Celebrating THE LIFE OF BOB YOUNG

While at Sioux Falls College, Young met Diane Skola, a Viborg, S.D. native who just so happened to be head cheerleader the same time Young was the football captain. The two fell in love and were married on April 18, 1960.

Following their marriage, Bob and Diane spent time in both Garretson, S.D. and Hawarden, Iowa before moving to Phoenix. It was there that Young led the Maryvale High football team to frequent playoff appearances, as well as a state title game. Bob and Diane returned to South Dakota 19 years later after being convinced by Young’s former teammates to take over USF’s struggling football program.

“What many people don’t know is that we had no full time coaches back then so Bob was a faculty member AND head football coach,” says Campus Pastor, Dennis Thum. “Also, the parking lot on the south side of the McDonald Student Center was all grass back then (before Sullivan Hall was built) and served as the football practice field so one could not help but see practices.”

Robert “Bob” Ross Young’s contributions’ to the USF football program will never be forgotten. But for those who knew him, Young will be remembered for the life he led both on and off the field.

Young was born on April 10, 1939, in Beresford, S.D. where he was raised on a farm. In high school, Young found great success participating in football, basketball, and track. This success– particularly in football– would follow him to Sioux Falls College where, in 1960, he earned all-conference honors as an outstanding linebacker and offensive guard.

The first few years for Young were not easy, however. Thum remembers in the early ‘90s when one of Young’s teams “had to endure a pretty bad season and he got some pretty harsh criticism from grandstand quarterbacks. I recall how he agonized on how to rebuild. I saw then the true mark of his character as he endured those difficult times. It was so fun to see in the next season how his squad dramatically rebounded and started building towards the 1996 championship team.”

Not only did the Cougars win the NAIA Football Championship in 1996, but they were also runners-up in 2001, semifinalists in 1997, 2002, and 2003, and quaterfinalists in 1995, 1998, and 2004. During his time at USF, Young became the program’s career wins leader at 172-69-3. This impact did not go unnoticed. On Sept. 1, 2010, the Bob Young Field was named in his honor following its completion in 2007.

Two years later, Young was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame and the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame.

Young passed away on Jan. 25, 2023. A visitation service was held on Feb. 4, 2023, at USF in the Stewart Center where hundreds gathered to honor his life and achievements. A celebration of life service will take place on June 3, 2023 at the Bob Young Field.

“He was an encourager,” Thum says. “He was unpretentious and kind. Bob simply wanted to be faithful to Christ.”