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THE COLLEGIAN REPORT
FRIDAY, SEPT. 25 We covered a former SDSU equestrian coach’s lawsuit against the Board of Regents, changes to laundry in the dorms on campus and SDSU’s first ever Papua New Guinea night. Available now on Collegian Media YouTube.
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September 30, 2026
September 30, 2026
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NEWS
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STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION
New fraternity seeks approval; city council member addresses Flock camera presence RYANN DAVIS Editor-in-chief During Monday night’s Students’ Association (SA) meeting senators discussed with two visitors and passed four club constitutions. The Kappa Sigma club constitution was seeking approval during an open forum for a new fraternity at SDSU. Junior Evan Haug is the grand master or president of Kappa Sigma. When asked what sets apart Kappa Sigma from other fraternities on campus, Haug said it offers a different demographic. “Kappa Sigma is the largest social fraternity in the nation with around 350,000 alumni and active undergraduate students,” Haug said. “That offers networking opportunities, career opportunities … it’s a great opportunity to stand out on your resume.” Finance Chair Dominic Delahoyde said he spoke with several other fraternity members and told Haug, “unfortunately, I haven’t heard any of them have anything good to say.” Haug responded and explained that some of the other fraternities had less members than Kappa Sigma did last spring. He said Kappa Sigma, at the time, had 43 active members, which would have made them the third largest fraternity on campus without being considered a colony or chapter. “So a lot of the fraternities at the time were scared that we were going to take their members and we were going to essentially push them out of South Dakota,” Haug said. Haug said he hopes to “knock down that barrier” of possible tension with other fraternities as they begin to do social events together. Kappa Sigma is currently going through required initial formation processes, including SDSU’s Registered Student Organization (RSO) training.
RYANN DAVIS / COLLEGIAN MEDIA President of Kappa Sigma, Evan Haug, adressed the senators at Monday’s meeting in the upper level of the Student Union on Sept. 28, 2026.
“Any new fraternity or sorority does have to make a request that goes all the way to President Dunn for colonization,” Michaela Willis, SA adviser and vice president for student affairs & enrollment management said. Willis said once the request is approved by President Dunn, the chapter will form a colony. “They (the fraternity) are then placed on a year probation, where they can be active and engaged, but chapter status does not occur until a year after that colonization is approved by the president, and so this is a longer process,” Willis said. Kappa Sigma’s club constitution ultimately passed by an 11 vote majority with three nays and seven abstensions. Other club constitutions passed during Monday night’s meeting included Jacks Powerlifting Club, Fiber Arts
Club and Agribusiness Club. City Council member Brianna Doran spoke during open forum. Doran addressed the presence and use of Flock cameras in Brookings and gave senators information covered at the Brookings City Council meeting on Sept. 22. Government Affairs Chair Jacki Mollison asked Doran what the existence of Flock cameras means for the students on campus. “We were recommended 15 Flock cameras from Flock,” Doran said. “Our police chief went down to seven, and at this time there is no movement to add cameras.” Doran said some of the concerns from the Brookings community have revolved around immigration use with the Flock cameras. She said the council created a city policy that does not
allow for Flock cameras to be used for immigration purposes. The Brookings Police Department (BPD) follows this policy as well. Doran said the Flock cameras are not providing a live feed but they do capture still images, which most of the time capture the back end of vehicles. “I do recognize that there are identifiers of the car, like if you have a bumper sticker, a window sticker, those can be popped up in the search,” Doran said. “But we have created a lot of requirements for how we use the Flock system.” Doran said BPD is trying to be cautious with the Flock camera technology and are “trying to use it to the best practices, but recognize that there are still a lot of concerns out there on a number of different levels.” Also among discussion was the future plans for the Dacotah Bank Center and Armory. Both entities were affected by the changed market after COVID. The Dacotah Bank Center’s usage has evolved, and will now focus on more recreation-based events. As for the Armory in Brookings’ downtown, original plans consisted of making the building a potential space for a boutique, hotel, cocktail lounge or restaurant, according to Doran. “We just haven’t been able to work it out, especially since COVID changed the market so much,” Doran said. After adopting the Downtown Master Plan a few years ago, City Council members agreed on the need for a “third space” in the downtown area. “It’s not a place, it’s not home, it’s not work, it’s that accessible, affordable area,” Doran said when explaining what a “third space” is. Ideas, according to Doran, consist of making room for a green space, a stage, a playground and room for an ice skating rink during the winter.
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NEWS
September 30, 2026
LAUNDRY FOR ‘FREE’
Cost for on-campus machines now included in tuition VALERIA MORALES Reporter South Dakota State University students living on campus no longer pay per load for laundry after the university included it in housing rates for 2026-27. The change came after SDSU reviewed its housing rates and received student feedback through a fall housing and dining survey and small focus groups. The university moved from 15 housing rates to nine options and included laundry as part of the updated housing rates. Rebecca Peterson, director of Housing and Residential Life, said the university also consulted the Residence Hall Association and Staff Consultative Team before making the change. “One of the things we looked at was including the cost of laundry in the rates to live on campus,” Peterson said. Students were notified of the change in an email from school officials during the summer break. The email outlined the updated housing and meal plan rates and told students that laundry would be included for all residents at no additional cost. The cost of laundry is now included in the amount students pay for their rooms. Peterson said Residential Life takes part of the housing rates and uses it to cover laundry, similar to other services included in residence hall costs. For students who lived on campus before the change, the difference has been noticeable. Madison Hueschen, who lived on campus last year and is on campus again this year, estimates she spent about 100 dollars on laundry last year. She now does laundry more often because she does not have to wait until she has enough clothes to make a load worth paying for. “It’s saving me a ton of money,” Hueschen said. “I’m not spending three dollars every time I do laundry.”
VALERIA MORALES / COLLEGIAN MEDIA Madison Hueschen does her laundry inside a Thorne Hall laundry room on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. Starting this year, machines do not have a cost because the laundry price was factored in with the housing cost.
Hueschen said she now washes her bedding more frequently and does laundry when her basket is full instead of letting clothes pile up. Kelsey Schuchhardt, who lived on campus last year and now lives off campus, said the cost of laundry was not a major financial burden for her, but she would have preferred to use her Hobo Dough for other purchases. “It would have been nice to keep my Hobo Dough to use on other things like snacks or drinks from the vending machines between classes instead of saving it all for laundry,” Schuchhardt said. The change has also affected how students transport their laundry. Hueschen said she used to take her clothes and bedding whenever she went home. “Every single time I went home, I took my bedding and my clothes,”
Hueschen said. “It looked like I was moving out every time I left.” Peterson said the university also hoped free laundry would give students more flexibility. In previous years, students sometimes filled machines as much as possible because they were paying for each load. Overfilling machines and using too much soap could cause problems with machines and result in clothes not being cleaned or dried properly. Peterson said Residential Life has not received a usage report yet, so the university does not have an official data showing whether laundry usage has increased since the change. But, residence hall staff have noticed changes in how students use the facilities. TJ Bult, the residence hall director in Brown Hall, said students appear more comfortable doing smaller loads
now that they do not have to pay for each cycle. He has also noticed fewer students bringing laundry home specifically to wash it. The increased use has not been without challenges. Grace Manz, a community assistant in Brown Hall, said the laundry machines on her floor are often in use. She said students sometimes have difficulty finding an available machine, even though free laundry makes it easier to do smaller loads. Hueschen also has experienced occasional difficulty finding an available machine. SDSU currently has no restrictions on the amount of laundry students can do as long as they live on campus, and Peterson said SDSU plans to continue the laundry program into the total housing cost in future years.
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SDSUCollegian.com
NEWS
BROOKINGS RANKS LOW IN WATER QUALITY
treatment plant, and then we do more testing throughout the distribution system, about 25 a month,” Witt said. BMU has continued working to A recent national ranking placed remove lead service lines from the Brookings 45th out of 50 college towns community. Witt said 46 lead service for water quality, but local water offilines were removed in 2024 as part of cials say the ranking does not tell the full story about the water coming from the utility’s ongoing lead-replacement efforts. The city has been replacing Brookings’ taps. The ranking, released in July by Cul- known lead service lines as part of ligan with ZeroWater Technology, eval- a larger water-system improvement uated one college town from each state project. Brookings previously identified 47 known lead service lines when the based on public data. Brookings was replacement project was being develselected because it is home to South oped. Dakota State University. Culligan evalFor SDSU students who uated the towns specifically drink Brookings tap water on lead and PFAS. every day, the ranking may PFAS are also known as not match their personal forever chemicals and “can experience. remain in your body for years “I’ve always thought the and have been linked to sewater here tastes good, and rious health risks, including I’ve never really had concerns cancer, weakened immune about drinking it,” said a system, and reproductive junior physical education health impacts,” according to ERIC WITT major, Kennedi Deckert, from Culligan’s water quality facts Brandon SD. you should know. Miyla Sitzmann, junior psychology Brookings received a D grade for lead and A grades for PFOS and PFOA, major from Sioux City, IA, said the ranking did not change their opinion according to Culligan’s ranking. The of Brookings’ water. company then combined its lead and “I drink the tap water all the time PFAS scores to create an overall rankand haven’t noticed anything wrong ing, placing Brookings at 45. Brookings Municipal Utilities (BMU) with it,” Sitzmann said. “I think most students here would probably say the officials say they have issues with the same thing.” ranking. The difference comes in part from “I do not think this accurately repwhat Culligan chose to measure. resents Brookings’ water quality. Top 5 Culligan’s ranking does not evaluate if I could say,” Eric Witt, water/wasteevery characteristic of drinking water. water and engineering manager with Its methodology focuses on lead and Brookings Municipal Utilities, said. BMU’s water goes through treatment the five PFAS compounds: PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS, PFNA and HFPO-DA, before reaching residents and SDSU also known as GenX. students. The utility regularly tests That distinction matters for Brookthe water to ensure it meets state and ings residents and SDSU students federal drinking-water standards. who may see the 45th-place ranking “We do entry-point testing at the
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BRITTEN SELNESS Multimedia Reporter
Photo courtesy of CULLIGAN WATER PFAS are man-made chemicals that don’t break down easily and can enter drinking water through industrial sites, landfills, and everyday products.
and assume it means their tap water is unsafe. The ranking provides information about specific contaminants found in the data Culligan reviewed, but it does not necessarily provide a complete picture of the city’s drinking-water system. “BMU takes a lot of pride in the recent upgrades to the water system and the operation of that system”, Witt said. BMU encourages residents to review its annual Water Quality Report, which provides information about the contaminants tested in Brookings’ drinking water and the results of those tests.
To read the full ranking, you can scan the QR code above to visit Culligan’s website.
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NEWS
September 30, 2026
Photo courtesy of DOWNTOWN BROOKINGS A crowd takes in a live performance at last year’s Fall Classic. This year’s celebration will be on Oct. 3.
A ‘FALL CLASSIC’ RETURNS
festival, Buntjer said. Local performers Emma Nichole and Matt Gauger are among those scheduled to entertain crowds. They will have one-hour time slots and can play original The Fall Classic returns to downtown Brookings on music or covers as long as the music remains family friendly. Saturday, Oct. 3, with local vendors, food, games, live One of the biggest changes this year is the addition music and football on Main Street and Fourth Street. of college football streaming throughout the festival. The event will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., followed Organizers attempted to show a movie during previby an SDSU football game watch party at 6 p.m. ous years, but this year attendees can watch The festival will feature food and retail football games throughout the day. vendors, fall-themed activities, live music, Buntjer said the event gives residents an and football games streamed throughout the opportunity to get outside, connect with day. Activities will include pumpkin paintothers and support Brookings as the weather ing, a photo booth and games throughout begins to cool, calling it “a really great way to downtown. support small businesses, keep the money in “We have different vendors for everything the community, and just be able to supand everybody,” said Katrina Buntjer, KATRINA BUNTJER port one another.” event specialist at Brookings Regional For returning vendor Karma’s Korn, the Growth Alliance. festival is a chance to connect with customers and Food and drink options will include coffee trucks, support other small businesses. They will serve ketbakery booths, street corn and loaded drinks, with tle, caramel and caramel apple popcorn made from Little Prairie Coffee Company among the returncorn grown on the business’s family farm in White, ing vendors. Local bars will also offer fall-themed drinks, while participating businesses will have deals South Dakota. They will also offer fresh mini-donuts. “We enjoy seeing the community come out and throughout the week. A list of participating businesses and their promotions will be released closer to the support the small businesses and the downtown shops,” Karma Berndt from Karma’s Korn said. event, Buntjer said. This year’s setup will coincide with the Brookings The festival will feature a mix of returning farmers market vendors and other local area businesses. Ven- Marathon, which will run through the downtown area. Buntjer said vendors will need to arrive earlier dors are selected based on available space, licensing, than in previous years so the marathon route can and the variety of products already offered at the DANNY SCHUMACHER Reporter
remain clear. Streets will close at 5 a.m., with the festival running from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. A two-hour break will follow before the watch party begins at 6 p.m for the SDSU at Illinois State football game. Fall Classic and the SDSU watch party were originally separate events before being combined through a partnership between the Brookings Area Chamber of Commerce and downtown organizations. Following the organizations’ merger earlier this year, the event is now organized under the new combined organization. Planning for the event began months in advance, with street permits submitted in February and March and vendor applications closing in August.
FALL CLASSIC & WATCH PARTY
Date: Oct. 3
Time: 9 a.m. - 8 p.m. Admission: Free
What to expect: Family friendly entertainment Celebrate the Fall season in Downtown Brookings! There will be local vendors, live music and fall activities. At 6 p.m., the football watch party will begin. Bring your own lawn chair!
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SDSUCollegian.com
NEWS
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STARSHIP LEAVES CAMPUS
ALEX OLSEN Multimedia Reporter
The absence of SDSU’s food delivery robots has been felt all around campus this fall. “A lot of students did not know about it,” Student’s Association (SA) President Sophie Spier said. “So it came as a surprise when they noticed the little starships weren’t roaming around.” Starship Technologies, the manufacturing company, announced that over 1,200 delivery robots from universities across the United States will be re-deployed to grocery stores in urban areas. Starship began serving the SDSU campus in 2021 with a fleet of 30 robots. According to Emily O’Connor, SDSU’s Sodexo General Manager, the robots were removed from campus just days after the announcement. “It was quite a shock to all of us,” said O’Connor. “We were not given much information at all.” This strategic shift in Starship’s operations is likely EMILY O’CONNOR a result of similar changes in Europe, where the company is based. In Finland, around 20% of grocery deliveries are completed by these robots. “The unit economics are clear: Our robots deliver groceries at three to four dollars less per delivery than traditional courier fulfillment costs,” said Starship CEO Ahti Heinla in a written statement. “Campus and grocery are different operations: One is seasonal and contract-driven, the other is a 365-day urban business with different infrastructure, retail partnerships, and a go-to-market approach.” For Abbie Chase, a sophomore Agriculture Communications major, the removal of these robots have been frustrating. “The loss of the food bots has been the biggest challenge we as college students have faced,” said Chase. “Just the other day it was raining and I was wishing I could order from them. I’m very upset about the whole situation.” While there was not enough time to bring in a similar service to Starship before the school year began, SDSU and Sodexo are currently looking for an alternative. “While this change was out of the University’s hands, we hear students and recognize that those [Starship robots] were a valuable asset,” said SA President Spier. “If the Student Association can do anything to advocate for those replacements, we will.”
Photo courtesy of STARSHIP TECHNOLOGIES A person pulls food items out of a Starship robot in this courtesy photo from Starship Technologies. Starship began serving the SDSU Campus in 2021 with a fleet of 30 robots.
Photo courtesy of STARSHIP TECHNOLOGIES A Starship robot sits on a sidewalk in this courtesy photo from Starship Technologies.
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NEWS
September 30, 2026
Trinkets and treasures...
AUSTIN SKROVIG / COLLEGIAN MEDIA Artist-in-Residence Elizabeth Morisette and her students will use items on this table to create unique artworks. Everyday items such as playing cards, clothespins, and wristbands were donated.
...turned into art
Artist-in-Residence uses recycled materials as medium AUSTIN SKROVIG Reporter An artist who repurposes all sorts of objects to create her sculptures is sharing her knowledge with students and the community this month. SDSU welcomed Elizabeth Morisette to Brookings on Sept. 8 as the 12th Stuart Artist-in-Residence. The Colorado artist specializes in fiber-based sculptures using techniques such as weaving and quilting. “It’s fun when we make the rope (a specific piece made during a workshop), because (people are) a little bit reluctant, but when they end up making it … they’re so happy with the result,” Morisette said when asked about the highlight of her stay so far.
As part of the artist-in-residence program, Morisette led a lecture Sept. 16 and told people about her background and artistic process. The presentation focused on both her community and personal work. Her community art is largely created by gathering materials that people offer to her – whether it is a blue plastic bag or a discarded zipper. Through this form of art, Morisette aims to learn something from the community, such as new materials or techniques. By repurposing these previously discarded materials, she creates a new story out of these objects. In relation to her personal art, Morisette also detailed how she channeled a particularly vivid dream into her art. The piece “A Dreamhouse for
Judith,” is a metal dollhouse outfitted with colorful fibers. It is dedicated to the late artist Judith Scott. Morisette was inspired by a dream after seeing the movie “Barbie,” fashioning the dollhouse to resemble Scott’s practice of wrapping objects in yarn. During the lecture, Morisette delved into many more of her sculptures, from zipper masks to a cocoon of concert wristbands. Her pieces are always inspired by the material she has on hand, aided by the community bringing materials she’s never worked with before. The idea of the material speaking for itself was relatable to Jack Wasco, a sophomore graphic design student. “In my own works … if an ink is very runny or if the graphite smudges a
certain way, I either work it into the piece or work around it,” Wasco said after the lecture. “I feel like that’s very important for artists to know.” Along with Morisette’s lecture, the artist-in-residence program includes weekly workshops open to the public in Grove Hall. Led by Morisette, these workshops cover various techniques, such as embroidery, coiling, weaving and quilting. These hands-on events are one of the defining features of the program. Peter Reichardt is chair of the Stuart Artist-in-Residence program. He said artists are selected for the residency after submitting applications to a committee, sending photos of their work, and creating a proposal for the residency. There are several considerations
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SDSUCollegian.com
involved, such as the uniqueness of the artist’s work and their willingness to interact with the public. “Not many colleges nationwide have artist-residency programs ... most are through museums or private entities,” Reichardt said. “It’s nice to have (the artist) here because it gives students access to these people they might not otherwise have access to.” According to Reichardt, Morisette’s openness to learning from the community was a contributing factor in her selection. “A big part of this (program) is (the artist) making themselves available to our students and to the Brookings public alike during designated times,” he said. When asked why she wanted to be a part of the Stuart Artist-in-Residence program, Morisette said, “I was really excited to be here . . . when everybody’s starting classes … I’m eating at Larson (Commons) and I’m kind of staying in a dorm, so it’s neat to be a student again in a way.” Near the end of the artist’s residency,
an open studio show is held to present their work from the past month. The open studio event this year is on Oct. 1 from 1 to 4 p.m. in the Ritz Gallery. In addition to works Morisette has created, pieces by students will also be shown at the event. “It’ll be samples made by students and by myself of all the different materials we’ve brought in,” Morisette said. “Kind of the idea of a reverse archaeological dig where instead of taking the things that are embedded in the soil out, we’re going to be putting the items into all these samples.” Morisette encouraged students to bring in items to be used in the artworks, whether by the student who brought it or someone else. Items can be tagged to explain their personal meaning or their meaning can be decided by the artist. “The stories are as important as the objects to me because there’s this history and there’s a sentimentality people might have attached to it,” Morisette said.
NEWS
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AUSTIN SKROVIG / COLLEGIAN MEDIA Several rope sculptures hang from the ceiling. The sculptures were made both by Artist-in-Residence Elizabeth Morisette and her students.
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SPORTS
Softball starts fall ball
September 30, 2026
COLLEGIAN PHOTOS BY SUSANNA SCHAEFER The Jackrabbit softball team played two games over the weekend. The first game against Briar Cliff on Friday Sept. 25. The second was against Dakota State on Sunday Sept. 27.
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September 30, 2026
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SPORTS
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BISON SLIP AGAINST JACKS Club hockey opens 2-0
JACOB BRENDE Multimedia Reporter SDSU Club Hockey started its season strong with a two-game sweep over the North Dakota State Bison. The two-game series last Friday and Saturday saw the Jackrabbits score over 15 goals on their rival while allowing just one. After taking a year to coach the Watertown Shamrocks of the NAHL, the series also marked the return of former head coach Justin Kirchhevel. Kirchhevel took over as head coach of the team during their 2024-2025 season and helped lead the team to a 20-2 record. NDSU In the first game, the Jacks outshot NDSU by nearly 50 en route to their 7-1 win. Seven different Jackrabbits scored in the game, with sophomore Dawson Wirth accounting for two. Wirth is coming off a season in which he led the team with points, tallying up 32 across his 26 games played. SDSU played another game where they dominated the shots-on-goal margin, outshooting the Bison 49-25 to finish the series sweep. Nine different players scored for the Jacks in their 9-0 win. JAMESTOWN SDSU will now head to Jamestown, N.D., to face off against the University of Jamestown Jimmies on Oct. 9-10. The Jimmies are coming off of their first series of the season, sitting at 1-1 after splitting with Oklahoma State University. Coming off a loss to OSU, the Jimmies will look to rebound against SDSU during their second straight home series. The OSU Cowboys were 3-0 prior to their series against Jamestown,
Courtesy of BROOKINGS BEACON
Dawson Wirth controls the puck, looking to score as the Jacks go on to win 7-1.
winning a game against Oklahoma and sweeping a series against Arkansas. In the first matchup of the two teams, Jamestown put up 53 shots compared to OSU’s 35. Cowboy netminder Dmytro Kubrytskyi, awarded the Ukraine Best Goaltender Award by the Ice Hockey Federation of Ukraine in 2021, had a great start to the game before leaving about ten minutes into the second period. To that point, he had only allowed one goal on 24 shots. His replacement, Ben West, would struggle and let up five goals on 29 attempts. Jamestown would go on to win the game 6-3. For the Jimmies, Marcus Fritel led the way with two goals and an assist. Four other skaters would record two points in the game. University of Jamestown goaltender Brandon Weare would face 35 shots and allow three through. Three of the goals scored
by the Jimmies would come from the power play, the University of Jamestown having six powerplays throughout the game. After having a solid performance in their first matchup against OSU, Jamestown would lose 8-1 in their following matchup. Getting outshot 67-19, Albert Ancinec let up six goals on 58 shots on goal. Oklahoma State University currently holds the second-best record in the ACHA D2 Independent Conference, with a 4-1 record. Jamestown will be down their prior season’s point leader in Leonardo Kahlhammer, who had 38 points across 25 games. One player looking to have a bounce-back season will be Jamestown’s 2024-2025 point leader in James Poole. The Edmonton, Alberta native scored 28 goals and 25 assists for 53 points across 30 games, an average
of over 1.7 points per game during his first-year campaign. Last season saw Poole’s games played down to 19, putting up 28 points on 15 goals and 13 assists. So far, he has recorded an assist this season.
UP NEXT Oct. 9 at Jamestown Oct. 10 at Jamestown Oct. 23 vs. Minnesota Oct. 24 vs. Minnesota
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SPORTS
September 30, 2026
JACKS TOP SUMMIT LEAGUE
NATHAN THOMPSON Assistant Sports Director
The SDSU soccer team had two games this week. The first versus USD on Thursday the Sept. 24, and the second on Sunday Sept. 27 against UND. USD The first match of the week was Coyotes against the Jackrabbits in Vermillion. With 324 in attendance, the final score after 90 minutes was tied 0-0. SDSU goalkeeper Mallorie Benhart was perfect, with three saves on the day, off of the Coyote’s 14 shots. USD’s Cambell Fischer was also perfect, having six saves off the Jackrabbits 17 total shots. Forward Emma Brezenski recorded a team high six shots, with one shot on goal. USD’s Midfielder Brooke Conway led her team in shots with five, also recording one shot on goal. After this game, both teams sat at 0-0-1 in conference play, as SDSU moved to 5-2-2, and USD to 3-3-3. SDSU is now 2-1-4 in the past seven meetings between the two teams. This was the third tie in a row, and last year’s score was also 0-0. North Dakota: Having won 14 straight against UND, SDSU returned to Brookings looking for 15 straight against the Fighting Hawks. 257 people entered the Fishback Soccer Park to watch the two teams play. North Dakota’s Hunter Borgel scored the first goal of the game early on, just past the 13 minute mark. Both teams traded shots, until SDSU’s MaKynlie Cade scored SDSU’s first goal in almost 268 minutes of play time (SDSU’s last goal was at 32:46 against Weber State on Sept. 10) at 55:17. SDSU’s Mia Bosch found the net late in the game to give the jackrabbits a 2-1 lead, and Bosch her third goal of the season. That lead went unrelinquished, as the Jacks went on to win the match by that score. Malorie Benhart had two saves, as UND had only seven shots, with four being on goal. Hawk’s Keeper Thale Ruether had four saves, on SDSU’s 19 shots, six of which
OWEN BOYD / COLLEGIAN MEDIA SDSU’S Lauren Eckerle hurdles over the Fighting Hawk’s Jojo Muelhaupt in the Jackrabbit’s 2-1 victory on Sunday.
were on goal. SDSU advanced to 6-2-2 overall, and 1-0-1 in the conference. UND moved to 4-4-1, and 1-1-0. Up Next SDSU’s next game will be on Saturday Oct. 3, as they travel to Fargo to take on the Bison of NDSU. They return to Brookings on the eighth, where they will play Oral Roberts before taking on Kansas City on the ninth. Both of those teams currently also sit at 1-0-1 in league play.
TEAM LEADERS GOALS: Jenna Maloy (5) POINTS: Mia Bosch (12)
MINUTES PLAYED: Mallorie Benhart (650) SHOTS ON GOAL: Jenna Maloy (10) ASSISTS: Mia Boasch (6)
GAME WINNERS: Mia Bosch (2)
LARGEST MARGIN OF VICTORY: 11-0 (MSU Moorhead)
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SPORTS
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Jacks win Summit opener SDSU beats USD 3-0 in their first conference match
ERIC HEGGESETH Sports Reporter Following a disappointing 0-2 weekend in Sioux Falls, the South Dakota State Volleyball team came out impressively as they brought brooms with them down I-29, coming away with a sweep in Vermillion in their Summit League opening game on Friday night.
USD
Sylvie Zgonc started the match for SDSU, getting her first kill of Summit League play but South Dakota would quickly take control, battling to an 11-5 lead and forcing a Jackrabbit timeout. A Coyote service error out of the timeout led to a SDSU 4-0 run and a score of 11-9. USD took a 15-13 lead into the first media timeout of the match. The two rivals went back and forth, tying at every point, but a kill from Rylee Martin broke the streak, making the score 23-21. The Jackrabbits scored the final two without interruption off a Hannah Klein Block and a USD Service error. Nothing came easy in the second set, but the Jacks were able to pull away at the end taking a 2-0 lead into the Intermission. The Jacks started off with a 5-3 lead; no team would have a multi-point lead until USD broke through with three straight off two kills from junior outside hitter Lauren Medeck and a Martin service error to lead 13-10. The Jacks battled back with three of their own off an attack error and a service error with a Martin block to finish it off. Another Yote error and Martin kill brought SDSU to a 15-14 lead at the media timeout. Another 6-0 run forced South Dakota to use both of their timeouts in that span. USD would crawl back after three errors and another kill, but it was not
SDSU SPORTS INFORMATION The SDSU volleyball team huddles up and celebrates a point against USD on Friday Sept. 25. The Jacks took down USD 3-0 behind a match high 19 kills by Sylvie Zgonc.
enough as SDSU was able to take the set 25-20 SDSU came out of the gate swinging, taking an 8-3 lead before USD called a timeout. USD battled back to make the score 11-8 before SDSU scored four of the next five and led 15-9 at the media timeout SDSU and USD battled back and forth from there, but the Jacks were able to pull away 25-18 to complete their first sweep in Vermillion since 2024. In the match, SDSU hit .281 with 47 kills and 65 digs. South Dakota hit .163 with 34 kills and 49 digs and all attackers were held to under 10 kills. With the win, SDSU moves on to 1-0 in Summit League play and 5-7 overall,
while South Dakota Falls to 7-5 overall and 0-1 in the Summit League.
OMAHA
The Jacks will travel down I-29 for a matchup with Omaha on Thursday, Oct. 1. Omaha was 10-16 overall last year and 7-9 in Summit League play before they fell to St. Thomas in the first round of the conference tournament. Omaha returns eight individuals from last year’s squad, including junior libero Sarah Galligan, who led the team in digs with 213. Julia Owens also returns. Last season she dished out 495 assists to lead the Mavericks. Omaha is 8-4 on the year overall and has already played two conference
games where they defeated North Dakota and North Dakota State both three sets to one.
ST. THOMAS
The Jacks will then take a trip up to St. Paul for a matchup with the Tommies of St. Thomas on Saturday, Oct. 3. The Tommies finished 2025 21-10 and 11-5 in conference. The Tommies defeated SDSU in 5 sets in the Summit League Championship game. The Tommies return two all-league individuals from last season in Morgan Kealy and Anya Schmidt. St. Thomas is 3-8 to start the year with a tough non-conference slate. They have also split a pair of conference games with North Dakota.
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JACKS RUSH TO 4-1
SUSANNA SCHAEFER / COLLEGIAN MEDIA Running backs James Basinger (23) and Josiah Johnson walk to the sideline on Saturday Sept. 26. Basinger and Johnson combined for 239 rushing yards and three touchdowns against the Panthers. Johnson recorded 121 yards and two touchdowns while Basinger had 118 with a touchdown.
BREANNE PATTERSON, CORDELL VITENSE Sports Reporter, Sports Director South Dakota State University secured a 42-7 victory over Eastern Illinois Saturday night. The Jackrabbits turned it on coming out of halftime, scoring two back-to-back touchdowns at the start of the third quarter. At the beginning of the game, the Jackrabbits jumped out to a quick lead as running back Josiah Johnson broke many tackles to get into the end zone only three minutes into the first quarter.
It was a slow first half for the Jacks moving forward. “The first half was unacceptable,” Head Coach Dan Jackson said. “That’s on me, I didn’t have them ready to play, our energy just wasn’t there.” The Panthers rallied back early in the second quarter to tie the game 7-7. Not long after, running back James Basinger broke away from the defenders and scored a 39-yard touchdown for the Jackrabbits. The Jackrabbits headed into the locker room with a 14-7 lead. “We told each other the truth at halftime and found solutions,” Jack-
son said. “The guys said enough is enough.” Jackson said the defense needed to get takeaways and the offense needed to keep it simple at hit home runs and they did both in the second half. Coming out of halftime, the defense came up with a big stop to put the offense in a great position. On SDSU’s first offensive play of the second half, Basinger exploded with a 48-yard rushing touchdown to put the Jacks up 20-7. The Jackrabbits have scored on every first possession in the second half this year.
September 30, 2026
When: Oct. 3 at 6 p.m. Where: Normal, Illinois TV: ESPN+ Radio: Jackrabbit Sports Network Records: Illinois State 4-1, SDSU 4-1 Last meeting: Nov. 15, 2025 at ISU Series: 7-6 SDSU Last week: ISU 28-21 L; SDSU 42-7 W ISU on offense: The Redbirds average 448.2 yards per game while scoring 43 points per game. The Redbirds multiple quarterbacks have thrown for 1204 yards and 15 touchdowns in totally while throwing three interceptions. On the ground ISU rushes for an average of 207.4 yards per game with their leading rusher Tyler Lofton averaging 56 yards per game with 280 yards and four touchdowns on the season. Jacks on offense: SDSU averages 526 yards per game and scores 42.8 points per game. The Jacks are headlined by a running game that averages 302.4 yards per game. Josiah Johsnon leads the team with 549 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. James Basinger is second on hte team with 316 yards and five touchdowns while averaging a team high 13 yards per carry. ISU on defense: 275 yards allowed per game while allwoing 15 points per game. ISU give up an average of 88.6 rushing yards per game and 186.4 yards pass per game. Jacks on defense: 308.6 yards allowed per game; 16.4 points allowed per game. Jes Krcil leads the Jacks with 31 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss this season. Quick facts: The Jacks after the win over the Panthers have now had two 100 yard rushers in the same game twice this year. SDSU is now 70-10 at Dana J. Dykhouse. The ISU loss broke an 11-game FCS win streak on the road for the Redbirds. This was Illinois State’s first loss on the road agaisng an FCS team since 2024 agaisnt UC Davis.
September 30, 2026 SDSUCollegian.com
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Sophomore running back Josiah Johnson runs in for a 55-yard touchdown. Johnson ran for 121 yards and two touchdowns on 14 attempts helping the Jacks get a 42-7 win on Saturday Sept. 26 against the EIU
Just a minute and a half later, Corey Blair Jr. broke loose and scored a 61yard rushing touchdown. Freshman defensive tackle Bergan Tetzlaff came up with a sack and later recovered a fumble to keep up the defensive success. The run game made the difference on Saturday night for SDSU. Josiah Johnson had 121 yards and two touchdowns and was closely followed by James Basinger with 118 yards and two touchdowns. “I’ve loved how James Basinger has grown and developed,” Jackson said. “He runs like a man who wants more carries and touches, so when you do that you’re going to get rewarded in our program.” The Jackrabbits were missing starting quarterback Chase Mason last Saturday due to an injury he sustained in last week’s game. In his place was backup quarterback Josh Holst. “Josh managed the game well, he’s got big vision and he sees a lot of the field,” Jackson said. “He needs to give receivers shots on the passes, when we get those one-on-one shots, we need to
hit those.” Holst went 11-22 passing and threw for 176 yards. “It can be very scary if we start hitting those downfield throws,” Jackson said. “We can run the ball; if we connect downfield, that’s going to force defenses to make decisions.”
ILLINOIS STATE
The Jacks will hit the road for the first time since Sept. 5 when they went to Northwestern in Evanston, Illinois. This weekend the Jacks will go to Normal, Illinois, to take on No. 10 Illinois State. Illinois State is currently 4-1 on the season, coming off a surprise loss to Northern Iowa on Sept. 26. The Illinois State defense struggled against the Panthers last week, allowing 217 yards and two touchdowns in the air and 199 yards and another pair of scores on the ground en route to a 28-21 loss. So far this season, Illinois State’s offense has been focused on the ground game, running for an average of 207.4 yards per game with 13 scores.
The Redbirds have had multiple different quarterbacks under center this season, with Gage Roy leading the team in attempts and throwing for 10 touchdowns and 721 yards with no interceptions. Two Indiana State pass catchers have combined for nine of the 15 total receiving touchdowns. Junior receiver Dylan Lord has five of those touchdowns on 34 receptions. Lord also has 368 yards on the season to lead the team. Fifth-year tight end Alex Herrera has 119 yards and four touchdowns on the season on 10 catches. On the defensive side of the ball, linebacker Tye Niekamp has had a solid season in his fifth year, leading the team in tackles, tackles for loss and sacks. Niekamp has recorded 35 total tackles with 11 solo and 34 assists. He has also recorded 6.5 TFLs and three of the team’s six sacks. This year, Illinois State has allowed an average of 15 points per game. The run defense has been stout, allowing under 90 rushing yards per game and the pass defense isn’t any different, allowing 186.4 passing yards per game.
One of the offensive pieces for the Jacks that will look to attack that Redbirds defense is sophomore running back Josiah Johnson. Johnson has 84 carries on the year for 549 yards and seven touchdowns, which are all team-high statistics. One category Johnson doesn’t have the lead in is yards per carry, which belongs to James Basinger, who is averaging an outstanding 13 yards per carry. In total, Basinger has tallied 311 yards and five touchdowns on the year. In the passing game, there isn’t one standout in statistics, as there are five receivers who have tallied over 100 yards on the season and three receivers who have tallied over 160 yards this season. Grahm Goering leads the team in catches and yards with 16 receptions for 293. Jack Smith has 15 catches for 257 yards and one touchdown. And Lofton O’groske has 12 catches for 163 yards in one less game. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3.