South Dakota State Jackrabbits | |
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University | South Dakota State University |
Conference | Summit League (primary) Missouri Valley Football Conference Big 12 Conference ECAC (equestrian) |
NCAA | Division I (FCS) |
Athletic director | Justin Sell |
Location | Brookings, South Dakota |
Varsity teams | 19 |
Football stadium | Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium |
Basketball arena | Frost Arena |
Baseball stadium | Erv Huether Field |
Mascot | Jack Rabbit |
Nickname | Jackrabbits |
Fight song | Ring the Bell |
Colors | Blue and yellow [1] |
Website | www |
The South Dakota State Jackrabbits are the 19 intercollegiate teams representing South Dakota State University that compete in the U.S. National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I (for football: Football Championship Subdivision). SDSU is currently a member of the Summit League, the Missouri Valley Football Conference, the Big 12 Conference and Varsity Equestrian. The university won numerous conference championships and several national titles including the NCAA College Division national title in men's basketball in 1963 and the NCAA Division II national title in women's basketball in 2003.
South Dakota State football has become a perennial FCS power. Their program is a constant presence in the top ten in the polls and annual national title contender. Winning the MVFC title in 2016, 2020, 2022 & 2023 and having qualified for 12 consecutive playoffs (13 overall), they’ve been FCS playoffs semifinalists 6 times in that time span, were the national runners-up in 2020 and became first time National Champions on January 8, 2023, by beating their rivals, North Dakota State, by a score of 45 to 21. They repeated as national champions on January 7th, 2024 by defeating Montana 23-3 and finishing a perfect 15-0. The 2024 Championship run saw SDSU outscore their 4 playoff opponents 146-15. The football team is currently a 29 game winning streak. 3rd best in FCS football history.
The 2011–2012 season marked the fifth-consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament for the Jackrabbit women's basketball team, capping a season in which the Jackrabbits won the regular-season Summit League title and their fifth consecutive Summit League Tournament title. In 2019 the Jackrabbit women’s basketball advanced to their first appearance in the NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen. They were also the 2022 WNIT tournament champions, defeating Seton Hall 82-50.
The Jackrabbit men’s basketball team qualified for its first NCAA Tournament in the 2012–13 season following a second-place regular season finish in the Summit League and winning the Summit League Tournament title. In 2022 the Men’s basketball team broke the Summit League and school record with 30 wins and also became the first school to run the table in conference play at 18–0. They then qualified for their 6th NCAA tournament, going a full 21-0 against conference foes. They ended their season at 30-5 (18-0).
The Jackrabbit baseball team qualified for the 2013 NCAA Tournament and traveled to Eugene, Oregon, losing the first game to eventual regional champion Oregon and then being eliminated by the University of San Francisco in a 13-inning defensive battle.
In 2018, the school had its first Division I champion wrestler with Seth Gross.
Men's sports | Women's sports |
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Baseball | Basketball |
Basketball | Cross country |
Cross country | Equestrian |
Football | Golf |
Golf | Soccer |
Swimming and diving | Softball |
Track and field† | Swimming and diving |
Wrestling | Track and field† |
Volleyball | |
† – Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor |
South Dakota State has some of the best athletic facilities in their region, The Summit League, and the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Some of the university's venues compete as some of the finest in the nation (Sanford Jackrabbit Athlete Complex and the Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium).
The Dykhouse Student Athlete Center, the home of Jackrabbit football, opened prior to the 2010 football season. The Sanford Jackrabbit Athlete Complex, a state-of-the-art indoor practice and competition facility opened October 11, 2014. It is immediately north of and attached to the Dykhouse Student Athlete Center. The SJAC has bleacher seating for up to 1,000 spectators and can be used for track practice and track meets, football practice, softball and baseball practice, and other events within the SDSU athletic department. It has been recently furbished with a state-of-the-art indoor golf practice area consisting of 4500 square feet of practice space, with slope, sand traps and simulators for rainy weather and the winter months. When completed, the 149,284-square foot facility was the largest indoor practice facility in Division I athletics and features an eight-lane, 300-meter track, one of only five collegiate indoor tracks of that size in the nation. Inside the track is an 80-yard football field plus end zones at each end. The turf in the facility is soy-based Astroturf. The SJAC has areas for sports medicine including rehab space, a training room, additional weight-training facilities, hydrotherapy, a football team room, offices and academic advising facilities. The Dykhouse Student Athlete Center is immediately north of the new stadium for Jackrabbit football, the 19,340-capacity Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, opened in the Fall of 2016. The Dykhouse Stadium was constructed for easy expansion to 22,500 and the potential for future expansion to a capacity of 40,000. Like the SJAC, the turf in the Stadium is soy-based Astroturf.
In November 2018, SDSU finished construction on a new practice facility connected to Frost Arena that contains 2 full-size practice courts for men's and women's basketball and women's volleyball.
The Frank J. Kurtenbach Family Wrestling Center opened in Fall 2022. The 16,000 sq. ft. building is on the southwest corner of the SJAC and provides practice area and locker rooms.
Frost Arena is currently undergoing a $50 million renovation that will change the name to First Bank & Trust Arena. First Bank & Trust committed the lead gift of $20 million. The arena renovation will include premium seating areas & suites, state-of-the-art video board and display systems, an enhanced sound system, a more spacious concourse, and improved restrooms. New and improved locker rooms and offices are also a part of the design for the renovated arena, which will have an estimated capacity of 5,500.
Fundraising has started for a new on-campus soccer stadium across from Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium & Artificial Turf for the Erv Huether Field & The Jackrabbit Softball Stadium.
Sport | Association | Division | Year | Opponent/Runner-up | Score |
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Football (1) | NCAA | Division I (FCS) | 2022 | North Dakota State | 45–21 |
Men's basketball (1) | NCAA | College | 1963 | Wittenberg | 44–42 |
Women's basketball (1) | NCAA | Division II | 2003 | Northern Kentucky | 65–50 |
Men's cross country (6) | NAIA (1) | Single | 1956 | Kansas State Teachers Hays | 71–68 |
NCAA (5) | College (1) | 1959 | Kansas State Teachers | 67–75 | |
Division II (4) | 1973 | Southwest Missouri State | 88–93 | ||
1985 | Edinboro | 60–108 | |||
1989 | Edinboro | 97–102 | |||
1996 | Lewis | 119–142 | |||
Women's cross country (1) | NCAA | Division II | 1981 | Cal Poly San Luis Obispo | 26–49 |
Name | Sport | Association | Division | Year | Opponent/Runner-up | School | Score |
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Seth Gross | Wrestling, 133 lbs. | NCAA | Division I | 2018 | Stevan Mićić | Michigan | 13-8 |
South Dakota State University is a public land-grant research university in Brookings, South Dakota. Founded in 1881, it is the state's largest and most comprehensive university and the oldest continually operating university in South Dakota. The university is governed by the South Dakota Board of Regents, which governs the state's six public universities and two special schools.
The North Dakota Fighting Hawks are the athletic teams that represent the University of North Dakota (UND), located in the city of Grand Forks, North Dakota. The Fighting Hawks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I level as a member of the Summit League. With 17 varsity teams, North Dakota is best known for its Ice Hockey team and American Football team. North Dakota's main rivalries are with the North Dakota State Bison and the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
Frost Arena is a 6,500-seat multi-purpose arena in Brookings, South Dakota. It was built on the east side of campus in 1973 and is home to the South Dakota State University Jackrabbits men's and women's basketball, volleyball, and wrestling teams, replacing the Gymnasium-Armory, built in 1918 and nicknamed "The Barn," which still resides on the westside of campus. Frost Arena was named after former SDSU basketball coach, Reuben B. "Jack" Frost.
The North Dakota State Bison are the athletic teams of North Dakota State University (NDSU), which is located in the city of Fargo, North Dakota. The teams are often called the "Thundering Herd". The current logo is a bison.
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The South Dakota State Jackrabbits Men's Basketball team is a basketball team that represents South Dakota State University in Brookings, South Dakota. The Jackrabbits are an NCAA Division I member and have played in the Summit League since 2007. The team has a 1535–1040–1 (.592) overall record.
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.
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The South Dakota State Jackrabbits women's basketball team is part of the athletic program at South Dakota State University in Brookings, South Dakota. The NCAA Division I team is a member of The Summit League. The Jackrabbits head coach is Aaron Johnston.
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The Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium in the north central United States, on the campus of South Dakota State University in Brookings, South Dakota. It is the home venue of the South Dakota State Jackrabbits of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The stadium was constructed in phases on the previous Coughlin-Alumni Stadium site and has a seating capacity of 19,340. The field has a traditional north-south alignment at an approximate elevation of 1,620 feet (495 m) above sea level.
The 2017 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team represented South Dakota State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by 21st-year head coach John Stiegelmeier, the Jackrabbits compiled an overall record of 11–3 with a mark of 6–2 in conference play, tying for second place 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 Northern Iowa in the second round and New Hampshire in the quarterfinals before losing to James Madison in the semifinals. The team played home games on campus at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings, South Dakota.
The 2019–20 South Dakota State Jackrabbits women's basketball represent South Dakota State University in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Jackrabbits, led by twentieth year head coach Aaron Johnston, compete in the Summit League. They play home games in Frost Arena in Brookings, South Dakota.
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 2021–22 South Dakota State Jackrabbits men's basketball team represented South Dakota State University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Jackrabbits, led by third-year head coach Eric Henderson, played their home games at Frost Arena in Brookings, South Dakota, as members of the Summit League. They finished the season 30–5, 18–0 in Summit League Play to finish as regular season champions. As the No. 1 seed, they defeated Omaha, South Dakota, and North Dakota State to win the Summit League tournament. They received the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 13 seed in the Midwest Region, where they lost in the first round to Providence.
The 2021–22 South Dakota State Jackrabbits women's basketball represented South Dakota State University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Jackrabbits, led by twenty-second year head coach Aaron Johnston, compete in the Summit League. They played their home games in Frost Arena in Brookings, South Dakota.
Baylor Scheierman is an American college basketball player for the Creighton Bluejays of the Big East Conference. He previously played for the South Dakota State Jackrabbits.