2010 Fall Rabbit Tracks

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY

RABBIT TRACKS VOLUME 15 NO. 3 \ FALL 2010

FACILITY FLASHBACK

FROST ARENA

37 YEARS AND COUNTING

Administrators, athletes, former athletes

Making A Difference Greetings to the Jackrabbit family!

We have had an extremely busy fall preparing the athletic facility master plan– studying conference affiliations, and devising plans to better market our fantastic athletic program. All of this is being done while providing first-class academic and athletic experiences for our 450-plus student-athletes.

I would like to congratulate Rod DeHaven on being named the Summit League’s men’s cross country coach of the year and the men’s cross country team for their second straight Summit League cross country conference championship. In addition, our women’s soccer team qualified for the Summit League Tournament hosted here in Brookings and volleyball qualified for the Summit League Volleyball Tournament.

We are at the end of the championship run for the fall sports and as the director of athletics, I couldn’t be more proud of the way our young men and women have competed throughout the fall.

Letterwinners Club boasts successful debut In my last Rabbit Tracks article I mentioned the newly formed SDSU Letterwinners Club. On Hobo Day 2010, we hosted the first-ever reunion for all former student-athletes.

It was a great success as young and old Jackrabbits from across the country reunited for a common cause and tradition that runs deep in our hearts. Former Jackrabbits that connected fifty-eight years of tradition and excellence came together for food, drink and another Hobo Day victory!

At halftime of the football game, SDSU Letterwinners Club President Jim Langer presented me with a check for $28,162.

Since then, we have surpassed $30,000 and are on our way to providing significant resources to help fund our athletic scholarships.

I would like to especially thank Jim for his support of this initiative. I’m not aware of any school that has a Super Bowl winner, six-time Pro-Bowler, and an NFL Hall of Fame member that is willing to take a leadership role in connecting former student-athletes with their alma mater. Like Coach Stig likes to say, Jim Langer is a true “difference maker!”

Club reaches nearly 500 in just six months My curiosity got the best of me a while ago, so I wanted to breakdown the numbers of the SDSU Letterwinners Club.

In the last six months, we recruited 475 members to the SDSU Letterwinners Club representing twenty-two different sports, thirty-one different states, and three countries. Members of the Letterwinners Club cover more than six decades of Jackrabbit pride, from 1947 all the way to 2010.

I can’t help but agree with 1970 alum and Letterwinner Jim Langer when he says, “You are the history, the heart and the soul of Jackrabbit Athletics.” I want you to know that this is your program and we want you to be a part of it any way you can.

The wins and losses, the years competed, the championships, and the accolades aren’t the only things that are important here. It’s the experience you had, the friendships that you made, and the pride you have in this Athletic Department.

Remember, “Once a Jackrabbit, Always a Jackrabbit!”

Go Big. Go Blue. Go Jacks.

JUSTIN SELL DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY

RABBIT TRACKS VOLUME 15 NO. 3 \ FALL 2010

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CONTENTS 2

THE LONGEST ROAD TRIP

Five Jackrabbit women go to Ghana to share their faith on a mission trip with Campus Crusade for Christ.

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THE DRIVE TO COMPETE

Anderson, Cornemann continue careers in different sports.

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NO PLACE LIKE HOME

Five conference tournaments are being hosted by SDSU in 2010-11.

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OUTSTANDING SENIORS

Being a Jackrabbit is all about family for senior calss.

11 ATHLETIC TRAINER’S GOAL Program grows to match expanding athletic program of a Division I school.

12 OLINGER CONNECTED TO ATHLETES The days are long and the paperwork is thick, but Barb Olinger loves being able to be associated with athletics.

15 PAINT THE FALLS BLUE

17 FACILITY FLASHBACK — A SERIES

Athletic facilities then and now, and plans for the future.

PRESIDENT David L. Chicoine DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS Justin Sell ASSISTANT ATHLETIC DIRECTOR, SPORTS INFORMATION Jason Hove SDSU SPORTS INFORMATION ASSISTANT DIRECTOR Ryan Sweeter SENIOR ASSOCIATE AD/EXTERNAL AFFAIRS Leon Costello EDITOR Andrea Kieckhefer, University Relations CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Dave Graves, Kyle Johnson, Dana Hess, University Relations DESIGNER Nina Schmidt, University Relations PHOTOGRAPHER Eric Landwehr, University Relations Athletic Department South Dakota State University Box 2820, Brookings, SD 57007 1-866-GOJACKS Fax: 605/688-5999 www.gojacks.com

ABOUT THE COVER Like they’ve been doing since the place opened, Jackrabbit students go crazy during an SDSU basketball game at Frost Arena. But much has changed at the thirty-seven-year-old facility, including the location of media row, which is now in front of the student section.

About 150 SDSU athletes visited school children and senior citizens in its second outreach to Sioux Falls.

16 TRAINING OUT WEST SDSU players learned West River culture and taught a little volleyball during its Training Out West trip.

17 FACILITY FLASHBACK: FROST ARENA Earnest planning for Frost began forty-five years ago, and the planning for its future continues today.

20 LETTERWINNERS CLUB New group draws 197 of all ages to inaugural Hobo Day social.

21 COACH SPOTLIGHT: LANG WEDEMEYER Back in the day, the soccer coach made big impressions in Virginia.

22 SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT: COKE Coca-Cola has been the “Pause that Refreshes” at State for decades.

Rabbit Tracks is produced by University Relations in cooperation with the SDSU Athletic Department at no cost to the State of South Dakota. Please notify the Athletic Department office when you change your address.

1450 copies printed by the SDSU Athletic Department at no cost to the State of South Dakota. PE069 11/10

22 DONOR SPOTLIGHT: CASEY HILLMAN The ’02 graduate walked more than 400 miles to raise scholarship money.

MISSION TRIP TO GHANA

The Longest Road Trip Teammates take memorable mission trip to Ghana ach of their suitcases were packed to the fifty-pound limit and passports were in hand when five members of the SDSU women’s basketball team embarked on the road trip of their lifetime—flying nonstop for twelve hours to the West African nation of Ghana.

They were part of an eleven-person mission trip organized through Campus Crusade for Christ.

Jill Young, a junior on the SDSU Women’s Basketball team, initiated the plan and was joined by teammates Kristin Rotert, Steph Paluch, Ashley Eide, and Alison Anderson, who completed her basketball eligibility in spring 2010. The trip was open to all on the team.

“Some couldn’t commit to it for financial issues or time,” Rotert explains in a group interview after the August trip.

Finances and time were significant hurdles. Each person had to raise $3,000 and the twelve-day trip landed during one of the few times a college basketball player doesn’t have obligations as most take summer classes to lighten winter’s academic demand.

The finances came largely from friends and family, though a couple car washes did raise slightly more THE GHANA ROSTER than $1,000.

Joining the Jackrabbit players were Jill Young, junior, Mitchell Annie Roach, a University of South Kristin Rotert, senior, Salem Dakota player; Ashley Tuschen, an Steph Paluch, sophomore, Pierre SDSU student manager; Amy Tau, a Ashley Eide, sophomore, Sioux Falls former SDSU student manager; Lisa Alison Anderson, 2009-10 senior, Young, a Sioux Falls Christian teacher New Richland, Minnesota and the sister-in-law of Jill; and two men from Sioux Falls connected with Annie Roche, USD player, Vermillion Campus Crusade for Christ.

Aimee Tau, SDSU student manager

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TOP: Basketball player Jill Young holds Kakew while in a Ghana village to show the Jesus film. MIDDLE: Kristin Rotert hands out silly bands for children at a Ghana orphanage to wear on their wrists. BOTTOM: Gima from a Ghana orphanage holds up his Ty Beanie Baby that was given to all the children at the orphanage.

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Ashley Tuschen, former SDSU student manager Lisa Young, Sioux Falls Christian teacher, sister-in-law of Jill Young Rick Pridey, field director, Campus Crusade for Christ, Sioux Falls Greg Dirnberger, worship pastor, Faith Baptist Fellowship, Sioux Falls

FROM LEFT: Jill Young, Ashley Eide, Steph Paluch, and Kristin Rotert pose on the canopy walk at Kakum National Park (nine stories up) in Ghana, West Africa.

Spirituality and camaraderie “My purpose was to go over there and share my faith and help people who were in need,” says Jill Young.

Rotert adds, “That’s why we all went. It’s kind of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

A few years ago Young and Rotert had each separately gone on a foreign mission trip, but it was a first-time experience for Paluch, Eide, and Anderson as well as the other women.

The chance to do it as an unofficial team activity made this mission trip all the more memorable, the women say.

“Our faith is something that holds us all together, so to do something like this was special,” Young says. She attended Mitchell Christian from kindergarten through twelfth grade, so South Dakota State was her first experience in a secular institution.

But she found a Christian culture. “On our team there’s just so many girls that have that faith,” she says.

Anderson attended Mass with her family while being raised in New Richland, Minnesota. While statistics show many fall away from church while in college, Anderson says, “I got much stronger in my faith after coming to college and being surrounded by such godly women” on the team.

Leaving the comfort zone Eide called the trip to Ghana an opportunity to “grow in my own faith and get out of my comfort zone.”

Comfort disappeared during the twelvehour flight from Atlanta to Accra, the capital of Ghana. It didn’t return upon arriving in a tropical land that lacked air conditioning and had the odors associated with a densely populated Third-World Country.

They did find that English was widely spoken, even if the African accent was thick, Rotert recalls.

Religion in Ghana Statistics show that 62 percent of the population identifies itself as Christian with most of them in the southern part of the country. Campus Crusade has a presence in

“NOT EVERYWHERE IS AS WELL OFF AS WE ARE IN THE UNITED STATES YET THEY ARE POSSIBLY EVEN MORE THANKFUL.” ALISON ANDERSON Accra. “It’s a really religious country. More than I’ve seen,” Young says.

Evidence of the Christian faith can be seen in the commercial sector, where they noticed the Holy Spirit Mechanic Shop.

Young observes, “A lot of people saw [Christianity] as a religion you had to work

at rather than a relationship” with Jesus Christ. In sharing that principal, the women used the Four Spiritual Laws booklet to witness to students in dorms at the University of Ghana.

What brings you here?

They found a receptive people. In fact, a Muslim girl befriended them and directed them around her dorm.

Paluch notes, “I’d say it was easier to share with people you’d never meet again.

There religion is more public. They’re open to talk about it [and ask why a group of white girls are on their campus]. Here you have to get to know people.” >> FALL 2010

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MISSION TRIP TO GHANA

The curiosity factor provided an opportunity to state their purpose: to share the gospel, Paluch says.

Five days were spent sharing the gospel on campus. Eide notes, “If you would go door to door here, people wouldn’t want to talk to you. There they would talk to you a couple hours.” Part of that relates to interest in religion. Part is attributed to Ghanians leading a laidback lifestyle.

“In Africa, you get there when you get there. They don’t have any clocks or watches anywhere,” Eide observes.

Besides sharing the gospel in personal settings, the group held an American Life party, showed the Jesus film, and put on a couple basketball clinics. During intermission, players shared their Christian testimony and found followers.

Rotert says that based on comment cards a total of 147 people made a commitment to Christ as Savior.

Faces of poverty During their time in Ghana the women saw the “best and worst” of the nation, she says.

There were the university students in a modern city with Facebook applications on their cellular phones. And there was the handicapped man who dragged himself through the slum on his calloused elbows.

At a basketball clinic, children showed up without pants or shoes, wearing only ripped and dirty shirts.

Anderson says her first encounter with Third-World poverty “gave me a better outlook on how things are at other places of the world. Not everywhere is as well off as we are in the United States yet they are possibly even more thankful than we are.

“Now I try not to take little things for granted, like being able to flush your toilet paper down the toilet.”

Paluch says the trip made her “more passionate about my faith, sharing it, not being bashful, and being more persistent in my prayers and reading.” Having teammates willing to hold her accountable in those areas is another blessing, she says.

Upon returning home, Young says, “I’m having more open eyes to the needs of people, whether in our community or another part of the world.”

The women returned home with a sense of being a dutiful servant, not only sharing

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TOP: The Campus Crusade for Christ group poses with children from a Cape Coast, Ghana, orphanage with all of the children wearing soccer jerseys that were donated from Sioux Falls Soccer Association. BOTTOM: Both teams pose after playing a pickup basketball game at the University of Ghana in Accra. There are only two indoor courts in Ghana.

the gospel but also sharing their possessions.

One of the two fifty-pound suitcases that each participant carried contained giveaway clothes, balls, and school supplies.

Among the items were some Jackrabbit jerseys, “so we have some Jacks fans in Ghana,” Young says.

DAVE GRAVES

EDITOR’S NOTE: The players were permitted to blog about their trip on the SDSU Athletics Web site. Those entries have been archived and can be accessed at gojacks.com/BlogsArchives.dbml.

LIFE AFTER BASKETBALL

THE DRIVE TO COMPETE Anderson, Cornemann continue careers in different sports ne describes it as having an addiction to sports, while the other says it’s a matter of staying active.

Whatever the case, the drive to compete kept the title “student-athlete” attached to seniors Alison Anderson and Ketty Cornemann when their basketball eligibility came to an end last season.

Discarding their basketball uniforms, Anderson joined the SDSU cross-country and track programs, and Cornemann remained on the hardcourt, only this time with the Jackrabbit volleyball team.

So, what gives?

“Running has always been a hobby of mine and competing at the collegiate level is something I have always wanted to pursue,” explains Anderson, a New Richland, Minnesota, native majoring in health, physical education, and recreation.

Cornemann, a Yankton product also seeking a health, physical education, and recreation degree, points out, “I love everything about sports. Through sports, I have developed friendships, discipline, teamwork, motivation, and a competitive spirit.”

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Expanding running prowess Cross-country gave Anderson a different kind of running experience, and unlike the sprinting nature of basketball, she ran multiple miles a day.

Conversely, being in track allowed her to use the running style she was accustomed to in basketball. So, when joining the track team, being a sprinter was on her mind.

However, two weeks into training, Coach Rod DeHaven had other ideas and suggested she run the 800 in her first collegiate meet.

“My initial thoughts were, ‘He is joking, absolutely not, that is way too far!’” recalls Anderson who then grew to enjoy long distances.

LEFT: Ketty Cornemann RIGHT: Alison Anderson

“I DO HAVE A STRONG DESIRE TO JOIN THE THROWERS. IN HIGH SCHOOL I HAD A STRONG PASSION FOR DISCUS AND MY THROWING SHOES ARE STILL IN PRETTY GOOD SHAPE, SO YOU JUST MIGHT SEE ME IN A THROWING RING THIS SPRING.” KETTY CORNEMANN “Four months later he had me running 6,000 meters in cross-country meets.”

The transition between basketball and cross-country/track was good and everyone offered words of encouragement. It was all very helpful, according to Anderson, who relates her biggest change occurred during the summer.

“I was no longer on campus taking classes and working out with my teammates every day,” she says, referring to her time in basketball. “I was at home working and trying to find anyone who wanted to run or bike with me.

“Even so, my teammates have been great on both teams,” adds Anderson. “I have made many wonderful relationships that I’m very thankful for.”

Opportunities not wasted With student-athletes having ten semesters to complete their NCAA eligibility,

Cornemann could not pass up the chance to play a season of volleyball.

A week after basketball ended, her volleyball career began. She was able to practice and compete with the team during the spring, which was a much-needed transition time for her body to adjust to a different sport.

“I was a little rusty,” admits Cornemann.

“Right away I could tell I was using muscles that hadn’t been used in four years. The transition from dribbling, passing, and shooting to attacking, blocking, and passing took some time, but I eventually made the adjustment.

“Any sport at the collegiate level is going to be demanding in its own way,” she adds.

“Being in basketball shape doesn’t mean you’re in volleyball shape and vise versa.”

For Anderson and Cornemann, it’s simply a matter of taking advantage of the years of competition they are allowed.

“Like I often tell people, it’s not like I can come back in two, three, and four years and play volleyball for the Jacks,” points out Cornemann. “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I wasn’t going to let it pass me by.”

Don’t be surprised to see Cornemann in a third Jackrabbit sport when the outdoor track and field season unfolds.

“I do have a strong desire to join the throwers,” she relates.

KYLE JOHNSON

FALL 2010

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TOURNAMENTS AT SDSU

There’s No Place Like Home Success, reputation bring league tournaments to SDSU, Sioux Falls

eing selected to serve as the host school for conference tournaments is mainly due to two things: Success of student-athletes on the playing surface and reputation of Athletic Department putting on a first-class event.

“I think we’ve proven to the conference and the other schools that we can do it right,” says SDSU Assistant Athletic Director-Ticket Operations Christi Williams. “Hosting any athletic event poses fun challenges, but certainly when it has to do with post season there is extra excitement surrounding it.”

Having joined the Summit League just three years ago, SDSU has the unique opportunity of being the host school for Summit League championships in basketball, baseball, and track and field during the 2010-2011 school year.

The fourth Jackrabbit sport to hold a league tournament was women’s soccer, held November 5-7 at Fishback Soccer Park in Brookings.

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enjoy playing in, whether it’s our studentathletes or student-athletes from around the conference.”

Other sites may host Regular-season Summit League champions automatically earn the right to host the following year’s league tournament; if teams tie for first, the champion is determined on head-to-head competition.

That’s what happened to SDSU’s soccer team, which shared the league crown in 2009 at 7-2 with North Dakota State and Indiana University-Purdue University of Indianapolis (IUPUI).

A different twist awaits the Jackrabbit baseball team, which also tied for a 2009 Summit League crown, going 19-9 in the league with Oral Roberts. SDSU tied a single-season school record for wins with a 39-21 slate.

SDSU is scheduled to host the 2011 Summit League Tournament in May. However, the new Erv Huether Field

CHAMPIONSHIP CALENDAR SOCCER | November 5-7 | Fishback Soccer Complex, Brookings M/W BASKETBALL | March 5, 7-8 | Sioux Falls Arena TRACK & FIELD | May 13-14 | University of Sioux Falls* BASEBALL | May 26-28 | TBD Sioux Falls or Brookings *tentative location

“It’s very gratifying,” says Senior Associate Athletic Director-Internal Affairs Rob Peterson, referring to SDSU hosting four league tournaments.

“Because of all the hard work we did on the front end preparing for these events, plus becoming a good, strong member of the conference, we are seeing the results of that right now.”

Williams observes, “In South Dakota, we have shown that we can provide the type of environment that student-athletes

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that opened April 2008, isn’t entirely finished, with a grandstand, permanent press box, and storage facilities still to come.

As a result, the Athletic Department has been working with the Sioux Falls Pheasants and the Sioux Falls Sports

Authority about holding the tournament at Sioux Falls Stadium.

“Our goal is to host it here, but with our facilities not being where we want them to be, making a commitment is a little challenging,” says Peterson. “We are exploring our options.”

SDSU won the right to host the Summit League track and field meet through a bid process.

However, with the Brookings Marathon taking place during the same weekend in May, which reduces the availability of hotel

BASKETBALL TICKETS

ON SALE All-session reserved tickets for the Summit League Basketball Tournament are $99 and $82.50 for general admission. The tournament is March 5, 7-8 at the Sioux Falls Arena, which has a seating capacity of 6,300.

Reserved and general admission tickets for all sessions available at Ticketmaster outlets by calling 800-745-3000 or Ticketmaster.com.

rooms in Brookings, the Athletic Department has been looking at the University of Sioux Falls.

“They have a brand-new track with all the specialty areas that we need, like a hard-surface runway for the javelin throw, so we are in negotiations with the Sioux Falls Sports Authority about hosting the event at the University of Sioux Falls,” says Peterson.

Volunteers are key The Sioux Falls Sports Authority, in conjunction with SDSU, will bring NCAA Division I basketball to South Dakota for the third consecutive year when Sioux Falls hosts the Summit League Men’s and

Women’s Tournament in March at the Sioux Falls Arena.

Sioux Falls also secured the bid to hold the Summit League Tournament in 2012.

Last year, the Jackrabbit women earned their second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament with a 79-75 overtime victory over top-seeded Oral Roberts in the title game of the Summit League championship.

For a conference tournament to be a smooth-running operation, it takes lots of people.

Once the Summit League Basketball Tournament is under way, more than 200 people work behind the scenes, including arena workers, sports authority personnel, conference officials, hotel and food service people, marketing representatives, university employees, and volunteers.

This, of course, doesn’t include about 400 athletes, coaches, and team official party personnel.

“We provide volunteers for table workers and some of the equipment,” notes Peterson. “The Sports Authority does a great job coordinating the tournament and making it the success that it is today.”

Whether in Sioux Falls or Brookings, volunteer help come tournament time is crucial, according to Peterson and Williams.

“We have lots of good people in the community and in Sioux Falls who come up and say ‘I want to be a part of it, how can I help?’” says Peterson. “For basketball, the Sports Authority actually has it on their Web site [sfsportsauthority.com/summit) where you can register to be a volunteer.”

Williams agrees, adding, “We have great people working for us during the whole season. It’s just a matter of getting those people scheduled in advance and having them put the dates of the tournament on their calendar.”

KYLE JOHNSON

FALL 2010

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OUTSTANDING SENIORS

Being a Jackrabbit is all about family for senior class

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n the inside front cover of the 2010 SDSU football media guide are remarks made by the senior class on what it means to be a Jackrabbit.

It’s apparent they spoke from the heart—there was no reading between the lines here: “To be a Jackrabbit means to completely and unselfishly invest yourself in a family.”

“Being a Jackrabbit is about being part of an organization much greater than oneself.”

“To be a Jackrabbit has been the biggest honor of my life up to this point.”

“Being a Jackrabbit means playing for the heart and soul of South Dakota.”

“Being a Jackrabbit means hard work, dedication, success in academics and athletics.”

One-by-one the accolades continued from the twenty seniors—the largest group of seniors in recent memory.

The contingent has been key to a winning tradition during their time donning the yellow and blue. Heading into the 2010 season, the seniors owned a three-year record of twenty-two wins and thirteen losses. However, when it mattered the most, their conference record showed seventeen wins in twenty games for an .850 winning percentage.

Honors, success for program The Jacks have excelled both in the classroom and on the playing field. Prior to 2010, the Jacks had five consecutive seasons of having the most all-academic selections in their conference.

Kyle Minett and Conrad Kjerstad were recognized on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Team within the University Division as juniors.

Jacob Ludemann, a sixth-year senior, blocks for Thomas O’Brien, who receives the snap out of the shotgun formation.

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Minett was honored on the first team for the second straight year with a 3.60 grade point average majoring in business economics.

“For some of the tougher majors, it can be quite challenging,” says Minett, when asked about balancing academics and football. “Our coaches set you up for success.

“You just have to use the tools they give you to succeed both athletically and academically.”

Kjerstad, a defensive back, earned second-team honors with a 3.93 grade point average majoring in agricultural business.

He was also named to the 12th annual Football Championship Subdivision Athletic Directors Association Academic All-Star Team.

Named a semifinalist for the prestigious William V. Campbell Trophy, which is awarded to a top football scholar-athlete by the National Football Foundation,

2010 SENIORS Photo at left, top row(s): COACH STIEGELMEIER, Selby, SD JUSTIN MITCHELL, Saukville, WI Wide Receiver, 6’1”/200 lbs.

CONRAD KJERSTAD, Wall, SD Defensive Back, 6’0”/195 lbs.

MAO LEFITI, Koneoham, HI Defensive Line, 6’4”/225 lbs.

RYAN MCKNIGHT, Sioux Falls, SD Offensive Line, 6’1”/295 lbs.

JACOB LUDEMANN, Norfolk, NE Offensive Line, 6’6”/315 lbs.

DEAN PRIDDY, Eden Prairie, MN Punter, 6’2”/210 lbs.

Kjerstad was sidelined for the entire 2010 season due to a neck condition.

Minett and Kjerstad were joined on the ESPN academic team by punter Dean Priddy, who is pursuing a master’s degree in mathematics after compiling a 3.71 grade point average as an undergraduate.

“I THINK IT’S AWESOME HOW GUYS FROM DIFFERENT AREAS CAN COME TOGETHER AND BECOME A FAMILY LIKE WE HAVE.” SENIOR PUNTER, DEAN PRIDDY “Our coaches always say you are a student before you are a student-athlete,” says Priddy. “The coaching staff puts a lot of emphasis on academics, with study tables and tutors, making sure we all get enough studying time in.”

Priddy has handled the punting duties each of the last four seasons. In 2009, he ranked second in the league with an average of 41.2 yards per punt.

Minett, Priddy, and Tyler Duffy were named to the ESPN Academic All-District VII team when the 2010 season was underway, which advances them to the national ballot for academic all-America consideration.

Duffy, Kjerstad, and Minett were firstteam choices on the 2009 Missouri Valley Football Conference All-Academic Team.

Duffy earned the spot with a perfect 4.0 grade point average majoring in electrical engineering.

Relationships priceless On the field, Kjerstad and Minett were second-team all-conference picks. Named to the Associated Press Football Championship Subdivision second-team, Minett entered 2010 with 3,069 career yards rushing—only 674 yards from second all-time.

“It’s been a terrific experience here at SDSU, and I attribute a lot of the team’s success and my own success to my teammates, the offensive line, tight ends, quarterbacks, and wide receivers,” observes Minett, who was on the preseason watch list for the Walter Payton Award. “SDSU is just a great place to go to school and play college football. The relationships you build with your teammates are really priceless.”

Defensively, Derek Domino earned first-team all-conference honors as a junior after pacing SDSU with 100 tackles and sharing the team lead with five interceptions from his linebacker position. He was a two-time honoree on the conference honor roll for academics.

Cole Brodie returned as a starting cornerback for the third straight season.

A key contributor on special teams, he received the team’s Adam Vinatieri Award as the most valuable player on special teams last year. >>

COLIN COCHART, Kewaunee, WI Tight End, 6’4”/255 lbs.

BRIAN FISCHER, Ashton, IA Defensive Line, 6’3”/255 lbs.

ALEX BEYER, Neenah, WI Tight End, 6’3”/250 lbs.

ANTONIO THOMPSON, Sioux Falls, SD Defensive Line, 6’3”/265 lbs.

ROSS BASHAM, Bridgeport, TX Defensive Line, 6’1”/270 lbs.

DEREK DOMINO, Spring Park Lake, MN Linebacker, 6’3”/225 lbs.

Front row: GENERAL PARNELL, San Bernardino, CA Defensive Back, 5’9”/190 lbs.

TYLER DUFFY, Brookings, SD Running Back, 5’10”/210 lbs.

MATT HYLLAND, Sioux Falls, SD Wide Receiver, 5’10”/190 lbs.

KYLE MINETT, Ruthton, MN Running Back, 5’10”/215 lbs.

COLE BRODIE, Dacula, GA Defensive Back, 5’10”/190 lbs.

COREY JESKE, Buffalo, MN Defensive Back, 6’0”/200 lbs.

Not pictured: PETER REIFENRATH, Decorah, IA Kicker, 5’11”/195 lbs.

KYLE SHEEHAN, Grayson, GA Tight End, 6’2”/255 lbs.

FALL 2010

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A passion to play Jackrabbits also persevere, something that can be drawn from another “What it means to be a Jackrabbit” quotation: “Being a Jackrabbit means overcoming adversity and doing the best you can with what you’ve got, because there are no excuses in the end. Make a difference.”

A case in point, Jacob Ludemann, a 6-foot-6, 315-pound offensive guard.

Regarded as one of the top offensive line

recruits in the 2005 class, Ludemann knows a little something about battling through hard times.

He was injured in an automobile accident prior to enrolling at SDSU. Not to be deterred, he worked his way onto the field in 2008 playing in four games, followed by ten games last year. In 2010, he was the team’s starting left offensive guard.

“You look at the guys on this team and they are some of the greatest guys I’ll ever meet,” says Ludemann. “It’s been that way ever since I’ve been here, so leaving that

kind of atmosphere was never a question for me.

“Football is what helped push me hard in school and that’s the reason I feel, because of these coaches, that I have the grades I do,” he adds. “I attribute a lot of the person I am today to Coach (Luke) Meadows and Coach (John) Stiegelmeier.”

Seniors are looked up to as elder statesmen who lead by example. When the going gets tough, they are the leaders, the ones who are expected to get the job done.

“It’s really important to set a good example for the younger guys to get them more comfortable, especially the freshman, on what it’s like to transition from high school to a college athlete,” says Brodie.

“When things go wrong, the seniors are the ones who people look up to and we are the ones who are held accountable.”

Ludemann, agrees, adding, “There is a lot expected of us seniors. Our goal is to get them ready for football and college as quick as possible. The faster we get them used to playing and ready at our level, the better it is for the team, which gives us a lot of responsibility.”

A family affair

TOP: Senior Kyle Minett finds running room against the Huskers. Creating the hole are Seth Daughters (87) and Jon Fick (67). BELOW: Jacob Ludemann (facing camera) fires up fellow linemen in the September 25 game at Nebraska.

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Looking back on his career, as the countdown to graduation inches closer, Brodie says his most memorable moment was not on the field, but when he sat with pride with his teammates watching the 2009 playoff selection show.

“There was about ten minutes before the show came on and I just looked around and it was a really good feeling that 100some teams were no longer playing and we were one of the sixteen teams still able to play,” he says. “That will always stick in my mind and be very special to me.”

When the school year ends, the camaraderie the seniors enjoyed will wind down as well, but that doesn’t mean it’s gone forever, a fact Priddy brought up when recalling a comment made by a past senior.

“He said anywhere you go throughout the entire country, you will be able to know somebody in the area and visit or if you are in some kind of trouble, you will have a place to stay,” he says. “I think it’s awesome how guys from different areas can come together and become a family like we have.

“I just feel blessed to be a Jackrabbit,” adds Priddy. “It just feels good to be part of a special program.”

KYLE JOHNSON

ATHLETIC TRAINING

Changes don’t alter athletic trainer’s goal: THE BEST CARE FOR STUDENTATHLETES oday’s college athletes train all year long. It’s part of Owen Stanley’s job to ensure that athletic trainers are with the student-athletes every step of the way to keep them competing at optimum levels.

“Every sport is going year-round,” Stanley says. “There’s no off-season.”

Just as intercollegiate sports are changing, so is the Sports Medicine Department.

Stanley joined SDSU in July 2009 as the University was transitioning to Division I athletics. It was the program’s past, however, that sparked Stanley’s interest in the position of head athletic trainer.

“Dr. Booher built a great program for forty plus years,” Stanley says of his predecessor Jim Booher. “That was a big attraction.”

Stanley was also eager to once again work with Justin Sell after having served with him at the University of Northern Iowa. Changes internally at SDSU, which would serve to grow athletic training both academically and athletically, also intrigued Stanley.

The shifting sports landscape led to changes large and small. Stanley’s title changed to director of sports medicine, a title more in keeping with the organization of a Division I program. The size of the staff expanded as well.

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A growing staff Athletic training that used to be handled by Booher and five assistants has expanded to Stanley, four assistant athletic trainers, and six graduate students.

“They understood the expansion that we needed,” Stanley says.

Still, with twenty-one varsity sports and more than 500 student-athletes, there are bound to be some scheduling conflicts.

“We’d love to grow a little more in personnel,” Stanley says.

During his time at SDSU, Stanley has worked to expand the program’s outreach into the medical community in Brookings and Sioux Falls. In addition to physicians, he has recruited care from dentists and chiropractors.

“We want student-athletes to have the best chance at full participation and full recovery from any injury,” Stanley says.

Long hours offset by passion for job To ensure that student-athletes get the care they require, Stanley and his staff put in long hours. The athletic training room is normally staffed from 5:45 a.m. to 7 p.m. Athletic trainers must also be on hand when their assigned teams are practicing, lifting, or competing. That means working nights and weekends and traveling with the team to away matches.

According to Stanley, it’s not uncommon for an athletic trainer to get off the team bus at 3 a.m. and return to work at the athletic training room at 7 a.m. that same morning.

“You have to have a real passion for what we do,” Stanley says. “We love athletics. We love taking care of athletes and seeing them participate at the highest level.”

Treatment by a receptive listener The biggest reward for athletic trainers is having student-athletes recognize the worth of the care they’ve received.

“By the time they’re juniors and seniors, they get a good feel for how you’ve been a big part of their collegiate career,” Stanley says, noting that as much as athletic trainers like to get to know the athletes, there is a catch. “When they deal with a particular

athlete a lot, then that usually means that the athlete is hurt.”

That time on the training table offers more than just expert care.

Owen Stanley While Stanley and his staff are working, they’re also listening.

“This is a safe haven,” Stanley says of the athletic training room. “We don’t judge. We listen. That, at times will help the studentathlete just as much as anything.”

OWEN STANLEY FAMILY: Wife, Erin, married in May 2010 HOMETOWN: Macungie, Pennsylvania EDUCATION: BS in athletic training, West Chester University of Pennsylvania, 2002; MS in kinesiology and health promotion, University of Kentucky, 2005. At Kentucky, served as graduate assistant athletic trainer for the Wildcats’ football and baseball teams.

CAREER: 2005, assistant director of athletic training services and head football athletic trainer, University of Northern Iowa. 2007, assistant athletic trainer, Kansas City Chiefs.

2009, director of sports medicine, SDSU.

Plans for the future Currently, the Sports Medicine Department is trying to grow, not just within the University, but also regionally and nationally.

“We are working toward a common goal of being a regionally and nationally recognized program,” Stanley says.

DANA HESS

FALL 2010

11

BEHIND THE SCENES

Olinger happy her role as athletic trainer keeps her connected to athletics eing an athletic trainer is more than taping ankles and knowing the best kind of ointment to use. It’s also giving advice about nutrition, assessing injuries, and caring for injuries until an athlete can return to the playing field.

And, oddly enough, it’s also about filling out insurance forms and being a good listener.

All that and more is on Barb Olinger’s plate as she enters her third year as an assistant athletic trainer.

The rural Colton native has a ready smile, but it fades fast when she’s asked about her role as the athletic trainer assigned to make sure insurance forms are filled out correctly.

“There’s a lot of paperwork with insurance,” Olinger says, noting that some of the burden has been lifted from her by having a member of the secretarial staff help with filling out the forms. “I’ll advise her on some of the harder cases.”

Olinger explains that each student-athlete is required to have a health insurance policy.

Most of them have coverage through their parents with a few buying their own policies.

The University provides what’s called excess coverage. If a student-athlete is injured during play, anything the primary insurer doesn’t pay for will be covered by SDSU’s policy.

“The University pays as long as they go through us for care,” Olinger says.

Athletic trainers are also bound by the privacy policies spelled out in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, otherwise known as HIPPA. While the athletic trainers deal directly with student-athletes, they also communicate with coaches, parents, and doctors.

Throughout the process, it’s important to respect the student-athlete’s privacy.

“They have consent over which individuals they release their medical information to,” Olinger says.

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Different sports, different injuries The injuries noted in that medical information can span a variety of categories.

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RABBIT TRACKS

As the athletic trainer for the equestrian and soccer teams, Olinger is accustomed to facing diverse challenges in the athletic training room.

The riders on the equestrian team are subject to knee, hip, and back injuries.

“You have to hold on with all those muscles,” Olinger says.

“You have to move with the horse and absorb the shock it gives you.”

The soccer team is a different story, with the most common injuries involving knee and ankle injuries.

“They’re basically playing football without pads,” Olinger says.

“They suffer a lot of concussions as well.”

“THEY RESPECT US ON A DIFFERENT LEVEL THAN THEY DO WITH A COACH. THEY RESPECT US, BUT THEY ALSO TRUST US. THAT’S VERY IMPORTANT TO WHAT WE DO SO THEY’LL BE OPEN AND HONEST ABOUT AN INJURY.” ASSISTANT ATHLETIC TRAINER BARB OLINGER

Traveling, taping, and time demands Olinger travels with the soccer team and also covers its home games and practices. She covers home meets for the equestrian team. When that team travels, the host school’s athletic trainer will serve them as well. Likewise, at home equestrian meets Olinger is the athletic trainer for the SDSU squad as well as the visiting team.

Working with student-athletes and providing service at their events results in hours that Olinger characterizes as crazy. On the day she was interviewed for this story, with no soccer or equestrian events scheduled, she was in the office at 5:45 a.m. and estimated that she wouldn’t leave for the day until 7 p.m.

“I wouldn’t put in the long hours if I didn’t enjoy it,” Olinger says, admitting, however, that time management can be vexing.

“The challenge is finding enough time, saying no, or delegating.

There’s a lot to do. It takes organization and management to make time for everyone.”

One person she wants to make time for is her husband Brian, a fellow assistant athletic trainer. Circumstances, however, have conspired to keep them apart.

“I have a fall sport; he has a spring sport,” Olinger says. In the fall Olinger is busy with soccer. In the spring her husband deals with the baseball team’s marathon travel schedule.

‘A unique relationship’ Through all the paperwork, the athletic training room sessions, and the travel, Olinger makes sure to stay focused on the studentathletes in her care.

“We have a unique relationship with the student-athlete,” Olinger says.

An honest relationship with the student-athletes is important.

A student-athlete who trusts an athletic trainer is more likely to be honest about injuries.

“They respect us on a different level than they do with a coach,” Olinger explains. “They respect us, but they also trust us. That’s very important to what we do so they’ll be open and honest about an injury.”

ABOVE: Athletic Trainer Barb Olinger escorts Stephanie Berube off the field after she was shaken up in an October 10 soccer match against Western Illinois at Fishback Soccer Complex in Brookings. LEFT: Olinger stretches Steph Peterson.

That respect and honesty creates an atmosphere in which student-athletes can feel comfortable seeking some informal advice or just sounding off about their problems.

“It’s not a formal type of counseling,” Olinger says. “We’re that first step. We can help talk them through it or we can get them to the right person. We help with a lot of little concerns.”

For Olinger, one of her big concerns was getting a chance to stay in athletics. She played softball for two years at Mount Marty, enjoying the camaraderie and atmosphere.

She found a way to stay in athletics at SDSU, graduating in 2004 with a degree in athletic training and in 2008 with a master’s in sports science. Before joining the staff at her alma mater, she worked as an athletic trainer at Benefis Hospital in Great Falls, Montana.

“I wanted to stay around athletics as long as I could,” Olinger says, explaining that her degrees were “a way to tie it all together.”

DANA HESS

FALL 2010

13

PAINT THE FALLS BLUE

GO JACKS!

Studentathletes mingle in Sioux Falls during 2nd annual Paint the Falls Blue efore kicking off the 2010-11 academic year, student-athletes did some spirit raising in Sioux Falls August 25 during their second annual Paint the Falls Blue.

Whether it was playing cards with nursing home residents, talking about goals to elementary students, or chatting with people at the free, public Falls Park picnic, the student-athletes did themselves proud in giving the Sioux Falls community an up close and personal view of the men and women who wear the blue and yellow.

Other than the men’s basketball team, which was in Canada, and the women’s volleyball team, which was preparing for its own spirit-raising trip out west, the 150 or so student-athletes who took part in Paint the Falls Blue represented nearly all Jackrabbit sports.

They visited schools, nursing homes, and hospitals, doing whatever each facility requested of them.

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ABOVE: Wrestlers Cody Pack, left, and Nick Mart play cards at Good Samaritan Society during Paint the Falls Blue. TOP: Soccer player Christa Nyblom reads to third-graders at Harvey Dunn Elementary School in Sioux Falls.

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RABBIT TRACKS

“WE TRIED TO EMPHASIZE SCHOOL IN EVERYTHING WE TALKED ABOUT, THAT WE WERE STUDENTATHLETES, NOT JUST ATHLETES.” MARK SANDAGER, SWIMMER, SENIOR AG EDUCATION MAJOR “My group went to a school for children with behavioral disorders,” says Laurie Melum, assistant athletic director for academics.

“We went to their PE class, did music, art, and helped with math. That was really neat for them to have outside people come in to give them attention and work with them.

Our students were role models for them.”

Swimmer Mark Sandager, a senior ag education major from Scandia, Minnesota, visited an elementary school, where his group read to third graders and talked about goals with fourth graders.

“It was interesting,” Sandager says. “We got to see what was going on in the life of a third grader. They seemed interested in goals and achieving standards. They were pretty inquisitive about how we got where we were.

“They were wondering what we were like in fourth grade. I told them I was in the same shoes they are. I played sports when I was younger.

“We did try to emphasize school in everything we talked about, that we were student-athletes, not just athletes.”

Groups of student-athletes covered some twelve schools, beginning at 9:30 a.m. and ending in time to head for Falls Park for the picnic.

In the afternoon, they visited a variety of nursing/retirement homes, playing bingo, making a special appearance at a resident’s birthday party, and even having a go at wheelchair volleyball.

“That was at the Good Samaritan Society Village,” Melum says. “They play with a big beach ball. It’s quite a riot. It’s a big deal there. They go around to other facilities and play other teams. They’re quite competitive.”

The day ended with a football scrimmage at Howard Wood Field, also free and open to the public.

“We do things in Brookings throughout the year,” Melum says. “We have a lot of SDSU people in Sioux Falls. It’s a big part of our territory and a big part of our fan base.

This day is really just a chance to give back and do what we can to help the community.

“It’s a lot of work but we really enjoy it.

The student-athletes have a good time, and they do good with it.”

CINDY RICKEMAN

TRAINING OUT WEST

TRAINING OUT WEST Volleyball team heads for the hills eventeen volleyball players in two vans logged 1,800 miles and thousands of smiles during their Training Out West trip August 19 through 22.

Besides training, they spread Jackrabbit fever and sampled a bit of West River culture all along the way.

“We don’t just represent East River, we represent all of South Dakota—West River and all the places we visited,” says team cocaptain Ellyce Youngren of Brookings and a junior advertising major. “Seeing every aspect of South Dakota helps us know exactly what we represent.”

The Jackrabbits conducted a youth volleyball clinic for the Rosebud Indian Reservation at White River high school.

They held a practice at Red Cloud High School on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation followed by a community dinner.

They visited the STAR (State Treatment And Rehabilitation) Academy in Custer for children who have been placed in the custody of the Department of Corrections by the court system.

Their visit culminated with an SDSU/Rapid City alumni luncheon followed by an intrasquad scrimmage at Rapid City Stevens High School.

“Everyone was very supportive, welcoming us into their community,” Youngren says.

“One of the tribes made us Indian tacos out of fry bread, one of their native dishes. The students made it themselves.”

The team also took part in the third annual Kevin Morsching Memorial Run near Rapid City. Morsching died in an accident in 2007, while he was a pitcher for the Jackrabbit baseball team and dating an SDSU volleyball player.

“We were fortunate to participate and give support to the Morsching family. It was a meaningful event in which the team was completely committed to as a friend and Jackrabbit family member. I can’t thank each individual enough for their help in making

S

this trip possible,” says Coach Nanabah Allison-Brewer, a Navajo, and one of the very few Native American athletes to play and coach at the NCAA Division I level.

This was her first trip West River.

“Several other athletic teams have taken trips off-season or preseason, but this was our first,” she says. “It was wonderful to see the beauty of South Dakota in its entirety, from east to west.

“The team found a connection with the state, with alumni, and by interacting with different organizations along the way.

It was good for the girls to see how they are role models.”

Allison-Brewer has received thank-you notes from people who appreciated the team’s visit. One writer thanked her for bringing “this outstanding group of young women” who obviously have a “bright future” ahead of them.

“People shook our hand,” Allison-Brewer says. “We got many compliments and comments that they were glad we came.

“We represented our mission as an Athletic Department of creating lifelong champions. Youth from middle school, high school, and juvenile corrections watched the girls practice. The Jacks had the opportunity to take time and learn about them—to show them they can be strong, to know they have control of their lives. Our student-athletes are doing that every day. They go to school, they compete, and they are being that positive role model.”

The team shared their talents and got something back in return.

“Seeing the diversity—culturally, geographically—and the different populations of people,” Allison-Brewer says, was priceless.

Youngren agrees. “The trip was very educational, and the whole team enjoyed the experience,” she says. “It was a chance for us to learn about other cultures and areas of our state. It was a good kick-off to the season.”

CINDY RICKEMAN

FROM TOP: SDSU volleyball team members pose at a lodge in the Black Hills and with the staff at Crazy Horse Monument, autograph posters at the Rapid City Stevens gym after an intrasquad scrimmage, and pose at Mount Rushmore, the Keystone lodge, and by a replica of the Crazy Horse Monument.

FALL 2010

15

A SERIES

VISIT GOJACKS.COM FOR MORE

FACILITY

FLASHBACK THE MAKING OF

Frost Arena raditions pack a powerful pop to our souls. For State students from the generation before 1973, attending basketball games at the Barn ranked right there with building Hobo Day floats and climbing the Campanile.

As endearing as the Barn was to the Jackrabbits, the 1918 Barn wasn’t the facility of the future for the University.

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R.B. “Jack” Frost knew that in 1949 when he was teaching the Organization and Administration of Athletics. Harry Forsyth was in that class. Forsyth ’51 remembers an assignment from Frost: list the things that should be in a new arena.

That was an assignment Forsyth was able to use in later life. In 1965 he became the assistant athletic director at SDSU. That was the same year the University became serious about replacing the 2,550seat Barn. Planning permission was granted by the Board of Regents, and Forsyth and Athletic Director Stan Marshall embarked on trips to fifty-four different schools.

“From then on it was trying to figure out the cost and where it would come from,” Forsyth says.

The final cost came in at $3,685,000 with the Legislature allocating $3,374,115 in the bill signed by Governor Frank Farrar February 14, 1970. The remainder was covered by donations. Construction was a twenty-fourmonth project.

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RABBIT TRACKS

“I REMEMBER WALKING IN THERE FOR THE FIRST TIME AND THINKING HOW BIG THE PLACE WAS AND EVERYTHING WAS FIRST CLASS: LOCKER ROOMS, GYM, RACQUET BALL COURTS, ETC.” PAT DOBRATZ (1971-74)

No funds for a field house Initial plans called for a field house that would have been the same size as Frost Arena, Forsyth says.

The plans were for a shell with a dirt floor connected to the north side of Frost Arena, the current location of a parking lot.

“We decided to lop that off ” rather than scale down the arena and keep a field house, Forsyth says. Reflecting on the decision made forty years ago, he says, “I don’t think we would have done much different.”

Married student housing that had been brought to campus after originally being used during the construction of Fort Randall Dam twenty years earlier had to be removed to build Frost.

Once construction began with ground breaking September 22, 1970, Marshall relieved Forsyth of his teaching duties so he could spend almost full time on the project.

The biggest surprise came when a second round of soil samples was taken.

The result showed that pilings would be required to support the foundation. Workers

TOP FROM LEFT: Looking out the west windows toward the Campanile from the unfinished Frost Arena May 8, 1972; The Jackrabbit and the cheerleaders fire up fans before the first game at Frost Arena February 2, 1973; Governor Dick Kneip (with trowel) and SDSU President Hilton Briggs (far right) participate in the cornerstone laying October 2, 1971. CENTER: Frost Arena, seen from the southeast corner. INSET: A total of 8,000 fans fill Frost Arena February 24, 1973, for a game against Augustana. It was the first crowd of 8,000 at Frost. The arena has hit 8,000 or more twenty-four times, the most recent in 2004.

FROST MEMORIES AND SHARE YOUR OWN ON FACEBOOK.COM/JACKRABBIT.NATION.

pounded three telephone poles—sixty to seventy feet long—into the ground and capped them with concrete. That was repeated all around the arena.

Obviously, that added cost and time to the building, but the only other project delay came in late 1972, when the sheet metal workers went on a five-week strike as the locker rooms were being built, Forsyth recalls.

Klinger Construction of Sioux City, Iowa, was the general contractor.

“I REMEMBER USD GAMES WHERE THE ARENA WOULD BE PACKED WITH FANS FROM BOTH UNIVERSITIES. THE LINE WAS BLOCKS LONG, IN BELOW-ZERO TEMPERATURES. THE GAMES WERE CLOSE AND THE NOISE DEAFENING.” NANCY NEIBER (COACH 1984-2000)

Bet you didn’t know The last part of the structure to go in was the stairs, so Forsyth became adept at climbing ladders to reach the second level.

He points out two not-so-obvious facts about the building: It is two completely separate buildings. Only a keen observer could distinguish the separation. It splits on an east-west line with the arena in the south building and the steps leading to the arena in the north building.

Secondly, Frost Arena has a floating floor. It is not attached to any side or tacked down, so it expands and contracts through the seasons.

DAVE GRAVES EDITOR’S NOTE: These stories on Frost Arena begin a series looking at SDSU athletic facilities.

The spring issue will focus on the baseball and softball fields.

FALL 2010

17

FACILITY FLASHBACK

Frost Arena:

IMPRESSIVE 1973 FACILITY CONTINUES TO EVOLVE rost Arena had been used for thirteen seasons when Gannon College of Erie, Pennsylvania, came to Brookings for an NCAA North Central Regional Basketball Tournament game in 1985.

“They were just flabbergasted that there would be a facility like that in the Dakotas,” says then-Athletic Director Harry Forsyth. “‘The locker room is bigger than our whole gym,’” Forsyth recalls the Gannon official saying. “We were way ahead of other gyms in the region.” SDSU moved into Frost Arena in February 1973 and has been continuing to turn heads since then.

Part of what still makes Frost a head turner is that it isn’t the same facility it was thirty-seven years ago.

In the last decade alone, more than $5.6 million has been invested in facility improvements to Frost, which cost $3.68 million to build. Improvements include team rooms for the winter sports team, a $1.7million Daktronics scoreboard, and new exterior stairs.

Not included in the total is the gradual conversion to chair-back seating. Originally, Frost was all bleachers.

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When the concrete exterior stairs at Frost Arena began to erode, they were replaced in 2009 with a grander design at a cost of $876,000.

the offing. (See separate story for details.)

Things like luxury boxes stand to bring increased revenue to the Athletic Department.

Praised by the home coaches However, its current tenants are certainly not dissatisfied with their home court.

“We think it’s the best. We just do. When you talk about fans and how the facility is built for basketball, we think it is the best,” Nagy says. “I think the people in the [Summit]

“WHEN CALIFORNIA-HAYWARD PLAYED THE JACKRABBIT MEN IN FROST FOR THE D-2 REGIONAL ON MARCH 16, 1985, THE ATMOSPHERE WAS JUST ELECTRIC. THE CROWD TOTALLY BLEW AWAY THE CALIFORNIA TEAM, AND I THINK IT WAS ONE OF THOSE GAMES WHERE THE CROWD WAS A REAL FACTOR IN THE WIN.” KEITH JENSEN (’56)

Defying its age “We consider ourselves pretty fortunate to have a place like that,” says men’s basketball coach Scott Nagy, who first stepped into Frost Arena in 1990 as an assistant coach. “It is a nice place to walk people into,” he says of the “wow” factor it now has for recruits.

“When I tell people the gym is almost forty years old, they can’t believe it. It’s well taken care of.”

As the arena heads for the thirty-eighth anniversary of its first game (February 2, 1973), long-term improvement plans are in

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RABBIT TRACKS

league would says it one of the top ones in the league.”

The fact that SDSU hosts the league tournament in Sioux Falls rather than Frost is related more to logistics than the facility.

Seating capacity at Frost is now rated at 6,500 compared to 6,300 for the Sioux Falls Arena. When built, Frost Arena seated 8,000.

At that time there was no seating at the east and west ends. When end bleachers were added, and with a crowd willing to breath in

unison, 9,456 fans squeezed into Frost for a February 11, 1989, game against Augustana.

That record will never be eclipsed with Frost’s current seating arrangement.

While fewer sardines can now be packed in the can, Athletic Department officials believe they have a more comfortable setting while still having excess seating for nearly every game. The most recent sellout was March 22, 2007 vs. Indiana in the Women’s NIT.

Rearranging the house The first chair-back seating was installed before the 1992-93 season, eliminating nearly 500 seats.

Courtside chair-back seating on the north side of the arena was added before the 199596 season, allowing premium season-ticket holders to be right on top of the action. That shifted player and student seating to the south side of the court.

Now player seating and the media/scorers tables are on the south side with no fan seating courtside.

There is a walkway behind that area before one encounters the elevated student section. “The only thing I wish we could do is I’d like to get our students surrounding the opponent a little more,” Nagy says. “I know when we go other places, they make sure their students are close to us.”

Watching action on the screen For most fans, the biggest change at Frost has been the 2005 installation of a NBAstyle, center-court scoreboard and $80,000 sound system. The four-sided, digital board measures thirty by sixteen feet and provides video as well as posting an array of statistics.

VISIT GOJACKS.COM FOR MORE FROST MEMORIES AND SHARE YOUR OWN ON FACEBOOK.COM/JACKRABBIT.NATION.

In addition to charging up the crowd with “more cowbell” videos, the boards also offer a display for Jackrabbit corporate sponsors.

Women’s basketball coach Aaron Johnston says, “The video board package has really changed the game-day experience for all the teams in Frost Arena and the players.

With the new board you can look up there and see where people are at foul-wise.

“The other board didn’t provide as much information and literally took me a year to learn to read” the old one.

But Nagy knows the cost of the scoreboard has no direct correlation to the score posted on that board. “A nice scoreboard isn’t going to change whether a recruit plays well for us. But it is a wow factor for bringing in recruits, and it’s important for the fans.”

Johnston notes the days of fans needing to keep their own scorecards have been made obsolete by the scoreboard.

A change unseen by fans but greatly appreciated by players and coaches is the team rooms. Nagy says, “We’ve been in ours since January 2008. The team room, lounge, and locker room—they have everything we need. Whether it’s for study hall or watching film, we have way more than adequate space to get that done.

“What it conveys to the recruit is that the school has made a commitment to basketball.”

Team rooms feature comfortable leather chairs and video screens while the locker rooms are tiled in yellow and blue with large, open lockers. “There are very few times during the day we’re not using that team room,” Johnston says.

Such amenities show the student-athletes they are a priority, and they let SDSU keep up with the Joneses.

Johnston says, “In a twelve-hour radius of Brookings everybody seems to be building new arenas. Frost Arena may not have the bells and whistles, but it certainly has the game-day atmosphere. It’s unique.

It’s a great venue for women’s basketball.”

Nagy adds, “Our gym is built for basketball. Its size creates a big-time atmosphere.”

DAVE GRAVES

Athletic master plan includes Frost updates Athletes know you can’t come back the next season at a higher level without paying the price in the off-season.

SDSU Athletic Department administrators know that they can’t sit in their offices and not look ahead to facility improvements that Jackrabbit athletes will need in order to be competitive at the Division I level. That includes thirty-eight-year-old Frost Arena.

That is why the arena is on the 2025 Master Plan for Athletic Facilities that “THE LAST GAME OF MY SENIOR was presented to Regents in October.

YEAR, WE WERE PLAYING FOR A No one is talking about building a new arena but better concession CHANCE TO ADVANCE TO THE and restroom facilities are needed.

ELITE EIGHT TOURNAMENT IN The plan, which doesn’t include a cost ST. JOSEPH, MISSOURI. WHAT AN estimate or a time frame, also includes AMAZING WAY TO END MY CAREER box seats or suites.

“These things don’t impact our IN FROST ARENA: A FINAL WIN ability to win games at Frost Arena, but AGAINST THE COYOTES!” they certainly have an impact on our KARLY HEGGE (1999-03) ability to draw revenue from Frost Arena,” says women’s basketball coach Aaron Johnston.

Practice facility would adjoin Frost He also sees a desperate need for “another venue where people can get in and train. Frost Arena is a great practice facility because of the number of hoops, but there are a lot of competing groups trying to get into Frost Arena.”

In the fall, the men’s and women’s basketball teams and the volleyball team want to practice in Frost. Some days, especially when there are volleyball matches, that can’t happen.

So one of the basketball teams practice at the Barn.

A multicourt practice facility that would be built on the south side of Frost Arena is in the University’s 2025 Master Plan for Athletic Facilities.

In a town hall address to faculty and staff September 23, SDSU President David L. Chicoine said, “We want to see an athlete compete for a conference championship and go on to postseason play. That means we have to provide the infrastructure to achieve those goals. . . .The plan will probably change over the next fifteen years, but it’s helpful to say as of now, here’s where we’re going.”

Waiting on the Regents Implementation of the plan did encounter a delay when specifics were presented to the Board of Regents.

With a new governor moving into Pierre in January and the Legislature facing another budget deficit, the Regents said they wanted to see how the athletic facility improvements and other projects within the Board of Regents system fall within the statewide ten-year-plan.

Although SDSU wasn’t seeking state dollars for their plan, approval from the Regents and the Legislature is still needed for new construction.

The move to table the projects certainly does not kill them, SDSU officials say. In fact, the master plan is expected to be back before the Regents this spring.

The plan can be read by going to gojacks.com and doing a search for athletic master plan.

DAVE GRAVES

FALL 2010

19

LETTERWINNERS CLUB

Momentum built during

FIRST LETTERWINNERS CLUB REUNION

lue-chip high school seniors going exclusively to the big, highly-touted schools isn’t a done deal anymore.

That’s the observation of an SDSU alumnus and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame as he sat surrounded by former Jackrabbits under a big tent from all eras during the inaugural Letterwinners Club Reunion October 23 on Hobo Day. “We are seeing momentum being built here,” says former baseball and football standout Jim Langer. “What you are seeing is a shift in our young players coming out of high school, who are saying I’m going to go to these mid-major Division I schools, because they offer a lot of good opportunities in all sports.

“That trend is starting to take hold here,” adds Langer, who led the Miami Dolphins to two Super Bowl wins, including an undefeated season in 1972. “SDSU has a closeness about it, like a family. The academics are terrific, the competition is at a very high level, so when you go to school here you are going to have a great experience.”

Such was the atmosphere permeating the letterwinners reunion held a few hours before the Jacks’ 30-20 homecoming win over Youngstown State.

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Annual Hobo Day event The goal of the Letterwinners Club is to provide opportunities for the Athletic Department to reconnect and stay connected

with former letterwinners while supporting current student-athletes.

Designed to bring current and former letterwinners together to celebrate the history and embrace the future of Jackrabbit athletics, the club’s initial reunion was a big success with 197 in attendance in what will become an annual gathering on Hobo Day. “For the first event, we are very excited with the turnout for the letterwinners reunion,” says Assistant Athletic Director for Development Alex Kringen. “It was great seeing former Jackrabbits from different sports and eras reuniting for a common cause they all know and love.

“Our oldest letterwinner to graduate was 1952, but we also had letterwinners who competed in the 1940s that didn’t graduate because of World War II,” he adds. “Our youngest letterwinner there graduated in 2010, so when you put that many years of SDSU athletics tradition under one tent, everyone is going to have a good time.”

The final year of Harry Truman’s presidency, 1952, also had Paul Bergman saying goodbye to Sexauer Field and his track years under Coach Jim Emmerich.

“In the era where I came from, Coach Emmerich started a program where the athletes really respected him over the years, so it’s good to get back and see these people and meet with them,” he says. “And, I think to foster the program and keep the athletic program going is great.”

Renewing old friendships Living in White, Bergman didn’t have far to travel for the reunion. That wasn’t the case for track and cross-country stalwart Tom Scarborough, who came all the way from Fairbanks, Alaska.

“This is the first time I’ve been back on campus in twenty-five years,” he says. “I can’t believe how much the campus has changed.

It doesn’t even look the same!”

It was obvious that Scarborough, a 1960 graduate, was glad to be back and mingle with former and present student-athletes.

“This is a good thing to have,” he remarks.

“I’m very much in favor of it. It’s nice to renew some old acquaintances.”

Jeff Chicoine, a 1968 graduate who starred in football, shares the same thoughts, noting, “This (reunion) is something for people to come back to,” he observes.

“Before when you graduated, it was devoting four or fives years of your life and you were gone after that, so it’s good to come back, especially seeing former teammates.”

Letterwinners can join the club for $100 per year. All contributions raised go directly to support SDSU student-athletes and athletic programs.

They can also opt for the Letterwinners Legacy Fund for a one-time fee of $500.

The fund will be set up as a perpetual endowment, and once the fund reaches $20,000, a scholarship will be awarded annually to a student-athlete.

KYLE JOHNSON

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COACH SPOTLIGHT

LANG WEDEMEYER Soccer coach turned heads playing in Virginia ompeting at the collegiate level means occasionally playing with pain. It’s a principle Lang Wedemeyer knows too well.

As a captain of the Old Dominion Monarchs soccer team in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1993, Wedemeyer broke his foot in the middle of the season at the same spot he had originally broken it in the summer. “The doctor said I wouldn’t do any more damage” by playing on the foot, so I played the rest of the year with a broken foot,” he recalls.

Wedemeyer, 38, began the SDSU women’s soccer program in 2000. In his early days, he was part of the developing Roanake, Virginia, soccer environment.

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“My parents’ good friend was coaching a rec team and let me be the ball boy when I was 5. They let me practice. I fell in love with it right away. I just was too young to play in games,” says Wedemeyer, who had to wait another year to get in games.

By eight, he was on a traveling team. In his teen years, Wedemeyer was chosen to play on select teams that traveled to Canada and Barbados. His high school team was the first squad from southwest Virginia to win a regional game and go to the state tournament.

The center midfielder was the first and only three-time most valuable player for Patrick Henry High School.

Lang Wedemeyer’s (in white) postcollegiate career included time with the Hampton Roads Mariners (below). He also played in the first game of the Sioux Falls Spitfire.

Bound for Blacksburg That success earned Wedemeyer a partial athletic scholarship to Virginia Tech in 1990.

At the Atlantic Coast Conference school Wedemeyer was voted the ’Hokies best defensive player for two years. However, he left Virginia Tech after his sophomore year.

“The school was great, but I made a decision I wanted to be a soccer coach,” Wedemeyer says.

So he was granted a release to play at Old Dominion, a top twenty-five school that was coached by Ralph Perez, who also assisted the U.S. Olympic team. “I got to play for him two years and to coach under him two years” while getting his master’s degree, Wedemeyer says.

The highlight of his college years was being tabbed by the coach and players as team captain his senior year.

A six-year pro career Off the field, he required surgery for that broken foot in late November 1993 and another surgery in February to take out a pin.

But by spring he was playing for the Richmond Kickers in the U.S. ISL Select League, which was the highest level of professional soccer at that time. His Kicker days were short lived as a torn anterior cruciate ligament required two knee surgeries.

But by spring 1995 Wedemeyer was back on the playing field, suiting up for the Roanoke River Dawgs, the first professional team in his hometown. In the fall he coached at Old Dominion.

In spring 1996, Wedemeyer signed with the Hampton Roads Mariners, which qualified for the Sizzling Six, a tournament for the top six teams in the nation that weren’t playing in the newly formed Major League Soccer. The Mariners finished third.

It was the best finish ever for a Virginia team and Wedemeyer’s highlight as a professional player.

His biggest game also came with the Mariners, who hosted the 1996 Olympic team in a game that drew 4,000 soccer fans to Virginia Beach. The Mariners lost a competitive game 2-0. Wedemeyer still recalls shutting down a player who would go on to have a fourteen-year career in Major League Soccer.

DAVE GRAVES

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SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT

COCA-COLA:

State’s Pause That Refreshes ou can look the concessionaire straight in the eye and say “Pepsi, please.” But it won’t do you any good. State has been a Coca-Cola campus for at least forty years, with no sign of a switch in sight.

It’s one man’s full-time job to keep the more than ninety pop machines on campus full. Mike Brown has driven his Coke truck from Watertown to Brookings every weekday for the past eight years. Other drivers stock the commons areas and the concessions at Frost Arena and Coughlin-Alumni Stadium, which amounts to another full-time job.

SDSU is both the largest on-premise vending customer and the largest educational institution served by the Chesterman Coca-Cola Bottling Company, founded in Sioux City, Iowa, by Cy Chesterman in 1909, just twenty-three years after Atlanta pharmacist John Pemberton conjured up the first batch of syrup, mixed it with water, and sold it for a nickel a glass to relieve headaches and fatigue. Today, three generations later, the company has plants in South Dakota, Illinois, and Nebraska, and is presided over by the third Cy (W.) Chesterman.

At one time, college students could find several kinds of soda available. But one-brand campuses are common these days, says Doug Goehring, general manager of Chesterman’s Watertown branch.

In his thirty-nine years with the company, Goehring has seen State’s business change its ways and double in size.

“When we came to campus, there were only twelve-ounce cans and we placed about forty-five vendors [machines]” Goehring says. “We’ve doubled that and have since gone to the twenty-ounce bottle.”

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RABBIT TRACKS

Sideline business has gone from nonexistent to the norm.

“Years ago, there was no such thing as having even a glass of water,” Goehring says.“It was a coach’s thing—nothing on the sidelines. Now teams want bench-line refreshments. When we started providing that, it was a special thing, but it’s getting to be more common all the time.”

The Coke brand has also grown to include a myriad of drinks, from sparkling beverages, water, and isotonics to juices, teas, and vitamin water.

Handling concessions has become nearly headache-free.

Used to be, a Coke rep was present whenever concessions were in operation.

“Someone was here at every game, just in case there were any issues,” Goehring says.

“The equipment’s gotten better over the years,” says Ryan Shawd, Watertown branch manager, “so we haven’t had to do that.”

At first, a ten-ounce bottle was a concession package.

“Then we went to a premix, five-gallon canister that you’d chill, pour, and serve,” Shawd says. “Now it’s a post-mix venue. You buy a bag of syrup and the equipment mixes it with local water and makes the drink.

“It got to be a storage issue and this cuts down inventory space. We went from a steel cylinder the size of a big desk down to the size of a medium box,” Shawd says. “Instead of bringing it to you, you’re mixing it on site.

And it’s all set up on redundancy. If one unit goes down, you just unplug it and keep going. We come back the following Monday and get them back in action.”

“The situation here is full service,” Goehring says. “We provide the equipment and keep it running. We collect the money, pay the sales tax, and pay the school a commission.”

“All soda vending net income, where SDSU gets an income for each can sold, goes for student scholarships,” says Wes Tschetter, vice president of finance and business, whose records indicate Coca-Cola has reigned at State since at least the early 1970s, during the “I’d like to buy the world a Coke” days.

“It’s a Coke campus, that’s what it is,” Shawd says. “Nobody’s called to complain.”

CINDY RICKEMAN

Allison Huffman, a freshman first baseman, keeps a grip on her Powerade bottle while watching the Jackrabbits play Dakota Wesleyan in an exhibition softball game this fall. Whether for fans or players, Coca-Cola products are exclusively distributed at SDSU, which receives corporate sponsorship from the company.

DONOR SPOTLIGHT

LEFT: Pausing along a stretch of U.S. 14 between De Smet and Lake Preston are, from left, Keith Jensen, Brad DeBeer, and Casey Hillman, who walked more than 400 miles to raise funds for the Jacks. ABOVE: Hillman participates in the pregame coin flip before the September 18 Cereal Bowl game against Illinois State. Hillman had walked more than 400 miles to the game in a fund-raiser for the SDSU Athletic Department. He is joined by his sons, Lawrence, 4, (in blue stocking hat) and Alaric, 2, (partially hidden by the leg of an Illinois State lineman).

‘JACKRABBIT JOURNEY’ leads to athletic scholarships one of the Jacks’ running backs ever had a chance to lead the team in rushing this year. Before the start of the second game, Casey Hillman already has them all beat.

Hillman ’02 carried the game ball for the Jacks’ home opener more than 400 miles, starting September 4 in Deadwood and finally handing it off September 18 at CoughlinAlumni Stadium.

Hillman’s “Jackrabbit Journey” was designed to raise awareness about SDSU athletics while also raising money for athletic scholarships. All indications are that Hillman succeeded on both counts as his walk generated more than $10,000 in donations.

While his walk across the state was a harrowing individual effort, it was also a testament to the power of teamwork, family ties, and school spirit.

The idea to walk across the state as a fundraiser seemed simple enough. It was during the planning stages that it got complicated.

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“I had to get it figured out with my wife,” Hillman says. “She had the toughest part of it.”

Permission at home was key for Hillman as his wife, Sarah, would have to agree to go solo as a parent for two weeks caring for the couple’s three children: Lawrence, 4; Alaric, 2; and Loretta, 6 months.

What did the boss say?

Getting the idea by his boss was another matter.

“Well, in the beginning, I thought he was crazy,” recalls his father, Robert Hillman, who’s also Casey’s boss at Hillman Plumbing and Heating in Sioux Falls. “He’s a key part of our business.”

The elder Hillman credits Casey’s brother Rob ’99 with stepping in to take over the bulk of the workload at the family business during the fund-raising walk.

It should have been no surprise, really, that Robert Hillman came around to the idea despite his first impression. He’s been a supporter of Jackrabbit athletics ever since Rob and Casey played football at SDSU. Hillman went into training before the walk. A former cornerback for the Jacks, he regularly keeps in shape by running three miles most days. For a week he added an hour-long walk on a treadmill with a twentypound weight in his backpack.

Trouble from the start With clearance at home and at work, Hillman started out from Deadwood. From the beginning, it was no walk in the park.

“It was tough,” Hillman says. “Even the first day. I had a blister the first day.”

And he accumulated more along the way.

Coming out of Midland he had four blisters and his ankles and shins were swollen. He was scheduled for a day of rest in Pierre and he used the time to purchase some antiinflammatories and compression socks.

Headed east out of Pierre, the landscape is flat, but to Hillman it was all downhill.

“It actually got a lot easier,” Hillman says, though he admits it might have been due to the psychological boost of being halfway through his trip. “The last couple days I was just cruising.”

Winning the mental challenge His father tells a different version.

Hillman and his father met for lunch two days after he left Pierre. While he shrugged it off, Robert Hillman could tell that his son was suffering.

“He could barely walk when he got up from dinner,” Robert Hillman says. “I think the accomplishment goes to a different level when you consider how hurt he was.” >>

FALL 2010

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Robert Hillman has a theory about how his sons developed their drive and tenacity. He credits head football coach John Stiegelmeier.

“I think his experience on the football team probably prepared him for taking something like that on,” Robert Hillman says.

“They don’t coddle them.”

Casey Hillman may not have been coddled when he played for the Jacks in 1998 to 2001, but these days he sure is appreciated.

Athletic Director Justin Sell joined him for part of the walk as did Jackrabbit fans Keith Jensen and Brad DeBeer. His brother walked with him the last leg from Arlington and his dad joined them for the jaunt from Volga.

At the end, in what he says was his favorite part of the journey, Casey walked into Coughlin-Alumni Stadium with Lawrence and Alaric. And the game ball.

Ask Casey Hillman about his experience and he’ll talk about his attachments to SDSU and its athletic program. He tends to shrug off praise or congratulations for his efforts as no big deal.

His trek on the Jackrabbit Journey isn’t as easily dismissed by others.

“We’re very, very proud of him,” says his father. “It’s a big deal.”

Hillman’s fund-raising journey hasn’t ended yet There’s still time to give to Casey Hillman’s Jackrabbit Journey. The money he has raised by walking across South Dakota will fund scholarships for student-athletes.

To make a contribution, contact the SDSU Foundation toll-free at 888-747-7378 or e-mail info@sdsufoundation.org. Make sure to indicate that the gift is for the Jackrabbit Journey.

DANA HESS

THANK YOU TO ALL OUR CORPORATE SPONSORS!

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Growth: The name of the game.

One of the best ways to measure success in any company is growth. That is no different in today’s college Athletic Department. It is easy to look at things like facilities and number of season-ticket holders to measure growth. Exposure is a little more difficult to measure but can be as essential in the overall growth of a department.

As all Jackrabbit fans know, SDSU athletics has been the beneficiary of the beautiful new Dykhouse Student-Athlete Center. It also has had the good fortune of increasing the season-ticket base during the recent economic recession. In both of these cases, the growth is evident.

However, during this past year a focus has been placed on growing the presence of SDSU athletics locally, regionally, and nationally.

For years, Jackrabbit fans have tuned their radios to WNAX 570-AM to listen to the Jackrabbit football and men’s basketball teams. Recently, women’s basketball hit the WNAX airwaves while also being heard on 910-AM in Brookings.

Jacks on the radio This year, the Jackrabbit Sports Network was created to give fans more opportunities to hear the Jacks on the air. During the summer, radio stations across South Dakota were pursued to carry the SDSU athletic contests. To date, seven affiliates carry Jackrabbit athletics in some capacity while WNAX serves as the flagship.

Below is a complete list of the stations on the Jackrabbits Sports Network: Yankton WNAX-AM - Flagship Brookings KJJQ-AM Watertown KWAT-AM or KDLO-FM Pierre KGFX-AM Mobridge KOLY-AM– Football only Rapid City KRKI-FM Belle Fourche KBFS-AM – Football only

Jacks on TV Not only have the radio opportunities increased, the Jackrabbits can now be seen on more television sets in South Dakota and throughout the entire Upper Midwest than ever before.

In 2010, the Jackrabbit Insider moved to FOX 7-KTTW in Sioux Falls and can be seen on Sundays at 10:30 p.m. It also found a home on Fox Sports North (FSN). With more than three million viewers in South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Nebraska, FSN provides an opportunity for thousands of Jackrabbit fans living outside of South Dakota to stay current with everything happening in Brookings.

Finally, game replays, Jackrabbit Insider replays and select live games will continue to be seen on local cable networks Midcontinent Communications and Mediacom.

A continual effort will be made for finding ways to expand the reach of SDSU athletics. The goal is to provide opportunities to connect and reconnect with donors, fans, and friends on a consistent basis and encourage a positive engagement with Jackrabbit athletics.

This will foster growth in our fan base not only here in South Dakota but nationally. Hopefully these additions have enabled you to catch the Jacks on a more frequent basis.

Go Big. Go Blue. Go Jacks.

LEON COSTELLO SENIOR ASSOCIATE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY Athletics Department Box 2820 Brookings, SD 57007-1497

NON-PROFIT US POSTAGE PAID BROOKINGS SD PERMIT 24

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Defensive line coach Clint Brown fires up his charges during a first-half timeout in the Jackrabbits’ September 25 game at Nebraska. Memorial Stadium was sold out for the 307th consecutive game with 85,573 in attendance. While the sea was overwhelmingly red, SDSU quickly sold its 3,000 tickets alloted from Nebraska and other Jackrabbit fans found Nebraska sources for tickets.