The South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team represents South Dakota State University in college football. The program competes at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level as member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC). The Jackrabbits play their home games at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium on South Dakota State's campus in Brookings, South Dakota. South Dakota State is considered to be among the few perennial powers in the FCS. South Dakota State is also one of only 13 FCS schools to host ESPN's College GameDay. For the 2019 GameDay matchup, the No. 3 Jackrabbits hosted the No. 1 North Dakota State Bison, where they would lose in a close battle 23–16 after losing their starting QB to a season ending knee injury. The Jackrabbits currently have a 12-year streak of qualifying for the FCS playoffs, the second-longest in the country at the FCS level. South Dakota State are two-time national champions. They achieved their first national championship win in school history on January 8, 2023. Then a year later on January 7, 2024, they repeated by defeating Montana (13–2) with a score of 23–3 and finished with a perfect 15–0 record.
The 2011 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team represented South Dakota State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2011 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by 15th-year head coach John Stiegelmeier, the Jackrabbits compiled an overall record of 5–6 with a mark of 4–4 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for fourth in the MVFC. South Dakota State played their home games at Coughlin–Alumni Stadium in Brookings, South Dakota.
The 2012 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team represented South Dakota State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by 16th-year head coach John Stiegelmeier, the Jackrabbits compiled an overall record of 9–4 with a mark of 6–2 in conference play, placing second in the MVFC. South Dakota State received an at–large bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where the Jackrabbits defeated Eastern Illinois in the first round before falling to fellow MVFC member and eventual national champion, North Dakota State, in the second round. The team played home games at Coughlin–Alumni Stadium in Brookings, South Dakota.
The 2013 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team represented South Dakota State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2013 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by 17th-year head coach John Stiegelmeier, the Jackrabbits compiled an overall record of 9–5 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, placing in a four-way tie for second in the MVFC. South Dakota State received an at–large bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where the Jackrabbits defeated Northern Arizona in the first round before falling to Eastern Washington in the second round. The team played home games at Coughlin–Alumni Stadium in Brookings, South Dakota.
The 2014 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team represented South Dakota State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2014 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by 18th-year head coach John Stiegelmeier, the Jackrabbits compiled an overall record of 9–5 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, placing fourth in the MVFC. South Dakota State received an at–large bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where the Jackrabbits defeated Montana State in the first round before falling to fellow MVFC member and eventual national champion, North Dakota State, in the second round. The team played home games at Coughlin–Alumni Stadium in Brookings, South Dakota.
The 2015 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team represented South Dakota State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by 19th-year head coach John Stiegelmeier, the Jackrabbits compiled an overall record of 8–4 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for third in the MVFC. South Dakota State received an at–large bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where the Jackrabbits lost to Montana in the first round. The team played home games at Coughlin–Alumni Stadium in Brookings, South Dakota.
The 2016 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team represented South Dakota State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by 20th-year head coach John Stiegelmeier, the Jackrabbits compiled an overall record of 9–4 with a mark of 7–1 in conference play, sharing the MVFC with North Dakota State. Due to their head-to-head victory over North Dakota State during the regular season, South Dakota State received the MVFC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where, after a first-round bye, the Jackrabbits defeated Villanova in the second round, before losing in the quarterfinals in a re-match with North Dakota State. The team played home games on campus at the newly-opened Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings, South Dakota.
The 2017 Northern Iowa Panthers football team represented the University of Northern Iowa in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The team was coached by Mark Farley in his 17th season and played their home games in the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa as members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. They finished the season 8–5, 6–2 in MVFC play to finish in a tie for second place. The Panthers received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs where they defeated Monmouth in the first round before losing in the second round to South Dakota State.
The 2017 North Dakota State Bison football team represented North Dakota State University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Chris Klieman. The team played their 25th season in the Fargodome in Fargo, North Dakota as members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The Bison finished the season 14–1, 7–1 in MVFC play to win the MVFC championship for the seventh consecutive year. As a result, the Bison received the conference's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs as the No. 2 seed. In the playoffs, they defeated San Diego, Wofford, and Sam Houston State to advance to the National Championship game. There they defeated James Madison 17–13 to win the school's sixth National Championship in seven years. The September 30 game against Missouri State was the 700th victory since the team's founding in 1894.
The 2018 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team represented South Dakota State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by 22nd-year head coach John Stiegelmeier, the Jackrabbits compiled an overall record of 10–3 with a mark of 6–2 in conference play, placing second in the MVFC. South Dakota State received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where, after a first round bye, the Jackrabbits defeated Duquesne in the second round and Kennesaw State in the quarterfinals before falling to fellow MVFC member and eventual national champion, North Dakota State, in the semifinals. The team played home games on campus at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings, South Dakota.
The 2015 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game that determined a national champion in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision for the 2014 season. It was played at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, on January 10, 2015, with kickoff at 1:00 p.m. EST, and was the culminating game of the 2014 FCS Playoffs. With sponsorship by Northwestern Mutual, the game was officially known as the NCAA FCS Championship presented by Northwestern Mutual.
The 2019 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team represented South Dakota State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by 23rd-year head coach John Stiegelmeier, the Jackrabbits compiled an overall record of 8–5 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for third in the MVFC. South Dakota State received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where, after a first round bye, the Jackrabbits lost to Northern Iowa in the second round. The team played home games on campus at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings, South Dakota.
The 2019 North Dakota State Bison football team represented North Dakota State University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Matt Entz. The team played in the Fargodome in Fargo, North Dakota, for the 27th season as members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC). They entered the season as defending national champions, having won seven of the prior eight FCS titles. In 2019, the Bison finished the regular season 12–0, the second consecutive undefeated Bison season, and won their ninth consecutive MVFC title. They received an automatic qualifying bid to the FCS playoff tournament and were seeded as the No. 1 team. The Bison then went 4–0 in the FCS playoffs to finish 16–0 as FCS champions, becoming the first team at any level of college football to finish a season 16–0 since Yale in 1894. They also extended their FCS-record winning streak to 37 games.
The 2019 Northern Iowa Panthers football team represented the University of Northern Iowa in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The team was led by Mark Farley in his 19th season and played their home games in the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. They finished the season 10–5, 6–2 in MVFC play to finish in second place. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs where they defeated San Diego and South Dakota State to advance to the quarterfinals where they lost to James Madison.
The 2020 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team represented South Dakota State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by 24th-year head coach John Stiegelmeier, the Jackrabbits compiled an overall record of 8–2 with a mark of 5–1 in conference play, sharing the MVFC title with Missouri State. South Dakota State received an the MVFC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where the Jackrabbits defeated Holy Cross in the first round, fellow MVFC member Southern Illinois in the quarterfinals, and Delaware in the semifinals before losing to Sam Houston State in the NCAA Division I Championship Game. The team played home games on campus at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings, South Dakota.
The 2021 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team represented South Dakota State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by 25th-year head coach John Stiegelmeier, the Jackrabbits compiled an overall record of 11–4 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for third in the MVFC. South Dakota State received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where the Jackrabbits defeated UC Davis in the first round, Sacramento State in the second round, and Villanova in the quarterfinals before losing to Montana State in the semifinals. The team played home games on campus at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings, South Dakota.
The 2022 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team represented South Dakota State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led John Stiegelmeier in his 26th and final season as head coach, the Jackrabbits compiled an overall record of 14–1 with a mark of 8–0 in conference play, winning the MVFC title. South Dakota State received the MVFC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where after a first-round bye, the Jackrabbits defeated Delaware in the second round, Holy Cross in the quarterfinals, Montana State in the semifinals, and fellow MVFC member North Dakota State in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Game to win program's first national title. The team played home games on campus at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings, South Dakota.
The 2022 Missouri Valley Football Conference football season was the 37th season of college football play for the Missouri Valley Football Conference and part of the 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season. This was the MVFC's 3rd straight season with 11 teams, and was the last as the conference added a 12th team for the 2023 season.
The 2023 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team represented the South Dakota State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by first-year head coach Jimmy Rogers, the Jackrabbits compiled an overall record of 15–0 with a mark of 8–0 in conference play, winning the MVFC title for the second straight season. South Dakota State received the MVFC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where after a first-round bye, the Jackrabbits defeated Mercer in the second round, Villanova in the quarterfinals, Albany in the semifinals, and Montana in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Game to win program's second consecutive national title. South Dakota State outscored opponents 123–12 in the four playoff games, completed a wire-to-wire season as the No. 1 ranked team in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), and extended the team's winning streak to 29 games. The team played home games on campus at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings, South Dakota.
The 2021 Missouri Valley Football Conference football season was the 36th season of college football play for the Missouri Valley Football Conference and part of the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. This was the MVFC's 2nd straight season with 11 teams.
North Dakota State made it to the National Championship and won their 9th FCS title in program history. South Dakota State made the playoffs unseeded, and won their way into the semifinals where they lost to 8th seeded Montana State. Southern Illinois also made it to the playoffs, and beat fellow MVFC member South Dakota in the first round, but would fall to eventual champion North Dakota State in the second round. Northern Iowa also made it to the playoffs, but lost to Eastern Washington in the first round.
