

The Collegian

an All-American each of his four seasons for the Jacks.

Goedert did not accumulate the career statistics that Wieneke did, but the 6-foot6-inch, 250 pound tight end holds the single season receptions record (92 in 2016) and racked up 2,404 yards receiving in his final two years in a Jackrabbit uniform. His collegiate performance led to Goedert being taken 49th overall by the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in 2018.

Beyond performance on the field, the football team’s facilities have seen several upgrades since 2008.

The football team moved its headquarters to the Dykhouse StudentAthlete Center — the building that sits beyond the north end zone of Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium (then Coughlin-Alumni Stadium), upon its completion in 2010. The construction project was made possible by a $6 million donation courtesy of Dana Dykhouse and T. Denny Sanford.

Beyond the Dykhouse Student-Athlete Center sits the Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex. The $32 million facility was completed in 2014 and provides the football team and other athletic programs an indoor practice facility.

After playing on the natural grass at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium since 1962, the Jackrabbit football team began playing at 19,340-seat Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium. The team moved into the $65 million facility upon its completion in 2016.

No matter if it’s Coughlin-Alumni or Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, the Jacks are comfortable playing on their home field.

Since 2008, they have a home record of 4614.

Stiegelmeier believes everything is moving in the right direction for the Jackrabbits and anticipates success for his program leading into the second decade of Division I competition.

“The goal is to win a national championship,” he said. “Before we even made the playoffs we talked about that …

We were one game away from playing for a national championship (last season) ... As the support continues and the program keeps climbing, that is a realistic goal.”

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Collegian photo by MIRANDA SAMPSON

Junior running back Mikey Daniel (26) hurdles over Tyrel Thomas (2) of Montana State Saturday, Sept. 8, 2018 at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings, S.D.

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The Collegian

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L L A B T E K S MEN’S BA ANDREW HOLTAN Sports Reporter The South Dakota State men’s basketball program did not have success early on the Division I era. In fact, it went a combined 2736 their first two seasons.

“During our transition we did ok, but we couldn’t get our kids to stay. They would leave because it was so difficult. We would get beat by 40 points and they just couldn’t handle it,” said former SDSU head coach Scott Nagy.

Nagy said SDSU wouldn’t had been able to have success if they players didn’t sacrifice the first couple seasons of Division I. “We recruited a group of guys that weren’t going to quit when it got tough.

Those guys didn’t win a lot of games, but they allowed us to recruit the type of athlete that would take us to the NCAA Tournament,” Nagy said.

The first time SDSU made it to the NCAA Tournament was in 2011-12, behind Nate Wolters who averaged 21.2 points per game that season.

Wolters had an even better season in 2012-13. He won Summit League Player of the Year averaging 22.3 points, 5.8 assists and 5.6 rebounds. Wolters set the career records for most points, assists and free throws made.

He was the only player in SDSU history to score more than 2,000 points in his career.

That was until Mike Daum did it last season.

Daum has 2,232 points which is 131 points behind Wolters.

Daum has won the Summit League Player of the Year the past two seasons averaging 25.1 and 23.9 points respectively.

Since 2011-12 SDSU has gone 89-5 at Frost Arena. The .947 home winning percentage is the highest in Division I during that time period. The Jacks currently have a 20-game home winning streak, which is the longest in the NCAA. SDSU has made the NCAA Tournament three seasons in-a-row and has made it five of the last seven seasons. They have yet to win a game in the tournament and head coach TJ Otzelberger said that is the programs next goal.

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Collegian photo by MIRANDA SAMPSON

Senior guard Tevin King sets up a play at the top of the key during the SDSU vs. Grand Canyon game.

The Collegian

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L L A B T E K S A B S ’ N E M WO LANDON DIERKS Sports Reporter It didn’t take long for the South Dakota State women’s basketball program to prove why it deserved to compete in NCAA Division I athletics.

In 2008-09, SDSU’s first season at the Division I level, the Jacks ended the season ranked 16th nationally and finished with the second-best record in history for a team in their inaugural season of play in Division I (32-3).

Since then, the SDSU women’s basketball team has hardly missed a step. Head coach Aaron Johnston, now in his 19th season coaching, and his coaching staff continue to find elite talent and have established the SDSU program as a perennial mid-major power.

Since transitioning to Division I competition and becoming eligible for the NCAA tournament in the 2008-09 season, the Jackrabbit women’s basketball program has compiled a record of 248-87 — all under the guidance of Johnston.

In 10 full seasons of competition since gaining eligibility, SDSU has claimed eight Summit League Tournament Championships — each coming with a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

“It’s hard for us to imagine it going much better,” Johnston said.

During their ten years in the Summit League, the Jacks have proven to be the class of the conference, posting a record of 135-27 in conference play. SDSU is one of only two current Summit League teams to not post a losing regular season or conference record (South Dakota is the other, but did not join until the 2011-12 season).

In addition to their conference prowess, the Jackrabbits have been exceptionally difficult to beat on their home court.

Frost Arena has proven to be a difficult place to play for opposing teams. The Jacks have a home winning percentage of 0.863 (126-20) since 2008.

The Jackrabbits have played host to several teams from large athletic conferences since making the transition — Notre Dame and Louisville highlight the list of programs that have visited Brookings over the last 10

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years.

An Oregon team that advanced to the Elite Eight last season will visit Brookings in December, becoming the latest in a long line of nationally ranked teams to play the Jackrabbits at home.

“I think the biggest difference for us (competing in Division I) has taken us from a regional success story to a national one,” Johnston said. “It has allowed us to attract a higher caliber of student athlete and that’s really the goal.”

In total, 12 of the 37 Jackrabbits to eclipse the 1,000 point mark in their careers at SDSU have played in the Division I era. Macy Miller, Kristin Rotert, Megan Waytashek, Kerri Young, Maria Boever, Jill Young, Jennifer Warkenthien, Madison Guebert, FILE PHOTO Ellie Thompson, Jennie Sunnarborg, Ashley Eide and Macy Miller drives toward the hoop during a 2016 game against Ketty Cornemann make up the South Dakota. Miller entered her final season 171 points away list. from being the leading scorer.

A few names from the Division I era pop out in the points away from breaking Shannon SDSU women’s basketball record books.

Schlagel’s all-time scoring record and Jill Young, a Mitchell, South Dakota would become the first Jackrabbit women’s native, played for the Jackrabbits from 2008 basketball player to surpass the 2,000 point to 2011 and holds the record for three-point milestone for a career if she adds 283 points field goals made in a career with 305 . to her career total.

Her record may not stand for much It is players like Miller, Guebert and longer.

Young that have thrust Jackrabbit women’s Senior guard Madison Guebert heads basketball onto the national radar and into her season needing just 40 more threeestablished SDSU as a mid-major basketball pointers to surpass Young’s total. The senior power and the class of the Summit League, from Apple Valley, Minnesota would also but Johnston keeps pushing his team to finish top five in school history in scoring if achieve lofty goals. she scores at least 347 points this season.

“The challenge is when you’ve been really Guebert isn’t the only current Jackrabbit good sometimes the steps you take forward to put points on the scoreboard for SDSU. are very small steps,” Johnston said. “For us A name SDSU fans have had the pleasure it’s about trying to be more consistent and of hearing numerous times in recent years is competing for regular season championships that of fifth-year senior guard Macy Miller. in our league, and on the postseason side Like Young, Miller also hails from the continuing to try and advance further into Corn Palace City and has her name all over postseason tournaments. That’s our on the the SDSU record books. court measurement.”

She enters the 2018 season only 171

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VOLLEYBAL

SOCCER

CALEB CHRISTENSEN Sports Reporter

Collegian photo by MIRANDA SAMPSON

Forward Rachel Hewitt goes to cross the ball into the box during the SDSU vs. Creighton soccer match.

BRADY NICOLAUS Sports Reporter Success has followed Jackrabbit soccer since its transition to Division I athletics.

The Jackrabbits came out of the gates kicking in their first season in Division I athletics with an overall record of 15-5-1.

That inaugural season also marked the first of many Summit League Tournament Championships for the Jacks. In addition to the championship, the team also appeared in the NCAA Tournament, where they lost in the second round to the Minnesota Gophers.

Lang Wedemeyer was the coach of the SDSU soccer team since its introduction in 2000.

He led the Jacks through their many successful years after their start in Division I athletics and holds a 161-123-39 record with the team. He officially left the program in 2016 to coach the Liberty University Flames in Lynchburg, Virginia.

The Jacks brought home a few more Summit League

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Championships and NCAA appearances in 2014, 2015 and 2016. In 2009, 2011 and 2017, the team held the status of regular season champions in the Summit League.

The team’s only losing season since entering Division I came in 2012 when the Jacks ended the year with an overall record of 6-9-2.

While this was a minor hiccup in the team’s history, it quickly regained momentum the following year, ending on a 11-5-2 note. The Jackrabbits have been able to keep up their upward progress throughout the following years, being 5431-14 since 2012.

For recruitment, Division I status has been nothing but good for Jackrabbit soccer. “(Division I) made Jackrabbit Athletics a national brand,” Thompson said. “It’s given our players access to the biggest stage in the country and it’s given us as a program access to the best players in the region and across the country.”

Highs and lows.

That’s what the South Dakota State volleyball team has seen in their ten-year tenure at the Division I level.

However, it didn’t take long for them to appear in the postseason. In 2007, the second year of Division I eligibility, the team blew past Summit League opposition and became the first team in school history to advance to an NCAA Division I Tournament. The Jacks played at No. 2 Nebraska where they lost 13-30, 14-30, 13-30.

Amy Anderson won the 2007 Summit League Tournament MVP that year along with being named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Third Team.

After the 2007 season, then-head coach Andrew Palileo left to take a head coaching job at Washington State. After his stop in Pullman, Washington, Palileo took on an assistant role at Ohio State University.

Palileo now serves as the head coach for the North Texas Mean Green.

Since losing Palileo after the 2007 season, the Jacks just haven’t been able to find the success that they once enjoyed.

L

Since 2008, the Jacks own just an 88-205 record and have had two winning seasons (2010, 2012).

Other than Palileo, the Jacks have had three other coaches in the Division I era.

Nanabah Allison-Brewer served as the head coach from 2008 to 2010 and compiled a 36-48 record. Phil McDaniel took over in 2011 and served until 2014, where he built a 4582 record. Nicole Cirillo is now the current head coach and has served since 2015.

Despite not having many winning records in their Division I era, the Jacks have had solid contributors.

From 2007-12, SDSU had a Summit League Offensive Player of the Week at least once if not multiple times throughout the season. During 2007-16, the Jacks have had 11 different Summit League Defensive Players of the Week honors.

Two players, Amy Anderson and Kelli Fiegen, won Summit League Female Athlete of the Month honors. Fiegen also won the 2010 Summit League Player of the Year honors.

Despite being the first team in school history to make a Division I appearance, the volleyball team has a 135-228 record in that era.

Collegian photo by MIRANDA SAMPSON

Junior outside hitter Makenzie Hennen (3) goes up for the kill during the SDSU Jackrabbits vs Omaha Mavericks volleyball match.

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South Dakota State University School of Performing Arts

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G N I L T S E R W TRENTON ABREGO Sports Editor Jackrabbit Athletics’ biggest Division I success last year was claiming its first-ever NCAA National Championship.

It was the wrestling team who celebrated the success of one of their own. In the 133-weight class, Seth Gross became the first Jackrabbit to win a Division I Individual National Championship.

SDSU hasn’t always had a top-tier Division I wrestling program.

In 2004, the South Dakota State wrestling team was fast-tracked by the NCAA, allowing them to compete as an independent — meaning they didn’t yet belong to a conference.

The Jacks joined the Western Wrestling

Conference on April 27, 2006. It was formed with five other members — Wyoming, Air Force, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado and Northern Iowa. Fresno State also joined but never competed.

Under the reign of then-head coach Jason Liles, the Jacks compiled a 55-68-1 record in the first eight years in Division I. Despite having a below-.500 record in his Division I tenure, Liles sent three wrestlers to the NCAA Tournament during that span.

Ryan Meyer made the 2007 NCAA Tournament at the 165-pound weight class and lost both matches. In 2009 and 2010, Tyler Sorensen qualified at the 197-pound weight class.

After the 2011-2012 season, Liles stepped down. Chris Bono took over the program and elevated the program to new

founded heights.

From 2012-15, Bono sent seven qualifiers to the NCAA tournament.

Following the 2015 season, the Jacks and other members of the WWC received and accepted an invitation to the Big 12 Conference.

In their first season in the Big 12, the Jacks went 14-6 with a school-record of five NCAA qualifiers.

In 2018, the program made another big step with their first NCAA National Champion in 133-pounder Seth Gross.

After the 2018 season, Bono stepped down to take a head coaching position at Wisconsin. Damion Hahn will be taking over the reins for the Jacks as they head into their 14th year of Division I.

Collegian photo by MIRANDA SAMPSON

Seth Gross wrestles Cam Sykora of North Dakota State. Gross became the first Jackrabbit athlete to win a Division I individual title in 2018.

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The Collegian

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Collegian photo by MIRANDA SAMPSON

out because of SDSU stands Sanford-Jackrabbit CARSON HERBERT Sports Reporter

Athletic Complex

With the help of Sanford Health and many other donors, South Dakota State enhanced its Division I programs with the construction of the $32-million Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex (S-JAC) in 2014.

This multi-purpose indoor competition and training facility lies just north of the Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium. The development of the project began in 2011.

The S-JAC houses track and field programs and is used as a training facility for many of the other athletic programs.

Inside there is an eight-lane, 300-meter track and 100 yards of soy based synthetic turf. The S-JAC also holds space for sports

medicine, athletic training, strength and conditioning, physical therapy, hydrotherapy, observation rooms and office facilities.

The facility allows South Dakota State to stand out in the Summit League and beyond.

The 2018-19 Summit League Indoor Track and Field Championships will be held at the S-JAC for the second time in its history in February.

The complex has played host to high school track and field events, the 2018 spring game for the Jackrabbit football team and hosted its first wrestling tournament with the Warren Williamson/Daktronics Open on Nov. 4, 2018.

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The Collegian

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Ref lecting on transition: Division I decision drives change at SDSU ANDREW HOLTAN Sports Reporter

T

en years ago, South Dakota State was in its first year as a Division I school after going through a fiveyear transition period.

SDSU announced in 2003 that it would be moving from Division II to Division I. At the time, there were a lot of people who thought SDSU would not be successful in D-I, including members of the South Dakota Board of Regents.

“Half the regents were against it,” said former SDSU football player and current donor, Dana J. Dykhouse.

“We had a 5-4 vote. Four of them were against it.”

Dykhouse, who is a major university donor, played a large part in ensuring SDBOR decided going Division I was the right choice. Dykhouse said South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds played a big part as well.

“Governor Rounds is an SDSU alum. He was ticked off because his son decided to go to North Dakota State because they were making things happen. So he became a big advocate for us,” Dykhouse said.

Former SDSU President Peggy Miller and former Athletic Director Fred Oien were instrumental in getting the university to the Division I level. In December of 2005, Miller announced she would retire at the end of the 2006 academic year.

After the five-year transition period on June 26, 2008, the NCAA Division I Management Council Administrative Committee announced SDSU had met all the requirements to become an active of NCAA Division I, starting at the beginning of the 2008-09 academic year.

Oien announced his retirement effective immediately on April 8, 2009.

Justin Sell was announced as the next SDSU Athletic Director May 7, 2009, and has been the leader of the athletic department ever since.

Sell, who was previously a Senior

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Associate Athletic Director at Northern Iowa, said he wouldn’t have applied for the SDSU job if they weren’t Division I. “I pulled up, it was a Sunday evening. So before I was interviewing I came over to campus and me and my wife were driving around,” Sell said.

“I pulled up to the stadium and it just didn’t look Division I. I said to my wife ‘I don’t know if I can do this,’” After Sell took an entire tour of campus and had his interview he said he realized there was “tremendous potential” for SDSU. He was offered the job and took it.

Half Half the the regents regents were were against against it. it. We We had had aa 5-4 5-4 vote. vote. Four Four of of them them were were against against it.” it.”

DANA J. DYKHOUSE

Former SDSU football player and donor

The first thing Sell did was develop a 10-year facility plan that included building a new practice facility and a new football stadium.

“The facilities were just aged. They were old. So how do we do that and build a vision that people would get excited and would want to help fund?”

Sell said.

Dykhouse played a significant role by donating millions of dollars to the athletic department.

“We had to do the indoor practice facility first because we had to raise all the money,” Dykhouse said. “We had 100 percent of the private funds for the practice facility before we started construction. With the stadium, the revenue from the suites and loge level

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seats will pay for it.”

The Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex was completed in the fall of 2014. The Complex has a 100-yard turf football field, an eight-lane 300-meter track, a weight room and a treatment center.

Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium officially opened in the fall of 2016 and seats 19,300 people. The price tag checked in at approximately $65 million. Dykhouse donated $12 million.

Athletics aren’t the only department that’s facilities have gotten transformations since the school went to Division I. There have been multiple new buildings built in the past 10 years.

“What people didn’t understand was that our move to Division I had more to do with our whole image and attitude of the campus,” Dykhouse said. “We knew we had a Division I engineering program, we knew that when our pharmacists competed, it was at a Division I level. So why couldn’t our university be Division I?” Some of the sports succeeded more than others at the beginning of the Division I era. The women’s basketball team has won at least 20 games in 13 of their 15 seasons in Division I and have made the NCAA Tournament in eight of the last 10 seasons.

“When SDSU made the transition, the women basketball team made the National Invitation Tournament … They beat up on Nebraska, they beat the Indiana Hoosiers,” Dykhouse said. “So suddenly little girls across South Dakota realized that South Dakota State was on the same level as those big schools.”

The men struggled out of the gate going under .500 in their first two seasons in Division I. “Basketball is probably the toughest sport to make the transition from Division II to Division I because there’s 350 something odd schools in Division I,” said former SDSU men’s basketball coach Scott Nagy. “All of those schools don’t have football, but they all have men’s basketball and they throw a lot

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of money at it because you can actually make money off of it.”

The men caught up with the women in 2011-12 and made the NCAA Tournament. Sell said that season was the moment he knew that SDSU could be a successful Division I athletic department.

“That was a huge moment because I think it cemented in people’s minds that this school can be pretty darn good. Right about that time is when we started in terms of donations and building facilities and starting that pattern,” Sell said.

Since then, the Jackrabbit men have made the NCAA Tournament four more times. The football team has also seen success in the Division I era.

Making the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs the last six seasons and making it to the FCS Playoffs semifinal last season.

Sell believes the success of the men’s and women’s basketball team created a culture for the rest of the department.

“I said this very early on in my time here: You don’t gain the reputation of being a great institution or great athletic program by winning one game or one fall season or a year,” he said.

“We “We knew knew we we had had aa Division Division II engineering engineering program, program, we we knew knew that that when when our our pharmacists pharmacists competed, competed, itit was was at at aa Division Division II level. level. So So why why couldn’t couldn’t our our university university be be Division Division I?” I?” DANA J. DYKHOUSE

Former SDSU football player and donor

“You have to do it year after year after year, for an extended period of time, I think we’ve done that.”

Heading into 2017-18 SDSU had 63 team or individual postseason appearances.

On March 17, 2018, Seth Gross became the first Jackrabbit to win a national title when he won the 133-pound NCAA Wrestling

Championship. In 2018 the softball team participated in a postseason tournament for the first time in the Division I era.

The move to Division I has also helped the athletic department financially. SDSU had a budget of $10,602,137 in 2007-08. Its budget in 2016-17 was $21,332,064. Sell said when he first got to SDSU his goal was to raise over $1 million a year for scholarships. They now raise over $4 million per year.

Sell said in the next 10 years he has a couple of goals. One is winning a national championship in football and the other is consistently winning games in the men’s and women’s NCAA Basketball Tournament.

“For us, we’re sitting at the 10year mark and saying, ‘Alright now the game’s on, we have to get stuff done.’

That’s the cool part about SDSU and our ability to stretch ourselves,” Sell said. “We plan on working twice as hard to reach those goals. Having the programs that are in the public eye, at the top and doing well every year is going to open the door for people to see the broad base of success we have here.”

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BASEBALL JOHN BEGEMAN Sports Reporter

Derek Hackman will look to make things competitive for the starting spot.

Sophomore southpaw Brady Stover will look to anchor the pitching rotation. Stover started 10 games last season and picked up a big win against nationally-ranked Oklahoma State. If the newcomers and transfers can fill

key roles, this team looks to better their third place finish a year ago.

The Jacks will open the season with 28 consecutive games away from home. This starts with a four-game series at Mississippi Valley State. Summit League play will kick off March 16 on the road at Oral Roberts

In 2008, the Jacks’ baseball team returned to a newly built Erv Huether Field, where the team ushered in a new era of Division I sports that same year.

The team has played at Erv Huether Field since 1958, but it was demolished in 2001 only to be rebuilt as a part of campus renovations. From 2002-2007, amidst the reconstruction of the stadium, the Jacks played at city-owned Bob Shelden Field, home to the Brookings Bobcats and American Legion team.

Upon completion of the new Erv Huether Field, baseball returned to campus April 21, 2008. In the ten seasons following the transition, SDSU has logged a 105-53 overall record.

Four different head coaches have led the Jacks as a Division I program, but the team is currently coached by Rob Bishop, who has been a collegiate coach for 19 seasons.

In Bishop’s first season as the Jacks manager, the Jacks posted a 26-24 record.

The Jacks haven’t enjoyed the same success in Division I as they did in Division II. In the lower division, they made nine postseason appearances. Since becoming a Division I program, the Jacks have made a lone postseason appearance in 2013.

As a Division II program, the Jacks made nine postseason appearances.

Since becoming a Division I program the Jacks have made one postseason appearance in 2013.

Looking ahead to this season, the Jacks look to chase the Summit League Championship as they are returning six starters and have added depth to their pitching staff. One returning player is Nick Smith, a junior utility player, who led the team last year with a .340 batting average and 65 hits.

The Jacks lost a stellar catcher in Luke Ringhofer, as he was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 22nd round of the 2017 draft. The position will be up for FILE PHOTO grabs as juniors Kolton Michalski and Ian Layne Somsen hurls a pitch toward an opposing batter. The Yankton native played for South Dakota State Cote have had experience, while freshman and was selected in the 2013 MLB Draft. He currently plays in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization.

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The Collegian

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NTRY/ CROSS COU F IE L D TRACK AND

SOFTBALL

CARSON HERBERT Sports Reporter

Collegian photo by MIRANDA SAMPSON

Junior infielder Paige Gerdes bunts the ball during the SDSU vs. St. Cloud State game Saturday, Sept. 15 at the Jackrabbit Softball Stadium.

ANDREW HOLTAN Sports Reporter A team that has struggled during the 10 years of its Division I tenure, is the South Dakota State softball.

Last year was the first time the Jacks had a winning record in a season since moving to Division I in 2008.

SDSU went 37-18 last season, in the previous nine seasons they had a combined record of 76-134.

Head coach Krista Wood, who is entering her fifth season at SDSU, believes she has changed the team’s culture.

“We’re really basing our program off of grit,” Wood said. “We talk about growth, resilience and trust. Those are the core values of our program and we have to stick with them

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and buy into them.”

Last year was the first time in program history the Jacks participated in a postseason tournament.

They finished second in the National Invitational Softball Championship.

“Moving forward, having a winning record at the Division I era sets the standard for now and into the future,” Wood said.

Wood considers this success as only the beginning for Jackrabbit softball.

“I want South Dakota State softball to be a team that everyone looks at with great tradition and culture,” she said. “That’s the thing that I want to happen in the next 10 years. For it to continue to grow and for it to become what people would consider a powerhouse team.”

Over the past decade, South Dakota State has made a name for its cross country program as a member of the Summit League.

The men’s cross country team claimed the Summit League Championship for the seventh time in 2018. Led by a former Olympian and Jackrabbit Sports Hall of Fame member Rod DeHaven, the men’s program has finished as either the top team or as runner-up in every Summit League championship race since 2012.

The women’s program has won two team titles at the Division I level, winning the 2006 Independent Championships that featured nine teams and the second coming as a member of the Summit League in 2008.

Both teams have seen recent success.

Chase Cayo and Kyle Burdick have led the men recently with Cayo winning the cross country 2017 Summit League Athlete of the Year and Summit League Championship MVP and following with a runner-up finish in the 2018 Summit League Cross Country Championships. Burdick finished nearly three seconds

behind Cayo in the 2017 Summit League Championship meet.

The women won back-toback individual championship races as Emily Donnay won the 2016 league championship meet and earned Championship MVP while Rachel King followed in her steps in 2017. King finished in 10th place in the 2017 NCAA Midwest Regionals and Donnay finished 23rd in 2016.

All distance runners at South Dakota State participate in both cross country and track and field. Last season, the men transferred their success from the cross country season by taking second and the women took fourth in both the Summit League Track and Field Outdoor and Indoor Championships.

King made her mark after becoming the first female track athlete in school history to compete in the Division I Track and Field Championships in 2018.

The Jacks have not been able to catch North Dakota State in both the outdoor and indoor portions of the season.

The Bison have dominated as they have swept the Indoor Summit League Championships for the past three seasons.

NDSU has garnered at least a share of the outdoor league title for the last 11 years.

Collegian photo by MIRANDA SAMPSON

Sophomore pole vaulter Trent Francom participates in the SDSU Last Chance meet Friday, Feb. 16 in the Sanford Jackrabbit Athletic Complex.

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/D SWIMMING

GOLF CARSON HERBERT Sports Reporter The women’s golf team wasted no time in its first season as a member of the Summit League conference. The team finished runner-up at the 2008 Summit League Championships in Macomb, Illinois.

Up until the 2012-13 season, the women competed against Oral Roberts. The Golden Eagles had put together a dynasty by winning a record amount of 15-straight Summit League Championships before moving to the Southland Conference in 2013.

After longtime coach Jared Baszler stepped down in the spring of 2014, the program hired Casey VanDamme as the new Director of Golf.

Under a new leader, the Jacks finished third in the 2015 Summit League Championships followed by consecutive runnerup finishes in 2016 and 2017.

Teresa Toscano was named the league’s Newcomer of the Year and Megan Mingo made it a year to remember for the program when she was named Summit League Golfer of the Year.

Mingo set a school single season record with a season stroke average of 74.48.

Toscano, in her first season with the program, finished with a

74.77 season stroke average.

The men’s experience as a Division I program has been highlighted by back-to-back Summit League titles in 2016 and 2017.

Following their championships, the Jacks took 11th out of 13 teams in the 2016 NCAA Regional Tournament and finished last in the Stanford NCAA Regional the following season.

Three South Dakota State golfers have been honored with the Summit League Golfer of the Year award.

Trent Peterson was the first to be recognized with the award. Peterson holds many school records as he ranks first in career scoring average (73.78), top 10 finishes (28), rounds played (102), season scoring average, which was set in the 2008-09 season (72.41) and rounds played (32).

Hudson Carpenter, who won Player of the Year in 2014, ranks second in career rounds played with 111 and ranks second in season stroke average with 72.41 — a record set in his 2013-14 campaign.

Grant Smith also won the Summit League Player of the Year in 2016. Smith followed his award by winning Summit League Tournament MVP in 2017.

FILE PHOTO

Teresa Toscano was named to the First-Team All-Summit League and finished tied for second at the Summit League Championships in 2018.

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IVING

FILE PHOTO

Alexandra Yaeger competes in the 200 butterfly on Jan. 2016. Yaeger set the school record in the 200 butterfly (2:03.49).

TRENTON ABREGO Sports Editor Forty-one years.

That’s how long Brad Erickson served as the head coach for the swimming and diving program at South Dakota State University.

During his tenure, the longest for a coach in school history, the Jackrabbits saw most of their success.

The 2005-06 season was the first season when the Jackrabbits competed in the Mid-Continent Conference, now the Summit League. In their first year, they placed last and were 49 points behind Valparaiso, who finished sixth.

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Despite seeing relative success, the Jackrabbits – men or women, have yet to win their first Summit League Championship title.

In the 2011-12 and 201213 seasons, the Jackrabbit men finished in second place behind Oakland.

Chris Schreier is the only Jackrabbit to be a two-time single event champion. Schreier won the 200 fly in 2010-11 and 2011-12.

This season, the Jackrabbit men will compete in three invitational tournaments: Iowa, Minnesota and their own.

The women will join the men at the three competitions.

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TENNIS

EQUESTRIAN CALEB CHRISTENSEN Sports Reporter In the move that catapulted South Dakota State to a higher division, a new program was also created.

Last season, the South Dakota State equestrian team competed in the 2018 National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA) Championships for the second consecutive year.

It was the second time in program history that the equestrian team qualified for nationals in consecutive years.

Since becoming a program, the team has an overall combined record of 41-77.

The Jacks have had four different coaches since the start of the program: Megan McGee (2005-10), Joe Humphrey (2010-11), Megan Rossiter (2011-15) and Ellie Wilkins (2015-present).

The SDSU equestrian team has had four NCEA AllAmerican First Team honorees, all in the reining event: Angela Gebhart (2011), Laura Dunlavy (2013), Raivenne Scott (2014) and Mariah Wright (2015).

The Jacks have qualified in the NCEA National Championship in events such as Western (2012, 2013), Hunt Seat (2013) and all four events (2018). The entire team qualified in 2017.

Twelve Jacks have qualified to the Intercollegiate Horse Show Associated, two to the Varsity Equestrian National and 20 have been named to the NCEA All-Academic First Team — 7 of which were named to the list multiple times.

Last season the Jacks had 17 different Most Outstanding Performers between Equitation on the Flat, Horsemanship, Equitation over Fences and Reining.

FILE PHOTO

Equestrian became a program at SDSU during the 2006-07 season.

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FILE PHOTO

Marco Paulo Castro returns a shot during a 2016 tennis match.

TRENTON ABREGO Sports Editor Despite the athletic success of a majority of sports at the Division I level, there was team that didn’t survive the jump.

At the end of the 2018 season, it was announced that the South Dakota State tennis program would be discontinued.

During the 2007-08 season, the men’s and women’s tennis teams completed the transition to the higher level and joined the Summit League.

During its time as a program, women’s tennis did find success — though not instantly.

In their first five years in the Summit League, the women didn’t have a winning record.

Then, the 2012-13 season spurred a turnaround. That year, the Jacks went 16-10 and earned a third-place finish in the league.

Success would follow the Jacks for three more years as they went a combined 49-26 during the 2013-16 seasons.

In the 2015 and 2016 seasons, the women reached the Summit League Championships, where they lost both times.

During the final two years of the program’s existence, the

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Jackrabbit women’s tennis team won only two matches. The program finished with a 115175 record at the Division I level with a .396 winning percentage.

The men never enjoyed the same success as the women’s team.

Before their first winning season in 2012, the Jacks went 46-101 in their first eight Division I seasons.

Between the 2017-2018 seasons, the men lost 20 consecutive matches, the thirdhighest mark in Summit League history.

Despite the 104-178 record and .368 winning percentage in Division I competition, the men had their fair share of AllSummit League players.

Andrea Boglic (2013), Parker Lawley (2013-15), Corey Paluch (2009-10), Henrique Pereira (2013-14), Justin Pyle (2010) and James Thorp (2012) earned the honors for the Jacks.

In 2013, head coach Michael Engdahl won the men’s Summit League Coach of the Year award and the women’s award in 2014. Engdahl coached for the Jacks from 2011-16 and led the teams to a combined record of 139-118.

Currently, Engdahl serves as the head coach for the College of Saint Benedict.

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Greatest Jackrabbit feats by year For the first time, SDSU women’s basketball team advanced to the 2009 NCAA Tournament, where they defeated Texas Christian in the First Round. The Jacks made an exit in the second round following a 60-58 loss to Baylor.

South Dakota State won the Dakota Marker, something that wouldn’t happen again until 2016.

South Dakota State volleyball made the Summit League Tournament. The team hasn’t returned since.

2009 2010

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For the second time, the Jackrabbit football team advanced the FCS Playoffs. This time around, they won their first FCS Playoff game 58-10 against Eastern Illinois. They were knocked out of the second round by North Dakota State.

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South Dakota State’s Baseball Team advanced to the 2013 NCAA Tournament, where they fell in the first round to Oregon State. The Jacks were eliminated with a loss to San Francisco.

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4 1 0 2

2015

2018

Men’s basketball advanced to the NCAA Tournament, where they fell in the First Round to Maryland.

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Women’s basketball advanced to the 2014 Women’s National Invitational Tournament where they lost 66-63 to UTEP in the semifinals.

South Dakota State women advanced to the NCAA Tournament, where they lost 74-62 to Oregon State in the First Round.

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South Dakota State women advance to their fourth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

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Seth Gross won the 133-pound NCAA National Title.

SDSU football player Dallas Godert gets drafted in the third round with the Philledalphia Eagles. Godert is the highest SDSU D-I football player drafted.

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