South Dakota is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota Sioux Native American tribe, which comprises a large portion of the population with nine reservations currently in the state and have historically dominated the territory. South Dakota is the seventeenth largest by area, but the 5th least populous, and the 5th least densely populated of the 50 United States. As the southern part of the former Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889, simultaneously with North Dakota. They are the 39th and 40th states admitted to the union; President Benjamin Harrison shuffled the statehood papers before signing them so that no one could tell which became a state first. Pierre is the state capital, and Sioux Falls, with a population of about 192,200, is South Dakota's largest city.
Pennington County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 109,222, making it the second-most populous county in South Dakota. Its county seat is Rapid City. The county was created in 1875, and was organized in 1877. It is named for John L. Pennington, fifth Governor of Dakota Territory, who held office in 1875 when the county was formed.
Scouting in South Dakota has a long history, from the 1910s to the present, and serves thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live.
Spearfish is a city in Lawrence County, South Dakota. The population was 12,193 at the time of the 2020 census.
Hill City is the oldest existing city in Pennington County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 872 at the 2020 census. Hill City is located 26 miles (42 km) southwest of Rapid City on U.S. Highway 16 and on U.S. Route 385 that connects Deadwood to Hot Springs. Hill City is known as the "Heart of the Hills", a distinction derived from its proximity to both the geographical center of the Black Hills, and the local tourist destinations.
Rapid City is the second most populous city in South Dakota and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed, it is in western South Dakota, on the Black Hills' eastern slope. The population was 74,703 as of the 2020 Census.
The International Basketball Association (IBA) was founded in 1995 by a group of businessmen led by Tom Anderson. The original owners of franchises in the league were George Daniel, John Korsmo, Al Gardner, and Al Hovland, Jeff McCarron, Bill Sorensen and Earl Barish. Earl Barish of Winnipeg directed the IBA as League President and the league eventually grew to ten franchises. In the fall of 2001, CBA and IBL teams merged with the IBA and purchased the assets of the defunct CBA, including its name, logo and records from the bankruptcy court and restarted operations, calling itself the CBA. This group continued to operate until June 2009, when it was forced to cease operations.
The Monument, formerly known as Rushmore Plaza Civic Center and Rushmore Plaza, is a 500,000-square-foot (46,000 m2) exhibition center, in Rapid City, South Dakota. The Monument is the main event center for the Black Hills Region, serving Western South Dakota, South West North Dakota, North West Nebraska, and Eastern Wyoming. It is home to many large annual events, including the Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo & Rodeo Rapid City, Lakota Nation Invitational, the Black Hills Homebuilders Expo, South Dakota High School Activities Association Tournaments, the Rapid City Rush ice hockey team of the ECHL, and the Rapid City Marshals of Champions Indoor Football. The Rapid City Thrillers semi-professional basketball team also formerly played games at the complex. The grand opening event was a concert by Elvis Presley on June 21, 1977, which was filmed for a CBS television special that aired in October. The concert was during the singer's final tour before his death on August 16, 1977.
The Rapid City Flying Aces were a professional indoor American football team in Rapid City, South Dakota. Like their predecessors, the Black Hills Red Dogs, they played their home games at the Don Barnett Arena in Rapid City. As of April 2007, the Flying Aces did not belong to any football league. The team was affiliated with the original Indoor Football League in 2000; with the National Indoor Football League from 2001 to 2004 and in 2006; and with United Indoor Football in 2005. The team considered rejoining United Indoor Football in 2008.
Stevens High School is one of three public high schools in Rapid City, South Dakota, United States. The school opened in November 1969, and has an enrollment of approximately 1600 students. The school is situated in the foothills of South Dakota's Black Hills on the city's western outskirts. The school colors are blue and silver, and the school teams and organizations are known as the "Raiders".
The Black Hills Posse was a professional basketball team based in Rapid City, South Dakota that competed in the International Basketball Association beginning in the 1995–96 season. The team was founded by George Daniel, an attorney from Pennsylvania. The Posse were created for Rapid City as a response to the departure of the Rapid City Thrillers of the Continental Basketball Association. They were the 1996–97 International Basketball Association champions with an all-time winning record of 85 and 37.
The Rapid City Thrillers were a semi-professional basketball team in Rapid City, South Dakota, that competed in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) beginning in the 1987 season. They were reincarnated in 1998 as an International Basketball Association franchise. One of the many notable players of the team was Keith Smart, who played for the Indiana Hoosiers when they won the NCAA tournament in 1987.
South Dakota is a state located in the north-central United States. It is usually considered to be in the Midwestern region of the country. The state can generally be divided into three geographic regions: eastern South Dakota, western South Dakota, and the Black Hills. Eastern South Dakota is lower in elevation and higher in precipitation than the western part of the state, and the Black Hills are a low, isolated mountain group in the southwestern corner of the state. Smaller sub-regions in the state include the Coteau des Prairies, Missouri Coteau, James River Valley, and the Dissected Till Plains. Geologic formations in South Dakota range in age from two billion-year-old Precambrian granite in the Black Hills to glacial till deposited over the last few million years. South Dakota is the 17th-largest state in the country.
The Eastern South Dakota Conference is a high school athletic conference made up of nine teams of Class AA in the East River Region of South Dakota. All schools are members of the SDHSAA. Sports offered are boys & girls basketball, football, boys & girls track & field, boys and girls cross country, volleyball, wrestling, competitive dance & cheer, and, starting in 2012, boys & girls soccer.
The South Dakota Mines Hardrockers are the athletic teams that represent South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, located in Rapid City, South Dakota, in Division II intercollegiate sports of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Hardrockers primarily compete as a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference for all 11 varsity sports.
The Black Hills Brawl is an annual football game between Black Hills State University and South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Also known as The Battle for the Homestake Trophy or rarely called the West River Rivalry, the winner of the game receives the Homestake Trophy. The current venues the game is played in are Lyle Hare Stadium since 1960 and O'Harra Stadium since 1938. First played in 1895 and played 135 times, the Black Hills Brawl is the most played in NCAA Division II and tied for the oldest rivalry in DII ; it is the 4th most played rivalry nationwide in any division.
Rasheed H. Brokenborough is an American former professional basketball player. A left-handed shooting guard, he had a successful high school career, finishing as the all-time top scorer of University City High School in Philadelphia and being considered one of the top players in the nation in his class. After having to sit out his first season of college basketball due to his insufficient SAT score, he was a 3-year starter at Temple. After going undrafted in the 1999 NBA draft, he played 11 years of professional basketball, mainly in Europe, when he won 5 national championships in 3 countries and was the EuroCup top scorer in 2004.
Paul Sather is an American college basketball coach, currently head men's basketball coach at the University of North Dakota.
The South Dakota Gold were a short-lived professional basketball team based in Mitchell, South Dakota. They played one season in the International Basketball Association (IBA).
The Rapid City Marshals are a professional indoor football team set to begin play as a member of Champions Indoor Football for the 2022 season. Based in Rapid City, South Dakota, the Marshals will play their home games at the Summit Arena at The Monument.
