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Students inspect one of three new “learning pods” that have been installed inside the Student Union. This pod is located next to the west entrace
LEARNING PODS MAKE DEBUT IN STUDENT UNION
South Dakota artist Tim Peterson captivated the audience with an open showcase titled “Illuminated Noir” at the South Dakota Art Museum earlier this month.
PIZZA MAKER WINS AWARDS IN CALIFORNIA CONTEST
Danger Von Dempsey’s owner awarded in two categories at the California Pizza Challenge.
JACKRABBIT SOCCER KICKS OFF SEASON
South Dakota State holds a 2-1-1 record early in the season as they continue their nonconference season.
Collegian photo by JORDAN ROEMELING
of the Union.
MOVE-IN MADNESS
Jackrabbits get settled in for a new school year
EMILY DECOCK
Editor-in-Chief
SDSU welcomed over 2,300 SDSU freshmen at the annual Meet State move-in Friday, with over 2,100 returning sophomores moving in on campus Saturday.
ere were over 800 Meet State volunteers that helped students move in this year, which is an increase from last year, said Rebecca Peterson, director of housing and residential life.
“Every year it just keeps getting better and better,” Peterson said. “It’s like a well-oiled machine and then we just keep making process improvements, and our volunteers are incredibly loyal.”
ere were some changes to the move-in weekend schedule this year.
Traditionally, the annual freshman photo and Convocation are held on Saturday at Sylvan Green.
is year, both events were held at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium on Friday.
“We’re just so excited to welcome our new students and our returning students back, and I’m grateful for the team to put together a really wonderful welcome for them,” Peterson said.
Jennifer Novotny, assistant vice president for student life, said the changes were to help keep new students connected and engaged.
“We really looked at, ‘How do we connect students best to the university?’ and then their families are here today, and so we have sort of strategic programming so that they have the time to converge together.”
Novotny thinks this is a change that will stick around, but planners of Meet State always listen to feedback when planning for the coming year.
One challenge on Friday was heavy rain in the morning, but volunteers were
unfazed.
“I got rained on earlier this morning, but the hopes were high, everyone was singing and dancing and trying to get everyone excited for campus,” said Abby Wiggins, a sophomore exercise science major and Meet State volunteer. “By about 9 o’clock, it kind of started to break, so it’s been pretty good since.”
Peterson also said that housing and residential life took steps to make sure Waneta residents were aware of $4.5 million renovations that are still being nished during move-in. e renovation includes changes primarily to the bathrooms but also updates to the kitchen and lobby.
And in Ben Reifel, a broken elevator caused a slight hiccup. Meet State volunteers started taking items out of bins and used the stairs before the issue was resolved.
“People are working super hard because
our elevator went out, but other than that, it’s been all right,” said senior community assistant Sophie Enter.
Overall, Novotny is excited to see students back, especially with the new addition of Larson Commons at Yeager Hall, which she worked closely on over the summer.
“I think students are really going to love it (Larson Commons at Yeager). Most of all, I’m excited about everybody coming back,” she said. “It gets very quiet here in the summer. We’re all very busy, but we’re always very ready for students to return.”
Collegian photo by EMILY DECOCK Move-in volunteers help residents bring their belongings into Ben Reifel Hall on Friday.
Collegian photo by CORDELL VITENSE Golf carts were utilized for move in all across campus on Friday.
Key fundraiser set for Sept. 4
One Day for STATE brought in more than $2.7 million last year
FAREN BEBEAU
Multimedia
Journalist
South Dakota State University admiAnyone who crunches the numbers can see that the One Day for STATE fundraiser is on a roll.
The first One Day for STATE in 2017 raised $8,558 from 1,196 donors. Last year’s event hauled in $2,757,790 from 6,068 donors.
“I will forever be grateful for that first year we had,” said Erin Glidden, one of the One Day for STATE (ODFS) founders. “Our goal was just 500 donors, and we had no idea how many we were going to have to make a gift. We ended up finishing with just under 2,000 donors,” Glidden said.
The ninth annual ODFS fundraiser is set for Thursday, Sept. 4 and officials hope to keep the roll going.
ODFS is more than just a 24-hour donation period, according to the SDSU Foundation website. It is a day for Jackrabbits and friends to celebrate everything they love about SDSU.
The day has marked the start of fall semester for the past eight years. Various activities help welcome new students, alumni and the community, making for a day full of giving and interactive events.
What originally started with a blank whiteboard in 2017, has flourished into a day of celebration and generous gifting. Glidden was one of the people using that whiteboard to brainstorm ideas. She sees the changes that the fundraiser has brought to the university, and she says it goes beyond just the money.
“We were the first giving day in the state of South Dakota, and through the shift of where we were back then [with technology] and giving in to more of an online presence now, we have really been leaning into social media and social networks,” she said. “It has really opened up how our university as a whole has started to think differently.”
Through its social media presence, the university has the ability to communicate
DONOR COUNT YEAR TO YEAR
2017: 1,196
2018: 2,138
2019: 3,744
2020: 4,888
2021: 5,438
2022: 5,882
2023: 6,474
2024: 6,068
with supporters from around the world, which has contributed to a steady growth in donors and dollars raised.
“This year, SDSU is looking to break 5,000 donors,” Glidden said.
In 2024, ODFS raised $2,757,790 from 6,068 donors. Looking to top last year’s standings, Glidden is encouraging students to use their social media presence and share their story.
“Sharing your story of why you love SDSU is the biggest way that the stu-
FUNDS RAISED YEAR TO YEAR
2017: $298,558
2018: $574,445
2019: $1,348,477
2020: $1,617,648
2021: $1,940,896
2022: $2,400,960
2023: $2,597,430
2024: $2,757,790
dents can contribute to the success of the event,” Glidden said.
Glidden also notes that ODFS is more than just a dollar amount. It helps connect potential future Jackrabbits and past Jackrabbits. This year students are encouraged to use ODFS provided pennants to post their story on social media with the hashtag “#OneDayForSTATE.”
“You can sense that the day is different just with the excitement and activities going on around campus,” Glidden said.
Festivities will begin the evening prior to ODFS with Jack’s Journey at 6 p.m.
On Sept. 4, the university will host the Yellow and Blue Block Party from 5 to 8 p.m. on the Alumni Green. Activities will include a performance by the Pride of the Dakotas marching band, SDSU ice cream, food truck vendors, pep rallies, bounce houses, the Bummobile, student-athlete appearances and activities for children.
Starting Thursday, ODFS will begin accepting donations of any size until 11:59 p.m.
University officials encourage participants to give to the areas of SDSU that they support most, whether it’s a student club, college, athletic team or the university as a whole. Donor totals and dollars raised will help unlock additional money from challenge donors, increasing the overall impact toward student success. Glidden said ODFS is more than just fundraising. It’s also about networking and connections made throughout the day. Students have been able to gain valuable experience in their courses of study through donor support. Public speakers, conferences and more opportunities were made possible for students from the ODFS fund.
From the funding received during ODFS, the School of Communication and Journalism has the opportunity to send advertising students to the American Advertising Federation of South Dakota Student Day conference free of admission costs as well as journalism students to the Midwest Journalism Conference.
One Day for STATE made its mark on the SDSU campus. Each year the campaign continues to grow through community, alumni and student support. Support the date remotely through Facebook LIVE or by joining in person Sept. 4.
Additional information for ODFS can be found at https://www.sdstatefoundation.org/odfs, as well as Facebook event pages.
From left to right: Allison Dahl, Jennifer McCloud, Erin Glidden pose in front of the SDSU Alumni Center
Collegian photo by FAREN BEBEAU
for a 24-hour challenge for all Jackrabbits to celebrate SDSU and the impact made through philanthropy!
+ Great prizes: Bose headphones, two 50-yard-line SDSU football tickets, Bookstore swag + more
+ Share your love for SDSU on social media
+ Raise funds for areas you’re passionate about
$150,000
$50K unlocked at 1,881 donors
A gift of any size from a student during One Day for STATE has the power to help unlock $1 7 5 , 000+ in challenges!
$100K unlocked at 5,000 donors $5K unlocked at 100 student donors + +
$$$$$
Overall Challenges $5,000 Student Challenge Challenge of the area(s) you support
PLUS AN ADDITIONAL $20,000 if you’re a first-time donor to SDSU! $20K unlocked at 100 first-time donors BONUS!
Dining hall opens in Yeager
Temporary cafeteria offers familiar meals and some updates
TAYLOR TENNANT
Assistant News Director
A new dining service is up and running in Yeager Hall as crews continue to remodel Larson Commons. The Yeager facility, called Larson Dining at Yeager, will be open all academic year.
The staff worked through the summer to prepare it for students’ return, said Jennifer Novotny, assistant vice president for student life.
The space was previously occupied by the SDSU print lab, which closed in November.
“That dining hall will be very similar to what you would have experienced in Larsons, with the exception of simple servings, which is our nine allergen-free
station,” Novotny said. “We moved that to The Market (in the Union) in this interim because that requires its own kitchen, separate from every other kitchen, and we already have that currently in The Market kitchen.”
Aside from that change, students will find a similar set up, with options such as international entrees, burgers, pizza, pasta, a deli, salad bar, desserts and more.
Much of the seating and equipment in the Larson Dining at Yeager was obtained from the existing Larson Commons kitchen. Novotny said staff anticipated the challenge of fitting a large dining operation into a tighter space, noting that Larsons previously served as many as 1,200 students during a single dinner period.
“We could serve up to 1,200 students every dinner, and we could do that only because students had to kind
of develop their patterns of when they would come and eat,” Novotny said.
She expects a similar pattern to develop in Yeager, with students spreading out their dining times to make the most of the smaller space.
While Novotny focused on dining operations, David Law, director of project management and engineering with facilities and services, explained the facilities side of the move. He said the university chose Yeager as the temporary location after construction was already underway in Larson Commons.
“We didn’t know that was the plan when we first started work in Larsons,” Law said. “We knew we had to do something, but we didn’t know where it was going to go. We finally made that decision around January or Feb-
Collegian photo by TAYLOR TENNANT
Students go through the salad bar at the new cafeteria called Larson Dining at Yeager. It is the temporary dining hall as Larson Commons is under currently under renovation. The new Larson Commons plans to open in the fall of 2026.
ruary of this year, and then we had from mid-May to mid-August to get everything done.”
The temporary renovation was budgeted at $600,000 but will likely exceed that amount, Law said.
The budget of $600,000 was set before they knew where the temporary location of Yeager would be.
“I don’t know for sure, but it’s probably going to be closer to $900,000 to a million dollars when it’s all said and done,” Law said.
The relocation to Yeager will last the full 2025-2026 academic year while construction continues in Larson Commons. Work in that building focuses on the second floor, including the kitchen and dining areas. The newly renovated Larson Commons dining hall plans to open in the fall of 2026.
“Our construction schedule would be keeping that space offline for construction the entire academic year, which is why we needed Yeager for the entire academic year,” Novotny said.
When the new dining hall construction is completed, the Yeager space will revert to being a university academic space.
Students that want to eat at Larson Dining at Yeager will check in for meals on Yeager’s main floor, where new restrooms and a mother’s room were built as part of the dining project. Infrastructure updates, such as a new air-handling system, were also installed to bring the older building up to modern standards.
On the first day of classes, some students who ate at Larsons in Yeager said they enjoyed the food and were settling into the new location. Emma Salisbury, a freshman agribusiness major from Glencoe, Minnesota, said she liked her first dining experience on campus.
“It was good overall, and I liked what they had to offer,” she said. “Getting here wasn’t really a problem once we found out where it was.”
Audrey Howell, a freshman respiratory care major also from Glencoe, said that she was pleased with the options available.
“I thought the options were good, and I found things I really liked,” she said.
Larson Commons in Yeager is open Monday through Friday for breakfast from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m., lunch from 10:45
a.m. to 2 p.m. and supper from 4 to 8 p.m.
On weekends, brunch is served from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., with Saturday supper from 5 to 7 p.m. and Sunday supper from 5 to 8 p.m.
Larson Commons in Yeager is open Monday through Friday for breakfast
from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m., lunch from 10:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. and supper from 4 to 8 p.m.
On weekends, brunch is served from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., with Saturday supper from 5 to 7 p.m. and Sunday supper from 5 to 8 p.m.
LARSON DINING AT YEAGER HOURS
Monday-Friday
Breakfast 7:30-10:30 a.m.
Lunch 10:45 a.m.- 2 p.m.
Dinner: 4-8 p.m.
Weekends
Brunch 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Saturday dinner 5-7 p.m.
Sunday dinner 5-8 p.m.
Collegian photo by TAYLOR TENNANT
A group of students enjoy their meal at the new Larson Dining at Yeager. They opened their doors Monday morning, and have already seen a large number of students coming through the facility,.
Collegian photo by TAYLOR TENNANT
The salad bar is one of the many options the new cafeteria has to offer. Other choices include international entrees, burgers, pizza, a deli, desserts and more.
Latest Jacks Bash may draw 25,000
Shelton, Rhett to headline Thursday concert
JORDAN ROEMELING
Lifestyles Director
South Dakota State University’s biggest party is back.
Jacks Bash 3, set for Thursday, Aug. 28, at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, will feature a concert lineup and celebrate the stadium’s 10th anniversary. Organizers expect a record crowd of 25,000 fans.
The event will kick off when doors open at 5 p.m., with music starting at 6 p.m. Attendees must be 16 or older.
This year’s lineup features country headliners Blake Shelton and Thomas Rhett, along with special guests Ty Myers and DJ Blake Horstmann.
First launched in 2016 to celebrate the stadium’s opening, the event has grown into a larger tradition that celebrates the university with the backing of its exclusive sponsor, First Premier Bank.
Many say the university’s biggest event is Hobo Day, the annual homecoming celebration. But Dana J. Dykhouse, CEO of First Premier Bank, thinks Jacks Bash is catching up.
“We used to call Hobo Day the biggest one-day event in South Dakota, I think Jacks Bash could be pretty close this year,” Dykhouse said.
Dykhouse is an SDSU alum and longtime supporter of Jackrabbit Athletics. He has been instrumental in funding and supporting the stadium, which has become a cornerstone of the university and the Brookings community.
“You could call it just a big company picnic, but kind of a company picnic on steroids,” Dykhouse said. “It’s just a great way to celebrate our staff … and celebrate all things SDSU, all things South Dakota and all things Premier.”
There are three main pockets of tick-
ets: general admission, Premier staff and discounted tickets for university faculty, students and season ticket holders.
Behind the scenes, a large team, including First Premier Bank, SDSU Athletics and Lifestyle, the main promoter for the artists, has been working to put together Jacks Bash 3.
This year, organizers focused on improving the parking and traffic experience.
“What we learned was there’s more than enough parking on campus, but we never had any parking attendants showing people where to park,” Dykhouse said. “We used to have huge traffic jams getting out of the stadium, and a logistics gentleman who worked for the Super Bowl helped teach us how to route traffic to exit the stadium in a rapid manner.”
Because of this, fans can expect to see parking attendants at sold-out football games to help bring people in and out of the lots.
Parking lots north of North Campus Drive will open at 3 p.m., with additional lots across campus opening closer to showtime. Drivers are encouraged to use Medary Avenue to avoid congestion near Highway 14 and the Sixth Street exit. North Campus Drive will close at 3 p.m.
Fans can also expect a more upbeat preshow atmosphere this year, with a DJ outside the stadium to welcome guests as they arrive.
“It’s just exciting to continue to celebrate SDSU and First Premier,” said Christi Williams, SDSU’s associate athletic director of ticket operations.
“It’s super fun to see people come and enjoy themselves and bring ‘Jackrabbit Nation’ together.”
JACKS BASH 3 BASICS
What: Jacks Bash 3
When: Thursday, Aug. 28
Where: Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium
Headliners: Blake Shelton, Thomas Rhett
Special Guests: Ty Myers, DJ Blake Horstmann
Sponsor: First Premier Bank
Crews on Thursday prepare stadium for Jacks Bash 3.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
RYANN DAVIS
News Director
McCrory Gardens gears up for 60th anniversary celebrations
McCrory Gardens, SDSU’s very own botanical garden, is commemorating its 60th anniversary this year by hosting various events that will highlight the vast history of the gardens.
August 8 marks the 60th anniversary of SDSU’s McCrory Gardens. Three events are to be hosted in celebration of this milestone. McCrory Gardens’ “All-Crew Reunion” and “Garden Party” will both happen on Aug. 1. All past and current McCrory employees are encouraged to attend the All-Crew Reunion from 5-6:30 p.m. Following that, all community members are invited to the Garden Party from 6:30-8 p.m.
The Garden Expo will take place from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Aug. 2. This event will include a guided tour of McCrory Gardens, a photo contest, snow cones and more. The guided tours will feature 22 different signs displaying photos of what McCrory Gardens looked like in prior years.
McCrory Gardens long history
Until 1965, the horticulture research grounds were located where the Bailey Rotunda and Wagner Hall buildings stand now.
“They (Peterson and McCrory) were informed that there’s decisions being made that more academic rooms needed to be built and they’re going to be built where the horticulture grounds were … so in 1965 is when they literally uprooted,” said McCrory Gardens’ director of operations, Lisa Marotz. Marotz is an SDSU alum and has been working at McCrory since 2016.
Sam McCrory and Ron Peterson led the arboretum and botanical during its location transition. McCrory served as the former head of SDSU’s Department of Horticulture, Forestry, Landscape and Parks (which is now called the
Department of Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science) until his death in March of 1964. Peterson, who replaced McCrory as department head until 1984, recently celebrated his 103rd birthday, and plans to attend the 60th anniversary events.
Prior to McCrory Gardens’ existence, the land where it now is located on the east side of the SDSU campus was used to grow crops for SDSU livestock, Marotz said. After relocation and transformation, on Aug. 8, 1966, McCrory Gardens were named after Sam McCrory.
People describe McCrory and Peterson as “humble,” Marotz said.
“I feel all of us really try to lift up the work that they (Peterson and McCrory) did because it is a big deal … it’s very important to have people with passion like that,” Marotz said.
Other changes to the Garden throughout the years
The Education and Visitor Center building was built in 2012, after 46 years of McCrory Gardens’ presence on campus.
“It was meant to be a space where people can gather and get refreshed if they’re travelers,” Marotz said.
Marotz said the Education and Visitor Center was also built with event hosting in mind. Weddings were hosted at McCrory Gardens during the first year of the building’s existence. Now, on average, the gardens host between 25 and 30 weddings per year.
Over the years, the gardens gained several different features that hold specific meanings. There is a sensory garden, targeted for visitors of all ages to stimulate all five senses. Along with that, Mickelson Grove was made in honor of George S. Mickelson, a former South Dakota governor who died in a plane crash in 1993.
Collegian photo by RYANN DAVIS
The Mickelson Grove Monument honors George S. Mickelson, former S.D. governor who passed away in 1993 in a plane crash
McCrory Gardens’ 60th anniversary is on Aug. 8 and will be celebrated in three events: McCrory Gardens’ “All-Crew Reunion,” “Garden Party” on Aug. 1 and the “Garden Expo on Aug. 2.
WELCOME
The 2025 Meet State Team would like to welcome our newest class of Jackrabbits to SDSU and extend a HUGE THANK YOU to over 850 volunteers who helped move in 3,306 new and returning students—your support made it all possible!
THANK YOU VOLUNTEERS!
Jackrabbits open season with two game Iowa tournament before home opener
CORDELL VITENSE
Sports Editor
The South Dakota State women’s volleyball team will open its season against the University of Illinois on Friday, Aug. 29, at 1 p.m. in Cedar Falls, Iowa, part of the Northern Iowa Tournament. This game can be streamed on ESPN+.
Saturday, they play the hosting University of Northern Iowa Panthers at 5 p.m. to end their two-game tournament schedule.
The Jackrabbits will look to carry over their dominance from last season and start the season as well as last year where they got off to an incredible 22-0 start before losing in a five-set match to St. Thomas.
SDSU ended the regular season 26-1 and was the first seed in the Summit League Tournament.
The team earned a first-round bye and in the second round, they defeated Denver in a five-set match before losing a five-set battle in the championship game to the rival USD Coyotes.
Even without being Summit League Champions, they earned a spot in the NCAA tournament, where they played the number eight-seeded Miami Hurricanes, whom they lost to in a 3-0 sweep.
Despite the first-round sweep in the tournament, it was a step in the right direction for Jacks, who hadn’t made the tournament since 2007. Last season may have been a huge step, but they will still look to do something they haven’t done since 2007 - and that’s win the Summit League Tournament
A key player who will help them accomplish this is 2024 Summit League Player of the Year Sylvie Zgonc.
The outside hitter Zgonc is coming off a sophomore season in which she led the Summit League in kills with 494 and points with 551.5, while also ranking in the top ten in digs with 301.
Another key returning piece for the
is redshirt senior Sydni Schetnan. The middle blocker was awarded with an appearance on the 2024 All Summit League Volleyball First Team.
In 2024, Schetnan led the Summit League in hitting percentage with 38.8 percent and blocks with 146.
The team is led by the 2024 Summit League Coach of the Year, Dan Georgalas. Georgalas is entering his sixth year as the SDSU head coach with a 79-61 record.
His first test of the season will come against the Illinois Fighting Illini, who are coming off an 18-12 regular season where they went .500 against Big Ten competition.
Illinois’ season was good enough to get them an invite to the NCAA tournament, where they lost in the first round to the University of Northern Iowa to put their final record at 18-13.
The Fighting Illini’s leading scorer from last season, Raina Terry, graduated making the team’s second leading scorer, senior Avery Hernandez, an even bigger piece of the team’s success.
In 2024, she had 291 kills, 43 blocks and 178 digs, which was second most on the
team. She scored a total of 340.5 points, adding 114 sets to the stat line.
Freshman middle blocker Ashlyn Philpot is another player to look out for.
In her true freshman season, she recorded 285.5 points with 215 kills and a teamleading 126 blocks, which placed her 13th in the Big 10 in blocks.
The second matchup for SDSU is the University of Northern Iowa. They ended the regular season with a 23-7 record.
The Panthers continued their successful season by winning the Missouri Valley Conference Championship game and moving on to the NCAA Tournament.
They matched up against Illinois in the first round and won 3-1 to face the number four-seeded Louisville Cardinals, where they were handed a five-set loss in the second round.
The Jackrabbits have to face a twoheaded scoring duo when facing the Panthers. Senior Kira Fallert ended the
2024 season with 435 kills and 496 points, which led UNI and ranked third in the MVC for both stats. She also managed to share the 2024 MVC Co-Player of the Year with Macy Daufeldt from Drake.
Outside hitter Cassidy Hartman is coming off a freshman season during which she was awarded MVC 2024 Volleyball All-Conference Second Team. She was second on the team with 431.5 points and seventh in the MVC.
Other notable players include senior libero Erin Powers, middle blocker Kacie Rewerts and Senior Olivia Tjernagel, who were all awarded MVC 2024 Volleyball All Conference First Team.
The next matchup for the Jackrabbits will be the SDSU Invitational presented by Canine Country Club, starting on September 5 when the Jacks host Ole Miss at 7:00 p.m.
Jackrabbits
Photo courtesy of SDSU ATHLETICS
SDSU volleyball team celebrates after scoring against Oral Roberts last season. SDSU defeated ORU in five sets in the two teams first matchip and the Jacks also came out victorious in the second meeting with a 3-1 win over the Golden Eagles.
CHASING HIS OWN LEGACY
Former backup looks to lead team to championship
JACOB BRENDE Sports Editor
Heading into the third quarter of the National Championship in Frisco, Texas, South Dakota State led 7-3 over Montana. But after an opening drive touchdown, the Jackrabbit offense stalled. The momentum of the game would soon change, and a team effort turned the tide in favor of the Jacks. A 16 point quarter being enough to win.
On the sidelines stood backup quarterback Chase Mason.
This game would become his second National Cham-
pionship, and was one of the happiest moments of his life, an opportunity few get to experience.
But as the days passed, his emotions got complicated.
“It seems weird to say, but you wake up the next day and some days after that and you’re like, I didn’t feel as satisfied. I wasn’t playing QB, I wasn’t really playing.”
In the world of college sports, one unifying desire for all student-athletes is to win. Mason now has an opportunity to win not as a backup, but as the starting quarterback for South Dakota State. This Saturday, he’ll lead the Jackrabbits at Dana J. Dykehouse stadium at 6 p.m. against Sacramento State for his first game of the season.
Mason’s collegiate career didn’t start in South Dakota, though. It didn’t even start with football. He played baseball for the Nebraska Cornhuskers for a semester but during his time there he realized that his calling was football. In 2022, he transferred to South Dakota State.
“I’ve always loved being a South Dakota kid, playing in South Dakota… I wouldn’t leave here for anything,” said Mason.
His first year at SDSU, he didn’t see any playing time because of a knee injury. The following year, though, Mason got to work. In his 2023 season, he picked up 184 rushing yards and threw for 267, including a 71-yard bomb to now-current Northwestern wide receiver Grif-
PHOTO COURTESTY OF DAVE EGGEN/ENERTIA SPORTS
Chase Mason runs in a 48-yard touchdown against Youngstown State in a game played last year. Mason was SDSU’s Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against the Penguins. He threw for 12 yards, rushed for 161 on five rushing attempts and scored two touchdowns. This year the one-time backup is South Dakota State’s starting quarterback.
fin Wilde during the postseason.
Mason’s playing time increased last season, when he saw continued success as a runner and a passer. He threw for a 65.4% completion rating on his 133 passing yards and was still dangerous as a runner, rushing for 464 yards. The team trusted him in some of their highest stake games in the season, Mason taking the field in the postseason’s quarter and semifinals.
Even when not on the field Mason has influenced the game through his leadership. This carries over from his time with previous starting quarterback Mark Gronowski, when Mason felt like he had to help lead his teammates. Now, as one of the veteran faces of the team, he continues to provide guidance.
“He’s a very-lead-by example leader,” transfer linebacker Matt Goehring said of Mason. “He’ll always be at the front of the line showing guys behind him how things are done. He’s not afraid to put himself out there. He’s not afraid to fail and show the young bucks how to learn from that.”
That trait has become even more important for a team that suffered a mass exodus of personnel this previous offseason, after former head coach Jimmy Rogers, along with many of his coaching staff and players, left for Washington State. With a roster full of new players, the team voted Mason one of their captains.
“He’s advanced, but he’s always been himself,” said first year head coach Dan Jackson. “Where I’ve seen him grow is because his knowledge of football is better, and he’s confident because he is playing so well. That allows him to be more vocal … I’ve seen his growth in every way.”
Being a student-athlete requires growth in not just on-the-field skill, but off-the-field academics as well. Mason has balanced both sides of being a student-athlete and has excelled, earning Missouri Valley Football Conference Honor Roll for three years in a row. He most recently won the Missouri Valley Football Conference Commissioner’s Academic Excellence Award in addition to these honors.
Graduating with a sport and recreation degree, Mason also plans on starting his masters this upcoming spring semester. He still wants to play football for as long as he can, though, knowing that when it is over, he is going to miss it. But his current focus is to win a National Championship alongside his team.
This saturday, the team will take another step towards achieving that goal as they host Sacramento State in their first game of the year. With an “iron sharpens iron” mindset and a unifying objective, everyone is looking to start the season strong.
“Nothing’s new to them now,” said Coach Jackson. “It’s truly about building the confidence, thinking. Go out there and beat anybody in the country.”
Jackson has seen development in not just leadership, but in the football abilities of Mason. He said Mason is more knowledgeable about the system, the team’s strategies and tactics, and that’s a reason behind his
development, the coach called Mason a “totally different player.”
Jackson called Mason the greatest quarterback he has been around because of his accuracy, intuition and ability to make any throw that he attempts.
“You let him out in the open field and he’s going to be a problem for people. But know he’s got the added tool to be able to sit in the pocket and pick people apart,” Jackson said.
With Mason’s improvements, Jackson has set the bar high for what he can accomplish.
“He’s putting himself in a position to have a great season and a great last couple of years here as a Jackrabbit before he heads off to the NFL.”
Every day, Mason says that he sees a new player making a lasting impression, a feeling that is exciting for a quarterback.
The freshmen on the team have made a notable impression on Mason as well. With the roster previously facing multiple holes left vacant by transfers and graduations, he mentions how many people that did not always have chances are now stepping up, with the best players getting to take the field.
One other group of people that has left a mark on him is the South Dakota community. The ability to connect with fans in his state is an important part of being a student-athlete for him.
“I think it’s cool how much (people care about you),” Mason said. “It just kind of like, shocked me, like, why do people care about me? I think the biggest thing being a great role model for the kids… After games going out, back to the stadium and taking pictures with kids. I feel like that’s the biggest thing, being a South Dakota kid. I wouldn’t change it for anything.”
This year, Mason won’t be working toward the championship from the sidelines. He’s earned the chance to lead his team as the starting quarterback for South Dakota State.
“Ever since I’ve gotten this opportunity to be the starting quarterback, I’ve wanted to cement my name as, like, to be one of the guys who did win a National Championship,” said Mason. “[A successful season] was always a National Championship. And I feel like that’s what it’s going to be from now on. It’s always going to be a National Championship.”
Collegian photo by JOCLYN HAVEN Chase Mason scores SDSU’s lone touchdown against North Dakota State during last year’s regular-season matchup against NDSU. He led the Jacks in rushing yards with 80 yards on five carries.
New Look Same Goal
No. 3 Jacks to open against No. 15 Sacramento State Hornets
CORDELL VITENSE
Sports Editor
The South Dakota State Jackrabbits will be facing off against the Sacramento State Hornets in week one of the college football season. For the first time since 2022, the Jackrabbits won’t open the season ranked number one; instead, the number three-ranked Jacks will host the number 15-ranked Hornets on August 30 at six p.m.
The Jackrabbits are coming off a season in which they finished the regular season with a 10-2 record, before winning two playoff games and ultimately falling short to the North Dakota State Bison in the semifinal round of the playoffs with a score of 28-21.
The Jacks have to deal with a lot of roster movement this season after 22 players transferred out and head coach Jimmy Rogers left for Washington State.
Some of the most notable players who transferred include quarterback Mark Gronowski, who left for the University of Iowa. Gronowski led the Jackrabbits to back-to-back national championships in 2022 and 2023. Over Gronowski’s career at SDSU, he threw for over 10,000 yards and 93 touchdowns while adding over 1,500 rushing yards and 37 rushing touchdowns.
The Jacks’ 2024 leading receiver, Griffin Wilde, transferred to Northwestern after posting 1,154 yards and 12 touchdowns in his sophomore year.
The Jacks also took a big hit to their running back room. SDSU’s top three leading rushers are all no longer on the team. Amar Johnson, who led the team with over 1,200 yards and 14 touchdowns, graduated and was signed to the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent. Angel Johnson and Kirby Vorhees both followed Jimmy Rogers to Washington State. Johnson rushed for 646 yards and three touchdowns, while Vorhees rushed for 581 yards and eight touchdowns.
Last season ended when quarterback Mark Gronowski was sacked on fourth and seventeen with just over a minute left in the Semifinal game. This season will start with a new face under center. Senior quarterback Chase Mason gets his time to shine, taking over the starting role after Gronowski’s departure to Iowa. Last year, Mason recorded over 450 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 46 attempts. The senior quarterback also threw for 133 yards and two touchdowns on 17 completions.
The wide receiver room will see some new faces this year. Senior Graham Goering isn’t a new face, but he will
look to have a bigger role after the departure of Griffin Wilde. Last year he recorded 25 receptions, 360 yards and 5 touchdowns. Redshirt freshman Two Nebraska transfers also look to bolster the receiver core in Alex Bullock and Isiah Garcia-Castaneda.
Another key addition comes at the head coaching
position as Dan Jackson becomes the 22nd coach in Jackrabbit history to take the role. Jackson has had multiple different coaching stops since he was last in Brookings as the graduate assistant coach in 2012. In 2022 and 2023, he was the defensive coordinator at Vanderbilt. His most recent stop was as the defensive coordinator for
Collegian photo by CORDELL VITENSE
Senior receiver Grahm Goering lines up for a play during SDSU practive. Goering is coming off of a 300 plus yard receiving season where he placed second on the Jacks roster in receiving yards
Idaho in 2024, where the team went 10-4 and finished third in the Big Sky.
Jackson isn’t the only new face on Jack’s coaching staff, though. SDSU has new offensive, defensive and special teams coordinators heading into the 2025 season. Eric Eidness takes over as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Brian Bergstrom will be the defensive coordinator and safeties coach, while Isiah Jackson will take over as the Special teams coordinator.
With all these new faces, head coach Dan Jackson is going to be looking at week one as an evaluation to see all of this new talent. “We’re going to run starters out there, we’ve got twos and threes and guys that we have scripted to play x number of plays. But practice is one thing but then you’ve got guys that get into games and they can elevate their game a little bit more,” said Jackson. “With a new staff and new players, I think I have a good gut feel as to who those players are going to be but there are certainly going to be two, three, four, five guys that play a little bit better on Saturday or get out there under the lights and show what they can do.”
This evaluation will take place against the Jackrabbits’ week one opponent, Sacramento State. Sacramento State is looking for a bounce-back season after missing the playoffs last season for the first time since 2018. The Hornets went 3-9 in 2024 and finished 11th in the Big Sky Conference. The first part of this bounce back rests on the shoulders of new head coach Brennan Marion.
Similar to SDSU, the new head coach has some important players to replace. Sacramento lost some key pieces from last year. Carson Conklin, the Hornets’ starting quarterback in 2024, transferred to Fresno State after throwing for almost 3,000 yards and 28 touchdowns. The team’s leading rusher, Elijah Tau-Tolliver, transferred to Michigan State after rushing for 950 yards and 7 touchdowns. Sacramento State’s top three receivers from 2024 are also no longer on the team, with two lost to graduation and one to the portal.
The first player to take note of on the Hornets roster is the new starting quarterback, Jaden Rashada. Rashada was a four-star prospect coming out of high school
“I’m really excited to see who steps up on a big stage. I have a feeling we have some guys that are a little bit
wired that way. They practice really hard but when the lights come on they’re just going to get better”
before he committed to Arizona State. After redshirting his freshman year, he transferred to Georgia and now he will spend his redshirt sophomore year as a first-time starter in Sacramento.
Running back transfer from Lafayette, Jamar Curtis, will also play a crucial role for Sacramento State this year. He is coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons. In the last two years, he has had 31 rushing touchdowns and three receiving touchdowns.
Sacramento State will also have one extra reason to try and defeat the Jackrabbits. In the first and only matchup between these two teams, SDSU defeated Sacramento State 24-19 in the 2021 playoffs.
Departing 2024 MVFC First Team Players
RB: Angel Johnson
OL: Evan Beerntsen
OL: Gus Miller
DL: Jarod DePriest
LB: Adam Bock
LB : Caleb Francl
DB: Dalys Beanum
DB: Tucker Large
AP: Angel Johnson
Dan Jackson, SDSU head football coach
Collegian photo by CORDELL VITENSE Redshirt freshman quarterback Jack Thue takes warm up throws at SDSU practice. Thue is a natice of Brandon South Dakota and is majoring in Business Economics at SDSU. Coming out of Brandon Valley High School Thue was one of the top qb prospects in South Dakota.
Collegian photo by CORDELL VITENSE
Grahm Goering makes catch over Jackrabbit defender in drill at SDSU practice. In the Seniors career for the Jacks he has caught 38 passes for over 500 yards and 5 touchdowns.
