10.19.22

Football Hopes to Maintain Winning Record on D-Days

Coyotes Discuss What D-Days Means to Them

The VolanTe

Dakota Days Transitions Through the Times

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VOLANTEONLINE.COM

Dakota Days Leaves Coyotes with Core Memories

Dakota Days has gathered students, alumni and community members to take part in traditions such as the parade, Yotes Got Talent and the street dance. For students, this means D-Days has looked a little different every year and no one has

million and was able to experience D-Days on multiple occasions. Abbott said the atmosphere was always rowdy and loud town. She said some of her most prominent D-Days memories include her bike being stolen and then being found on the other

“Since I’m from Vermillion, I have kind of a long running experience with D-Days. I remember being little and my mother telling us not to go outside during D-Days because the dents were going to ruin everything. And then I grew up and became a drunk college student myself. And so I’ve definitely been able to see both sides of it,”

Sophomore sports management and kinesiology major Nate Thomas said last year he was shocked at how few people attended the football game, but understands because the entire week is filled with drinking. Although this game is important to current USD students and alumni, Thomas said he doesn’t feel the pressure of playing in the D-Days football game because he trains

“I think there’s more pressure actually on the coaches from the alumni to win. So I think some of that pressure they get on them comes to us a little bit. So it’s like, ‘Hey, let’s really focus,’” Thomas said.

Thomas said D-Days is an entire week of people partying and getting ready for the biggest day of the week, the Saturday football game. He believes this week is a homecoming to celebrate the seniors and the alumni, which is why there is so much pressure surrounding the football game.

Although there is a lot of partying and build up to the football game, Abbott said she thinks D-Days is an opportunity to celebrate the connection between the city of Vermillion and the USD campus.

“I think... makes people recognize the connection more and then in turn allows it to continue on because we talk about it and sometimes that really isn’t always as cohesive as we want it to be,” Abbott said. “But the fact that we take this time every year to be like, ‘isn’t this nice?’ This town that we share and the spaces that we share and the people that we share within our community? Like isn’t this lovely?”

With D-Days being celebrated all around the community, the campus is full of for mer and current Coyotes making memories like Thomas and Abbott that will last them a lifetime.

Submitted | The Volante Amuna Micci Abbott (far right) celebrates D-Days with her friends while she was a student.

Coyotes Celebrate 108 Years of Evolving Traditions

Madeline Knau Madeline.Knau@coyotes.usd.edu

Dakota Days, an annual tradition at USD, has been around for 108 years and there have been many different traditions and styles since it first began.

D-Days was first organized on Nov. 20, 1914 by the 9th President of USD Robert Lincoln Slagle as a way to help promote “campus spirit and harmony.” However, at that time there were only two events instead of a week-long celebration.

D-Days was held only on Nov. 20. Everyone was involved in a parade that gathered on campus in front of East Hall and made their way through Vermillion. The first D-Days was also the start of Royalty. The first Miss Dakota was Fern Wasem. A Mr. Dakota was not named until 1986.

Going forward in time to 1930, D-Days started to become longer than just a day as USD appointed eight committee members to plan entertainment and

accommodations for those attending the homecoming festivities. The year 1930 also marked the first time in the history of D-Days where distinguished guests of the university were able to view the parade from a viewing stand. Eva Nelson from Elk Point was elected as Miss Dakota who led the parade of more than 100 floats.

Jumping to 1965, the annual D-Days celebration was postponed by two weeks due to complications with the football team the Coyotes were planning to play. An epidemic of infantile paralysis forced the Carleton football team to cancel their trip to Vermillion, and left the Coyotes searching for a new Homecoming opponent. USD ended up playing against the University of North Dakota and Ruth Ellwein was crowned Miss Dakota Days.

Going into 1992, The Dakota Days had three performances throughout the week from USD students who attended the school at the time Toby Kane and Monte Amende had a duet group called

The McCallaster Brothers, then the Tower of Power which brought funk, Jazz and rhythm to USD and lastly Jake Johnannsen, a comedian came and performed in the Slagle Auditorium with Julie Jarding and Steven Ring crowned Miss and Mr. Dakota Days.

And lastly, in 2002, students Lauri Kruse and Kristin Olinger were co-chairpersons for the Dakota days committee, with more than 100 people total involved in the planning and preparing the campus for Dakota Days week which had a budget of $11,000 dollars. When it came to the annual Dakota Days parade nearly 20 organizations were registered for the parade. Meredith Auld Brokaw was the parade Marshal who crowned Betsy Eide Sage as Miss Dakota and Joseph Holt as Mr. Dakota.

Throughout the course of Dakota Day’s history, traditions have changed to create memorable and exciting events for students, but one thing has remained the same, the celebration of USD.

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Volume 147, No. 12 October 19, 2022 www.volanteonline.com

Al Neuharth Media Center 555 N. Dakota St. University of South Dakota Vermillion, SD 57069 Adviser Tim Schreiner

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Madeline Knau verve designer Tavin Carncross sports editor Brock Weider sports designer Emma Daggett opinion editor

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Homecoming Week Activities in Full Swing

Zadya Abbott Zadya.Abbott@coyotes.usd.edu

The week of Dakota Days is annually filled with an array of events meant to bring the student body together to celebrate. This year being no different, campus is abuzz with homecoming traditions both new and old. Here are the remaining events for Dakota Days attendees to participate in.

The schedule for Wednesday, Oct. 19 begins with the annual Coffee with a Cop in the MUC pit at 10:30 am. The event provides students with an opportunity to ask questions and network with University Police Department representatives. Later in the day, Dakota Palooza is being hosted at the Wellness Center at 4 p.m. This event will have a variety of activities from dodgeball, bubble soccer, tug-o-war, rock climbing and a fun run. The fun run is part of the first annual Coyote Trap obstacle course, registration begins at 5 p.m.

Then on Thursday, Oct. 20 D-Days will see the return of an annual event; the Street Dance on the Platz in downtown Vermillion. The dance will be outfitted with a DJ and will start at 8 p.m.

On the Friday of D-Days, there will be a free movie opportunity for students at the Coyote Twin Theaters. It is required that students arrive with their IDs and it is up to the students which showtime and film they choose to see. The theater offers Halloween Ends at both 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. As well as, BROS at 4:15 p.m. and 7:15 p.m.

Finally, on Saturday a D-Days tradition taking place since 1914, the Dakota Days Parade, will begin at 9 a.m. The parade will feature several student and community organizations and floats as well as several marching bands from across the area. Following the parade at 11 a.m., the Coyote Alley Tailgate will begin north of the USD Tennis Courts. Then the Coyotes will play Southern Illinois at 2 p.m. in the Dako taDome. To end the night, the D-Days Committee will have a Casino Night at North Complex at 8 p.m.

Madison Martinez | The Volante D-Days Royalty was announced at Yotes Got Talent on Sunday. The final fourteen contestants are (left to right): Reagan Kolberg, Edwin Guzman Zaragoza, Ellie Richards, Ryan Craig, Tia Vlasman, Braxton Trowbridge, Anna Reiter, Cameron Klug, Madi Sundvold, Alex Kolbeck, Ally Feiner, Trenton Hoekstra and Margaret Meierhenry.

Tavin Carncross | The Volante The Dakota Days committee held the first annual D-Days kick-off event. This event featured activities such as a free-throw competition, dunk contest, three-point shootout and fireworks. Freshman forward Felix Broström won the dunk contest with three nines from the judges.

D-Days Committee Puts in a Year Worth of Prep

Brooklynn Kahle Brooklynn.Kahle@coyotes.usd.edu

The Dakota Days Executive Committee started planning the week of Dakota Days months in ad vance as they figured out how to create the most memorable week for students, faculty, alum and anyone else involved.

Ntombi Ngeleka, the President of the executive committee, said the goal of D-Days is to bring peo ple together through their events.

“Our purpose is to create a fun environment for the students on campus. We want to transform the campus to create a memorable experience,” Ngele ka said.

Ngeleka said they began their process of the Da kota Days Executive Committee a couple of weeks following last year’s D-Days. Elections for the com mittee were at the end of 2021. Following that, the committee was announced in January and the plan ning began in the spring.

Most of their planning involved creating events that will engage the community and give them the best experience possible. Ngeleka said a question they focused their creations around was, “What tra ditions will stick in the future?”

The executive committee chose to bring back tra ditions from the past that seemed to be favorites of the community which included the parade, Yotes got Talent and the street dance. This year, they cre ated new events with the hope of turning them into traditions such as Paint the MUC Red and the First Annual Dakota Palooza.

“On this committee and at the events, we want everyone to have fun and not make it feel like a job,” Ngeleka said. “My favorite part about Dakota Days is working with my team and seeing our hard work fall into action.”

The executive committee has specialized posi tions which include the President, Vice President, marketing coordinator, royalty coordinator and pa

rade coordinator. Rachel Spinks, the royalty coordi nator, said she enjoys having a specialized role for the experience.

Spinks said the behind the scenes of her position included making sure the Royalty nominees were eligible, conducting interviews and organizing the voting. Spinks said she enjoys creating her part of D-Days.

“I wanted to be a part of the committee because Dakota Days is a very unique celebration for the Vermillion community. I love to see both the com munity and school get involved and I wanted to help create that atmosphere,” Spinks said.

Ngeleka said the most rewarding part of being on the executive committee was watching the week play out, seeing the outcome of the events and re ceiving a large turnout at the events.

“Come celebrate with us, enjoy time with other USD students, connect with others and be a part of a memorable experience,” Ngeleka said.

SportS

WEDNESDAY,

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Football Enters Dakota Days with Winning Record

As the football team prepares to play in their 105th Homecoming game, The Volante took a look back at this tradition. Since the first Dakota Days game which took place in 1914, USD has only missed three years: 2020 due to the COVID-19 pan demic and 1943-1945 due to World War II. USD has a 66-33-5 overall record on D-Days which includes match-ups against 23 different teams (playing in-state rival SDSU the most: 28 times) and 22 total coaches (with Harry Gamage leading the team the longest: 18 non-consecutive seasons). Here are some memorable moments from the past 105 years of competition.

2021

Win over Indiana State 38-10. Quarterback Carson Camp had his first three-touchdown passing game.

2017

In Chris Strevler’s last sea son, the Coyotes defeated No. 3 Youngstown St. with a field goal, 31-28.

The Coyotes beat Southern Utah, 24-19 in their last year in the Great West conference before moving into the Missouri Valley.

In head coach Ron Rankin’s first season, USD took on in-state rival SDSU for a 21-3 win.

Head coach John Fritsch’s D-Days debut saw seven turnovers by the Coyotes, making it the worst D-Days loss in 25 years, 45-14.

2011

Breaking a five game losing streak, the Coyotes beat Northern Colorado in a game where the team honored the 1951 NCC Champions.1997

1989

2001

1991

The Coyotes took on Augustana, where they won their only game of the season, 27-18.

1986

1985

With 1:13 left in the game and no timeouts, quarterback Scott Jones went for an 84yard drive to beat Morning side 40-38.

The Coyotes scored 22 points in the final six minutes against North Dakota, propelling them to win 32-24. Cornerback Tom Berry set the sin gle game record when he returned six punts for 146 yards.

1980

1981

USD saw the largest margin of victory since 1973 in their match-up against Augustana, 48-8. This was also the year the Coyotes made it to the National Championship Game.

Game tying touchdown was scored on fourthand-7. Extra point helped Coyotes win 17-16 against Omaha. “We knew we had to go to our most consistent player, that player is (running back) Jeff Dicus, you can stop him once, but you can’t shut Dicus down twice,” quarter back Chris Daniel said.

SportS

1976

“The world loves a winner, hates a loser, but I don’t know what they do about those of us who tie,” head coach Bernard Coo per said after a 17-17 tie v. SDSU that left John House with a knee injury and Mike Mahan with a broken leg.

The Coyotes won 10-7 in their first victory over in-state rival SDSU in six seasons.

1964

1972

In a 42-27 win over SDSU, Dwight “Duke” Duncombe had 205 receiving yards and three touchdowns which broke the Coyote single game receiving record. Tom Engleman broke the Coyote one game passing yard record with 283 yards.

1950

USD saw the worst D-Days loss in 36 years when SDSU beat the Coyotes 54-28. SDSU went on to win the North Central Title.

1953

The Coyotes won over Morn ingside by 28 points. End score was 35-7.

1943

USD head coach Harry Gam age which led the Coyotes 7-1 in D-Days games, returned from a year of service in World War II.

1947

In the last two minutes, Ron nie Brown scored a touch down to give the Coyotes a win over Morningside, 21-19.

1935

Billy Ryan “The Irresistible Irishman” scored the game winning touchdown vs. the All-American candidate Paul Miller in the SDSU match. The Coyotes won 7-2.

1939

USD and SDSU celebrate the 50th year of South Dako ta football with a 21-7 Coyote win. May 3, 1889 was the first football game held in South Dakota.

1929

With one minute left, the referee penalized the Coyotes for unnecessary roughness, giving SDSU a first down on the one-yard line to win the game, 6-0.

The Coyotes beat North Dakota 19-0. D-Days doubled as USD’s first game of the season.

USD’s first D-Days game was against Yankton, where the Coyote won 33-3. The Volante stated in a past issue that the “Varsity men were re placed by ‘scrubs’ in second half.”

1917

1916

In their match-up against Michigan State, The Coyotes led 3-0 the entire game until the final quarter when Michigan State tied them 3-3.

1914

Coyotes face Salukis in 105th Dakota Days Game

Brock Weidner Brock.Weidner@coyotes.usd.edu

The South Dakota Coyotes head back home where they’ll face Southern Illinois in the 105th Da kota Days football game.

Last year’s playoff rematch takes place at this year’s D-Days. The Salukis defeated the Coyotes in the first round of the FCS playoffs last November, 22-10, inside the DakotaDome.

In that game, both teams were ranked in the top 25. SIU led by 13 points at half and stayed in front advancing to the second round of the playoffs.

Southern Illinois leads the all-time series be tween these two teams (4-3) winning the last two meetings, both inside the DakotaDome.

Southern Illinois enters the game with a 5-2 re cord and currently ranked No. 14 in the media poll and No. 17 in the coach’s poll. The Salukis head into the game with a five-game win streak after dropping their first two contests.

SIU started their win streak against the North western Wildcats 31-24 to end their non-conference schedule in September. Southern Illinois is unde feated in conference play (4-0) with wins against North Dakota (34-17), Illinois State (19-14), Missouri State (38-21) and Western Illinois (30-7).

The Salukis look to win back-to-back homecom ing games, as they won last week at their own home coming against the Leathernecks. Junior running back Javon Williams Jr. passed for 36 yards, rushed for 49 yards, had four rushing touchdowns, compiled three catches for 23 yards, and returned a kick for 26 yards in the win.

USD walks into D-Days with a 1-5 record. The Coyotes’ only win this year was their home opener against Cal Poly (38-21). USD is on a three-game los ing streak after falling to North Dakota State (17-34), South Dakota State (3-28) and Illinois State (10-12).

The Coyotes look to break their losing streak against Southern Illinois after losing to Illinois State last weekend. The Coyotes rushed for 132 yards in the loss with redshirt freshman running back Shom ari Lawrence leading the way with 75 rushing yards

and a touchdown. Redshirt freshman Javion Phelps had a career high four catches for 89 yards.

The Salukis’ offense is ranked fourth in the Mis souri Valley Football Conference (MVFC), averaging 382.4 yards per game, with 250.6 of those being pass ing yards. SIU has averaged 30.3 points per game which puts them second in the MVFC.

The offense is led by junior quarterback Nic Bak er who has completed 70 percent of his passes for 1584 yards, 11 touchdowns and two interceptions.

Baker was also named the MVFC Offensive Play er of the Week for his performance against Western Illinois where he completed 25 of his 28 passes (89.3 percent) for 227 yards.

Baker’s favorite targets are the Cox twins. Senior wide receiver Avante Cox has a team high 34 recep tions (387 yards) and four touchdowns and his broth er senior wide receiver D’ante Cox has 25 catches for 386 yards, with two 100-yard receiving games.

Junior running back Ro Elliot leads the Salukis in rushing attack as he’s ran for 347 yards and three touchdowns this season.

The Coyotes’ offense is ranked 10th in the con ference in yards per game averaging 281.7 yards per contest. That resulted in the Coyotes being the worst scoring offense in the MVFC scoring 12.5 points per game. South Dakota’s passing attack is ranked last in yards per game through the air as well.

Sophomore quarterback Carson Camp is the sec ond most sacked quarterback in the conference be ing dropped to the turf 23 times. Camp has passed for 894 yards and four touchdowns while throwing five interceptions in the opening six games.

Camp’s top targets are sophomore tight end JJ Galbreath and junior wide receiver Wesley Eliodor. Galbreath has a team high 172 receiving yards from 13 receptions, as Eliodor has 171 yards and two touchdowns.

The Coyotes’ rushing attack is sixth in the MVFC with 132.7 yards per game. Led by the duo of soph omore running back Travis Theis and Lawrence as the two have combined for 749 rushing yards and four touchdowns.

Southern Illinois’ defense has allowed 25.9 points and 339.4 yards per game, which both rank in the top half of the conference. The Salukis’ rushing de fense is the second best in the MVFC allowing only 80.7 yards on the ground per game.

Junior cornerback PJ Jules leads the team with 37 tackles. SIU leads the conference with 26 sacks as sophomore defensive end Richie Hagarty has a team best 5.5 sacks and 6.5 tackles for a loss, and a forced fumble. The Salukis have five interceptions on the year with sophomore linebacker Branson Combs leading the way with two picks.

South Dakota’s defense allows 25.5 points (fourth in the MVFC) and 399.5 yards per game (sixth in the MVFC). USD’s passing defense is fourth best in the MVFC allowing 191.2 passing yards per game. South Dakota has forced four interceptions this season.

Sophomore defensive back Myles Harden is tied for having the most interceptions in the conference this season with three picks and he has forced the most fumbles with four. Junior linebacker Stephen Hillis has a team best 59 tackles, 6.5 tackles for a loss and three sacks. Hillis also leads the MVFC in total tackles this season.

Hillis was named the MVFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against Illinois State. He had nine tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble and broke up a pass.

The Coyotes will be at home in the DakotaDome on Saturday, they look to keep their Homecoming win streak alive.

OpiniOn

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Editorial: D-Days is Better than Hobo Days

USD and SDSU have a long-standing rivalry, and there could be an argument over which school is better (spoiler alert: it’s USD). But there is little doubt that Da kota Days is way better than SDSU’s Hobo Days.

From the names alone, USD is the better option.

Dakota Days makes sense. We live in South Dakota and we are celebrating our school spirit on homecoming. Hobo Days does not have any con nection to SDSU.

Why are SDSU students dressing like hobos? Their mascot is a jackrabbit, what is the point of having Hobo Days and dressing up? Why

“

There is little doubt that

stereotypes.

Sydney Johnson, editor-in-chief Allison Horkey managing editor Tavin Carncross, sports editor

USD’s Dakota Days is way better than SDSU’s Hobo Days.

are they adding another mascot for one week? It seems weird to dress up and build a cardboard house during the week you are celebrating your school.

Not only is this Hobo tradition strange to have for a week, they are also a little

“

classist to make fun of peo ple experiencing homeless ness. Hobo has since become a derogatory term used to describe homeless or vagrant individuals. Traditions like making cardboard houses and dressing up like a hobo just reinforces harmful

From a brief glance at both school’s websites you can see the activities USD provides for its students and community are better than SDSU. USD boasts a street dance, talent show, fire works and other events run by the school and student organizations. There are lots of different events for people of all ages to take part in.

The first thing on SDSU’s Hobo Days website is telling its students not to shave for a month. At the end of the month they vote on who has the best, worst and patchiest beard. As

well as who has the longest, softest and roughest leg hair. Why is this an actual tradi tion at SDSU?

Students at SDSU also participate in “bum a meal” from people in Brookings. They sign up and are sent to go eat with a random family in Brookings.

There are of course some regular activities like a parade and pep rally that all homecoming festivities need, but what is going on in Brookings?

Dakota Days might not be everyone’s favorite, but we can all agree it is far better than what those people up north are doing.

OVERHEARDS

Here you’ll find the weirdest, funniest and stupidest things we’ve heard during the week. Context is for suckers.

Keeley Thomas, verve editor Emma Daggett, opinion

CONTACT US

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The deadline for letters is 5 p.m. the Friday prior to publication. Letters must be typed and fewer than 300 words.

“We could go to Vanilla Ice. Front row standing seats for 65 bucks in Spencer, Iowa.”

— FA

“I feel like Nixon looks weird. It’s like his head is melting into his body.”

— Neuharth

“Stop making bear noises at the stars.”

— The Outlook

“He looks like he spends a lot of time at the theoretical gym.”

— FA

Coyotes Reflect on What D-Days Means to Them

The Volante set out to see what members of the Coyote community believe are the most recognizable aspects of D-Days. From the football game to school spirit togetherness, each Coyote has a memory they associate with the words “Dakota Days.”

Amber Benway

Grace DuBall

“It’s a lot of partying, basically homecom ing on steroids. I tell everyone it is semi ac ceptable to go crazy 24 hours a day, but to stay safe and respectful in the dorms.”

Sarah Wittmuss

“I think of crisp fall weather, hopefully no snow, and how you have to teach students to say ‘HAP-py D-Days’ in the [right] inflection of voice because that’s how it’s been as far as I know, for decades. I remember coming to the parade when I was a little kid because my dad was an alumni. It’s always such a happy week and people tend to just be in a good mood and faculty really try not to have tests that week.”

“I know the marching band is a big part of D-Days and I’m a part of the marching band. I’m on the drumline, which is super, super fun. I think a lot about excitement to be hon est, we get the crowd riled up really loud. I’ve heard it’s a great time to have some fun and enjoy the celebration that we do.”

Dillon Grubb

“I stay in the dorms all night because D-Days is a lot of work. I am glad I’m not the RA that is on call for the night. I just get to watch everyone go crazy.”

Vermillion Police Bring

Comedy to D-Days

Every year, the Vermillion Police Department (VPD) fills its Twitter feed with the crazy happenings of Dako ta Days. From fires to pubic urination, VPD keeps the community informed as to the behavior of Coyote fans during homecoming weekend. VPD frames the tweets as if their followers are sitting in the police car for a live ride-along. While the tweets are meant to inform the public, they have also become a form of entertainment for the community with funny commentary to lighten the mood of the sometimes illegal acts that occur during the Dakota Days weekend.

The Volante