d-Rabbit Tracks Cover_Layout 1 2/23/10 9:12 AM Page 1
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY
Athletics Department Box 2820 Brookings, SD 57007-1497
NON-PROFIT US POSTAGE PAID BROOKINGS SD PERMIT 24
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY
RABBIT TRACKS VOLUME 15 NO. 1 \ WINTER 2010
JACKRABBITS IN THE COMMUNITY ATHLETES TEAM UP WITH SPECIAL OLYMPICS A RABBIT IN THE DESERT
GRIDIRON GLORY ABOVE: Construction on the $6.1 million Dykhouse Student-Athlete Center at the north end of Coughlin-Alumni Stadium progressed through fall 2009. Donors of the privately funded facility were given tours prior to a February 8 basketball game. The official grand opening is the weekend of the spring game in April 24. Look for a full story on the center in the next issue of Rabbit Tracks.
TAKING IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL
d-Rabbit Tracks Cover_Layout 1 2/23/10 9:12 AM Page 2
Milestones reflect Jackrabbit momentum
LOCKER LEGENDS OPPORTUNITY
Greetings to the Jackrabbit Family! We had a great fall and I can really feel the momentum of our success as a program and University. As I reflect on the past several months, here are some noteworthy achievements of our student-athletes and our Department: • Our student-athletes have a cumulative GPA of 3.16, with fifty-nine perfect 4.0’s, an additional ninety-eight with a 3.5 or higher and another 130 with a 3.0 or better (that’s 287 out of 475 above a 3.0). Perhaps more impressive is that we are spread over seventy majors with many in biology, engineering, pharmacy, nursing, and economics. • Our women’s soccer team won the Summit League regular season title and our men’s cross country team brought home our first men’s Summit League Championship. • The football team made the FCS playoffs for the first time in school history (finishing as one of the top teams in the country) while winning the Missouri Valley Football Conference Academic Trophy. Our football players have an impressive 3.019 cumulative GPA. • In addition, we averaged 13,200 fans for each football game (all-time high), won the Dakota Marker for the third straight time, beat the University of Northern Iowa (personally very fulfilling!) and are 13-3 in the conference during the past two years! • The Jackrabbit Club has grown from 865 to 1,111 members since August. We are just beginning a new Letterwinners Club to engage our former student-athletes and hope to send the message “Once a Jackrabbit, always a Jackrabbit!” • We have been active with community-service activities and held our first-ever Jackrabbit Caravan to Sioux Falls in August. • We started the Jackrabbit Insider, which airs at 10:35 p.m. Sundays on KSFY. Tune in to learn about the personalities that shape our athletic program. You can also catch the Insider and other SDSU Jacks programs through Mediacom, Midcontinent, and on gojacks.com. • Jacks After Hours premiered at Cubby’s and is held at 5:15 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month. Come and join us! • Our Web site traffic has doubled, and we added radio affiliates in Rapid City and Pierre. On television, six football games were aired as well as several men’s and women’s basketball games. We added three new billboards on I-29 and I-90. • The jackrabbit mascot spent four weeks in first place of the Capital One Mascot Challenge and Coach Stig was a finalist for the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year. • The Dykhouse Student-Athlete Center is open, and we gave a facelift to the athletic offices. • We are in the process of completing a master plan for athletic facilities that include the feasibility of building a new stadium, indoor practice facility, and Frost Arena expansion/renovation, among other items. These are a few of the highlights from the past six months. We are continually making plans for the future to ensure the success of our program. We welcome everyone to get involved by attending our athletic contests and other athletic gatherings as well as becoming a member of the Jackrabbit Club. While it’s been a whirlwind for me so far, I am truly enjoying getting to know our terrific student-athletes. All of our programs are working hard to make all of you very proud! I also want to thank all of our fans and supporters for making my first year here at SDSU so special. I am convinced that we have the best fans in America! We are proud to represent SDSU and the state of South Dakota!
Go Big. Go Blue. Go Jacks.
JUSTIN SELL DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS
something l. f o t r a p , y a il e b m a to the chancelife, something truly speciaill bit Football F e b v a a r h k c u a o y J e r r e a e D e in life wrheat impact on someone’s r Locker Legends, you will m o c s ie it n tu r o p Many op ing that will have a g Student-Athlete Centes in our program. You w big, someth donation to the Dykhouse on the student-athlete With your ect and profound impact zed in the e li a n so r e p ir r d e k a c have ifference! to have a ,loyou can set up your pledgnd le p o e p d 0 1 a 1 e k ly ma e one of onture. To reserve a locker to www.GoJacks.com ao m o c e b d n a s u Please joinit Football home of the fu-688-5988 or by goinggends button. You can alsto us Jackrabb 866-GoJacks or 605 thlete Center Locker Le formation and send it by calling e Dykhouse Student-Aa check or credit card in click on ththe enclosed form with S WIN! complete hen you commit, JACK today. W Take Care, lmeier John Stiege Coach
● Pledge $10,000 over 10 years for a locker in perpetuity ● Pledge $5,000 over 5 years for a locker for five years
FOR MORE INFO visit www.gojacks.com or call 866-GoJacks
Head Footbaotlla State University South Dak
DYKHOUSE STUDENT-ATHLETE CENTER PERSONALIZED LOCKER REQUEST FORM I want to be a part of the Jackrabbit Football future by reserving a personalized locker in the Dykhouse Student-Athlete Center. ■ I am making a gift of $10,000 OR pledging $1,000 a year over a 10-year period to receive one of 110 personalized lockers, in perpetuity. ■ I am making a gift of $5,000 OR pledging $1,000 a year over a 5-year period to receive one of 110 personalized lockers, for 5 years. NAME _____________________________________ SIGNATURE ________________________________
■ Check
ADDRESS ______________________________________________________________________________
CARD NUMBER
CITY ____________________________________________ STATE __________ ZIP _________________
EXP. DATE
PHONE ________________________________________________________________________________
SIGNATURE
Return your completed form and gift to: SDSU Athletics, Box 2820, Brookings, SD 57007
■ VISA
■ Mastercard
Make checks payable to SDSU Athletics (write “Football Locker” in the subject line).
d-Rabbit Tracks_Magazine 2/23/10 9:38 AM Page 1
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY
RABBIT TRACKS VOLUME 15 NO. 1 \ WINTER 2010
2
COMMUNITY SERVICE
Student-athletes are willing to go that extra mile, especially when it leads to community-service activities like working with children and serving food to the needy.
4
SPECIAL OLYMPICS
Jackrabbit fans got a chance to buy jerseys of SDSU women’s basketball team members and benefit Special Olympics. The new effort raised $3,500 and a lot of good feelings.
5
TOM AND LYNNE ZIMMER
This Sioux Falls couple serves State through scholarship support, sound counsel, and hearty shouts as season-ticket holders.
6
KONECHNE’S TRIUMPH
A decade later, Paul Konechne remembers the thrill of winning his first national wrestling championship before family and friends in Brookings. It was the last of four wrestling national championships at Frost Arena.
8
MIKE SULLIVAN
Much of the success of The Summit League basketball tournament in 2009 and 2010 can be attributed to the executive director of the Sioux Falls Sports Authority. He has done so well that the tournament will be there again in 2011 and 2012.
12 GRIDIRON GLORY
10 ERICKSON IN LAS VEGAS
The 2009 season was unprecedented. Football coach John Stiegelmeier doesn’t plan for the playoff-favored year to be a one-time taste.
Benji Erickson made a name for himself swimming at South Dakota State. The ’04 grad still swims, but his reputation as a restaurant manager has elevated him in the city of bright lights.
16 WOMEN’S SPORTS HISTORY The Rabbit Tracks series looks at the starts and successes of the cross country, golf, and equestrian programs.
4 SDSU PRESIDENT David L. Chicoine DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS Justin Sell ASSISTANT ATHLETIC DIRECTOR/ SPORTS INFORMATION Jason Hove SDSU SPORTS INFORMATION ASSISTANT DIRECTOR Ryan Sweeter ASSOCIATE AD/ EXTERNAL AFFAIRS Leon Costello EDITOR Andrea Kieckhefer, University Relations CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Dave Graves, Kyle Johnson, Dana Hess, Cindy Rickeman, University Relations DESIGNER Kristi Schelhaas PHOTOGRAPHER Eric Landwehr, University Relations
8 Athletic Department South Dakota State University HPER Center, Box 2820, Brookings, SD 57007 Telephone: 1-866-GOJACKS Fax: 605-688-5999 Web site: www.gojacks.com 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. 1500 copies printed by the SDSU Athletic Department at no cost to the State of South Dakota. PE069 02/10
22 CLAIMING SUMMIT CROWNS The cross country program became the first men’s team to win a Summit League crown and the women’s soccer team hosted SDSU’s first Summit League tourney.
ON THE COVER Defensive end Danny Batten symbolizes the Jackrabbits’ success in 2009. He was named to three Football Championship Subdivision All-America teams after a season in which SDSU qualified for its first Division I football playoff berth and won the Dakota Marker Trophy for the third straight season.
d-Rabbit Tracks_Magazine 2/23/10 9:38 AM Page 2
COMMUNITY SERVICE ‘MAKES YOU FEEL BETTER ABOUT YOURSELF’
N
ick Flynn, a sophomore wrestler from Lansing, Kansas, is going to bring his “lady” a book the next time he sees her. “She is really into reading and wanted to know what books I’ve read in the past, so I’m going to bring her one,” he says. “It’s neat to share like this.” Christmas has come and gone, but for residents at Stoneybrook Suites, an assisted living home in Brookings, the holiday spirit of giving and receiving is alive and well courtesy of the SDSU wrestling team’s older buddy program. The program pairs a wrestler with a resident and each gives something of themselves. It also embodies the spirit of student-athletes doing community service. And, within the SDSU Athletic Department, the expectation of social responsibility is strongly promoted. “It makes you feel better about yourself,” relates Flynn. “They learn what we are involved in and for us we learn about their life.” During the years, student-athletes engaged in community-service activities have not only increased, but have been highly successful; of the 470 students-athletes under the Athletic Department’s umbrella, nearly every one has participated in community-service work in one form or another. “Our student-athletes are very willing to participate in community service,” says Laurie Melum, advisor to the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. “They realize there are people who have helped them along the way and so it’s important to give back to others.
2
RABBIT TRACKS
“There are many volunteer activities that our teams and department plan, but we also have student-athletes who volunteer to do things on their own, too,” she adds. Time well spent Activities like the older buddy program go a long way in connecting student-athletes with community without taking too much time away from competition and studies. “That’s true,” says Tyler Sorenson, a senior wrestler from Garretson. “Really, we spend three hours a day for wrestling so why can’t we spend an hour every two weeks with them? “Community service gets you out of your element and it broadens your horizons at the same time,” he adds. “They look forward to us coming because they want to know what we’ve been doing. I think it’s the highlight of their day or week when we come and visit.” SDSU’s athletic teams as well as the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee organize community-service activities that number more than fifty per year and they report and schedule events together. In addition, Jackrabbit athletic events can also directly affect the community financially like when the SDSU wrestling team donated $900 to the Brookings Domestic Abuse Center from the 17th annual Warren Williamson/Daktronics Open entry fees. A different example was the “penny war.” Held OctoberNovember, student-athletes collected $2,064 in pocket change for the
d-Rabbit Tracks_Magazine 2/23/10 9:38 AM Page 3
OPPOSITE PAGE: Jackrabbit basketball players Jill Young, left, and Jennie Sunnarborg, center, join soccer player Danielle Neuhalfen in showing off proceeds from the Penny War that went to the Brookings Boys and Girls Club. ABOVE LEFT: Jackrabbit softball player Kelsey Waltz, far left, is busy in the kitchen dishing up food as part of student-athletes doing community-service work during the weekly Harvest Table at First United Methodist Church. ABOVE RIGHT: Senior softball player Dani Broshar does her part by delivering a plate of food to a community member at the Harvest Table.
“WE DO AS MUCH AS WE CAN TO GET OUR PLAYERS INVOLVED IN COMMUNITY SERVICE BECAUSE IT HELPS GIVE THEM AN UNDERSTANDING THAT THE WORLD DOESN’T REVOLVE AROUND THEM.” MEN’S BASKETBALL COACH SCOTT NAGY Brookings Boys and Girls Club from fans going to football and basketball games. Not all about sports According to Men’s Basketball Coach Scott Nagy, community service is a good reminder that there is much more to life than athletic competition. “We do as much as we can to get our players involved in community service because it helps give them an understanding that the world doesn’t revolve around them,” he says. “It’s amazing when you serve other people you tend to get more out of it than the people you serve. “Our kids have so much to offer, and people want to be around them as much as possible,” adds Nagy. “I think college athletics is so self-serving, so it’s important for us to teach student-athletes to give instead of always taking.” Women’s Basketball Coach Aaron Johnston points out that interacting with the community helps create lasting memories and lifelong lessons about the importance of service. “Our department has a wonderful relationship with the state of South Dakota and the community of Brookings,” he says. “As our surrounding communities continue to support our efforts, it’s important to be equally engaged with them.” From care packages to coats Among the many volunteer activities are the Harvest Table, reading to elementary students, helping build Habitat for Humanity homes, making baked goods and care packages, and hosting sports clinics for young people. The Jacks can also be seen collecting coats for needy families and accumulating toys so children have presents to open at Christmas. During the basketball season Summit League schools participated in a food fight. Each school picks a date and during a two-week period student-athletes from all sports see which school can collect
the most food that is either donated by people coming to the games or going out into the neighborhoods to collect food items. In a close finish last year, the Jacks finished second with 4,194 pounds of food that went to the Brookings Food Pantry. Creating relationships For Kelsey Lunn, a senior first baseman from Fort Dodge, Iowa, helping with the Harvest Table recalls memories from home. “I was really active in my own church and now I’m experiencing the same type of thing,” she says. “I still enjoy being part of an event such as this.” Teammate Pam Nicholson, a sophomore pitcher from Glenview, Illinois, indicates community service is important because it creates a strong bond between school and community. “It’s rewarding because the University is part of the Brookings community,” she says. “Community members come and support us at our games, and we should do something to give back. “It’s cool because you get to know people, too,” adds Nicholson. “When you see them around you can say ‘hi’ and they will talk to you because they recognize you.” Going beyond Brookings Service functions have also branched out to other communities. The SDSU football team held a scrimmage and a clinic in Rapid City last spring, and visited patients at Rapid City Regional Hospital. Later, the “Sioux Falls Caravan” had 150 student-athletes visit schools, nursing homes, and hospitals in Sioux Falls. Melum emphasizes the community is always appreciative of student-athletes volunteering their time, and in the grand scheme of life, it’s personally rewarding for them. “The volunteer work makes others feel good, and it makes the volunteers feel good, too,” she says. “There is always a sense of pride in thinking that you helped make a difference to someone and that maybe you made their day or week a better one.” KYLE JOHNSON
WINTER 2010
3
d-Rabbit Tracks_Magazine 2/23/10 9:38 AM Page 4
JACKRABBIT JERSEYS BENEFIT
SPECIAL OLYMPICS
A
new effort paired the SDSU women’s basketball team with local law enforcement officers to net $3,500 for Special Olympics. Raffle tickets for autographed jerseys of the women’s team were sold to the public for $10 each with winners drawn after the December 13 game against Middle Tennessee State. Cora Olson, a corporal with the University Police Department, organized the event with Brookings Police Sergeant Joel Perry, who also is a board director with the state Law Enforcement Torch Run, the police officers organization that works with Special Olympics. Because it was a new undertaking, Olson said they weren’t sure how much could be raised, but ticket sales grossed $5,000 and netted a $1,000 donation to the local Special
Olympics chapter and $2,500 to the state organization. Among the fifteen winners, whose names were announced after Sunday’s game at Frost Arena, was Allen Lee of Brookings. Lee’s 21-year-old daughter, Courtney, is a Special Olympics athlete who was recently chosen to be part of the South Dakota team that will participate in the national Special Olympics soccer tournament in Lincoln, Neb., in summer 2010. “Courtney has participated in most all the games that Special Olympics puts on. Special Olympics has been a big part of her life . . . It has been a terrific experience for her and given her a lot of confidence. “Her teammates and coaches are just special to her,” Lee said while Courtney held the jersey of number fourteen Kristin Rotert.
Cornemann’s coveted number The only thing that could have made the afternoon better would have been if the announcer had drawn Lee’s name for number twenty-two Ketty Cornemann, who is a second cousin to Courtney. Howard Sigaty of Brookings won Cornemann’s jersey, but he ended up swapping it with Cornemann’s grandmother, who had won Maria Boever’s jersey. Sigaty says the jersey soon will be hanging in a frame in his home office. “We’ve been longtime fans of SDSU. I graduated from SDSU back in 1969. We’ve had season tickets for many, many years and enjoy watching the women play. When I heard about the raffle I thought it was a chance to support a good cause and maybe win a basketball jersey,” he says.
ABOVE LEFT: Todd Bradwisch, the South Dakota Special Olympics liaison to law enforcement, passes the name of a winning ticket to Darrell Nordquist, South Dakota Special Olympics development director, after a South Dakota State University’s women’s basketball game. Far left is No. 21 Leah Dietel, who is ready to present the jersey to the winner. A total of fifteen jerseys were awarded. ABOVE RIGHT: Jackrabbit fans wait to see whose name will be drawn for Katie Lingle’s jersey. The Pierre freshman is flanked by South Dakota Special Olympics administrators who worked with local law enforcement officers and South Dakota State University Athletic Department officials to raise funds for Special Olympics through the sale of fifteen replica jerseys.
4
RABBIT TRACKS
d-Rabbit Tracks_Magazine 2/23/10 9:39 AM Page 5
Sixteen local Special Olympics athletes were guests of the SDSU Athletic Department at the game, an 87-61 win over Middle Tennessee State. Perry and Olson were assisted by a number of officers from their departments. Special Olympics is a major charity of law enforcement nationwide through Law Enforcement Torch Run fundraisers. The jerseys were ordered special for the event by the Law Enforcement Torch Run and included the players’ names on the back. It is believed this is the first time the department has participated in a replica jersey raffle, according to Christi Williams, assistant athletic director for ticket operations. When Perry was at a conference he had seen the raffle produce major dollars with a hockey team, and thought the women’s basketball team would be popular with local fans. Popular with players too Williams says the department was anxious to partner with Special Olympics. “More than 1,600 children and adults participate in Special Olympics in South Dakota. We wanted to assist in providing those with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to experience the rewards of playing sports,” Williams says. She added that the women’s team “enjoyed the entire event” from running through a tunnel formed by Special Olympians to autographing jerseys to being on the court as the raffle winners were named. After the game, fans had one last chance to buy raffle tickets before the SDSU players returned to the court wearing “Jacks Jersey Raffle” T-shirts and handed out the jerseys to the winners who were present. They had earlier autographed the white replica jerseys with yellow and blue SDSU trim. In addition to ticket sales, seven businesses each donated $100 per free throw made by Special Olympian Scott Gulbranson, who sank a shot during halftime. DAVE GRAVES
ZIMMERS
T
‘so good’ to University
om and Lynne Zimmer are settled into their winter home in Sun Lakes, Arizona, twenty minutes from the Phoenix airport. When not wintering in the Arizona sun, the Zimmers live in Sioux Falls, their home for fifty-two years and conveniently near South Dakota State, where they’re in the stands at as many games as they can get to. They also fund several student scholarships every year and, most recently, provided in their estate a planned gift to the University. Tom served on the Foundation board for eight years and on the Division I Athletic Council for more than ten. “Tom and Lynne are longtime supporters of the Athletic Department,” says Mike Burgers, associate athletic director for development. “They support not only athletics, but other facets of the University, too. “They play a myriad of different roles, from providing financial gifts to serving on committees and boards. We bounce ideas off them. They’re a good sounding board. If we have an issue coming up, we talk to them and get their input. They’ve been so good to the University.” Tom, a Montrose native, earned his degree in mechanized agriculture in 1955, when a quarter term of school cost $30, including the room. He played amateur baseball during college and was in Army
ROTC, switching to Air Force ROTC because he’d always wanted to fly. After graduating, he went through pilot training in the Air Force. He flew for the Air Force and for the Air National Guard. He sold construction equipment for the Harris Euclid Company for four years before beginning a twenty-twoyear career with the JD Evans Equipment Company. “I was pilot, salesman, sales manager, and president,” he says. “I worked in South Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming, making calls. It was such a large area that it was most beneficial to use an airplane to call on customers.” Tom retired from JD Evans in 1986, and then owned Tri State Truck & Equipment until two years ago. Lynne, born in Spencer, Iowa, earned her associate degree from the University of South Dakota and taught grade school in Sioux Falls for five years. She and Tom married in 1962 and, when the children were born, she stayed home to raise them. Son Tom now runs Tri State Truck & Equipment in Billings, Montana, and has three children. Daughter Sarah is a nurse in Sioux Falls and has two children. Son Kevin lives in Brussels, Belgium, where he works for Bobcat Equipment out of Fargo, North Dakota. CINDY RICKEMAN
WINTER 2010
5
d-Rabbit Tracks_Magazine 2/23/10 9:39 AM Page 6
KONECHNE’S TRIUMPH Wrestler’s title won at home a little more special
F
rost Arena’s history with postseason wrestling tournaments dates back to its birth in 1973. The new Jackrabbit gym had only been open about a month when SDSU hosted the NCAA Division II national championship that March. The championships would play out three more years in Brookings—1979, 1993, and 2000—before SDSU became a Division I school. This March, SDSU hosts its first postseason tournament—the Division I Western Regional—since becoming a Division I school in 2004. A decade ago Coach Jason Liles brought six nationally ranked SDSU grapplers into the national tournament at Frost. Among them was top-ranked Paul Konechne, a 141-pound junior from Kimball. “Being the No. 1 seed, it’s always in the back of your mind that you’re the target,” recalls Konechne, now an electrical engineer in Kansas City. “Everybody’s going to perform a little better against you because they want to take down the No. 1. “As you prepare, you’re a little extra cautious so you don’t make that a mistake that will cost you. Losing in front of those fans would have been devastating.”
6
RABBIT TRACKS
The apex of excitement Instead of devastation, Konechne experienced jubilation. His first two matches he won by technical fall, then he claimed a one-point win in the semifinals and recorded a pin at 3:21 in the finals for his first postseason championship in high school or college. “Everything I worked for my whole life culminated in that match,” Konechne declares. “My friends give me a lot of crap about that victory dance, but it was the most incredible moment of my life.” He had a 2-0 lead and took the bottom position when the second period began against Kurt Karjalainen of the University of NebraskaKearney. Karjalainen was leg-riding high on top of Konechne, who rolled toward his back, which, in turn, put Karjalainen’s back on the mat. The move forced Karjalainen’s shoulders to the mat just long enough for the referee to slap the mat. ABOVE: Paul Konechne stands atop the awards stand after pinning Kurt Karjalainen of the University of Nebraska-Kearney to win the 141-pound NCAA Division II title at Frost Arena in 2000, the last year for SDSU to host a national postseason meet. This year Frost was home to the Division I Western Regional.
d-Rabbit Tracks_Magazine 2/23/10 9:39 AM Page 7
Victory dance When Konechne heard that, “I jumped up in the air and the dance started,” the 2002 graduate says. Liles says, “He won on a defensive fall, which was a move he practiced a lot. That was unique that he would win on a defensive fall; a move that he visioned himself winning that way.” Konechne adds, “My opponent had to either give up a reversal or fight the chance of giving up a pin. He held on a little too long.” After the match, he told the Brookings Register, “that’s one move I always do in practice, and I never seem to get it in a match because guys usually never get their legs in on me. I actually visualized that move before my match, and it was kind of weird when it happened.” Family support That’s what Konechne was thinking after he had a chance to cool down. Immediately after the win, “I was so excited I wasn’t aware of anything outside of myself. But after I settled down I got to enjoy the atmosphere. The fact I got to do it in Frost Arena made it that much more special for me,” says Konechne, whose parents and fourteen siblings were in the crowd. In addition to parents and siblings, the crowd included “fans that watched me from elementary and high school. “I hate to say I wrestled better because the event was at Frost Arena, but it may have helped a little. You definitely felt the support of the crowd after the match when your hand was being raised. It was a big moment in my life, and they were able to share it with me” says Konechne. While ten years have slipped by since the triumph, he says the memories are “all pretty vivid. I don’t think I’ll forget a lot of those moments. They will be with me forever.”
Doesn’t compare with Frost Konechne went to Greeley, Colorado, the next year and won another national title. “The next year in Greeley we had the biggest fan base, but it definitely didn’t compare to the atmosphere at Frost Arena, having it at home,” Konechne shares. Total attendance at Greeley was 10,390 compared to 9,011 at Frost, so it wasn’t that Greeley lacked for a crowd. The University of Northern Colorado was the host school and other teams had a shorter travel than SDSU. However, after experiencing a national tournament in Brookings in 2000, a couple hundred Jackrabbit fans were willing to make the 700-mile trip, Konechne recalls. Several dozen took a charter bus, plus there was the Konechne clan. “My family makes up a pretty good group,” he notes. Konechne says the physical preparation for the national title wasn’t altered by knowing it would be a home match, however, he did think about the possibility. “It makes it more comfortable [to visualize the outcome] in your home arena rather than somewhere else. “When you get an opportunity you don’t want to waste it,” Konechne says. That is a statement that Liles’ current charges could also take to heart. DAVE GRAVES
ABOVE: Jon Madsen, left, fends off Fort Hays State's Keith Blaske in the final seconds of the 2000 heavyweight championship at Frost Arena. Madsen, an unseeded redshirt freshman, beat Blaske 4-3 in the finals after stunning No. 1 seed and returning champion Jeremiah Constant of Central Oklahoma in the semifinals.
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS AT FROST Four Division II national championships have been hosted at Frost Arena. 1973
1979
1993
2000
Cal-Poly San Luis Obispo claims the sixth of its seven straight national titles in the first major event held at Frost. SDSU places seventeenth, lead by Stan Opp, second at 118; Gerry Person, third at 167; and Dick Vliem, fifth at 190.
Cal-State Bakersfield beats Eastern Illinois by one-quarter point, the closest team race in tournament history. SDSU places ninth. Al Minor was fourth at 190 and Rick Jensen capped his stellar career by placing second at 142. He also won a title in 1976 and was second in 1977.
Central Oklahoma cruised to its second win in a streak of four straight titles by thumping runner-up University of Nebraska-Omaha 108.5-68. Brian Loeffler won the 177pound title for SDSU, which finished sixth. It began a streak of ten straight years of placing in the top six nationally.
North Dakota State easily wins the title while SDSU places fourth, three points out of second. Paul Konechne (141) and Jon Madsen (heavyweight) win titles while Scott Braun (133) places second. Tyler Jones (sixth at 174), Aaron Veskrna (seventh at 149), and Tyler Bryant (eight at 165) also earn All-American honors. WINTER 2010
7
d-Rabbit Tracks_Magazine 2/23/10 9:39 AM Page 8
Sullivan’s team brings Jacks, state national exposure
P
utting on first-class events is what Mike Sullivan does for a living. His job is much more gratifying these days because it takes place in the city and state of his birth. “It’s a tremendous source of pride to be part of such a great event, not only for Sioux Falls, but for the entire state of South Dakota,” he says. Sullivan is executive director of the Sioux Falls Sports Authority. Formed in 2006 to recruit major sporting events to the Sioux Falls area, the organization is run by fifteen community members, a project director, and Sullivan. The Sioux Falls Sports Authority’s top prize was bringing NCAA Division I basketball to South Dakota for the first time when Sioux Falls was awarded to host the Summit League Men’s and Women’s Tournament in 2009 and again this year. What’s more, Sioux Falls also secured the bid to hold the Summit League Tournament in 2011 and 2012 as well.
8
RABBIT TRACKS
“Being part of one of the biggest sporting events in the country, which is NCAA Division I basketball, is tremendously exciting,” says Sullivan, who is quick to point to the teamwork necessary to make it happen. “To be able to work with the Athletic Department at South Dakota State University, Sioux Falls Sports Authority board members, and all the good people and sponsors who have stepped up to make this such a great event is truly a blessing for me,” he adds.
Experience to draw on Working with others for a successful outcome isn’t a new concept for Sullivan, who held the same position he has now when he served the city of Jacksonville, Florida, for twenty-three years. He also spent a year as vice president of Axcess Sports and Entertainment, an athlete representation company headed by Michael Huyghue, former general manager of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
MEET MIKE SULLIVAN HOMETOWN: Sioux Falls. TITLE: Executive Director of the Sioux Falls Sports Authority. EDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree, Black Hills State University, 1969; master’s degree, George Mason University, 1979 PREVIOUS EMPLOYMENT: Director of Sports Development, Jacksonville, Florida.
d-Rabbit Tracks_Magazine 2/23/10 9:39 AM Page 9
Sullivan earned an education degree from Black Hills State University in 1969 and a master’s degree in education and athletic administration from George Mason University in 1979. He left Sioux Falls early in life and lived in various parts of the country as the son of a career military father, and after graduating from college, was a college basketball coach before taking the Jacksonville position. Even though years of experience have taught him well, preparing for a tournament of the Summit League’s caliber is no small task, according to Sullivan.
“There are thousands of hours of work and planning done before the tournament tips off in March,” he says. When last year’s tourney concluded, work immediately started on this year’s classic. Surveys were sent to coaches, university presidents, athletic directors, tournament workers, conference officials, and volunteers asking for their input. “The survey process tells us our strengths and weaknesses that allow us to correct and improve on things,” he explains. “We also visit with tournament sponsors to see what they liked and disliked and what we can do to improve their experience.”
Economic, exposure felt Once the tournament is under way, more than 200 people work behind the scenes, including arena workers, sports authority personnel, conference officials, hotel and foodservice people, marketing representatives, university employees, and volunteers. “This, of course, doesn’t include about 400 athletes, coaches, and team official party personnel,” notes Sullivan. It all adds up to four days of basketball excitement and the benefit to South Dakota is twofold: economics and exposure. The state experienced a $2 million impact from the 2009 tournament that shattered conference tournament records for total attendance at 34,681. In addition, according to sports authority research efforts, the tournament was the first-ever live, nationally broadcast sporting event in South Dakota. “The exposure this tournament brings to South Dakota is something that cannot be purchased,” says Sullivan. “We never overlook the fact that we present the citizens of this state the opportunity to see a first-class sporting event live and in person in their own back yard.” KYLE JOHNSON
The 2009 Summit League Championships was the first live, nationally broadcast sporting events in South Dakota.
WINTER 2010
9
d-Rabbit Tracks_Magazine 2/23/10 9:39 AM Page 10
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
From the looks of the record book, Erickson had an illustrious career as a swimmer. However, it’s a career that’s far from over. These days Erickson is back in the pool, training at 5:30 in the morning four days a week as a member of the Las Vegas Masters swimming team. Recently at the Southern Pacific Masters Regional Championships in Long Beach, California, he earned the High Point Award in his age division by placing first in the fifty-, 100-, and 200meter backstroke, and the 100-meter individual medley, and third in the 200meter individual medley and the fiftymeter butterfly. It’s obvious that years in the water haven’t extinguished Erickson’s competitive fire. That’s good because when the swimming workout is over, Erickson needs that competitive drive as the manager of a restaurant at a high-profile Las Vegas casino. Erickson oversees the Village Seafood Buffet, one of sixteen dining venues at The Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino. Just as he stood out as a college athlete, Erickson stands out at The Rio, operating one of the most expensive buffets in Las
LESSONS LEARNED IN POOL SERVE
ERICKSON IN LAS VEGAS
B
en Erickson’s name is peppered through the swim team record book at SDSU. A 2004 graduate, he still holds the school records in the 100- and 200yard backstroke. He’s also listed among the top times posted in the fifty-, 100-, 200, and 1,000-yard freestyle, the 100-meter butterfly, and the 200- and 400-yard individual medley.
10
RABBIT TRACKS
Vegas. At $38 per person, Erickson’s buffet earns revenue of $16 million every year. Erickson’s degree in hotel and restaurant management has served him well at The Rio where he’s worked since graduation, putting time in at seven of the casino’s restaurants and the beverage department before taking on the manager’s job at the Village Seafood Buffet.
d-Rabbit Tracks_Magazine 2/23/10 9:39 AM Page 11
Benji Erickson, the school record holder in the 100- and 200-yard backstroke, still competes in the pool as a member of the Las Vegas Masters swimming team. He also has made a big splash in his career as manager of the Village Seafood Buffet at a high-profile casino.
His duties at the restaurant are wideranging. “Whatever needs to be done, I have to do it,” says Erickson who orders supplies, hires and schedules employees, oversees the buffet’s day-to-day operations, handles customer and employee issues, and monitors business levels to ensure profitability. The Rio promotes its “Seven Seas” spread as a flavorful trip around the world, and it lives up that billing in Erickson’s description: “We serve 500 pounds of
lobster and 1,200 pounds of crab legs everyday, not to mention all of the shrimp, clams, oysters, mussels, scallops, sushi, crawfish, five different kinds of fish, and non-seafood items like pork loin, chicken, and prime rib.” The extensive menu, and the fact that it’s the only buffet in Las Vegas serving allyou-can-eat lobster, can draw as many as 1,800 people a day to the restaurant.
Consequently, the quest for excellence is never-ending. “We are constantly looking for the highest quality and freshest seafood in the world,” says Erickson, who learned some lessons in excellence early on at the SDSU pool. Anyone familiar with SDSU sports knows that Ben isn’t the only Erickson associated with the SDSU swim team. His father Brad was his college swim team coach, and he continues to coach the men’s and women’s swim teams to this day. “My father was the best coach I ever had,” Erickson says. “I learned nearly everything I know about swimming from him. There are very few coaches in the country with more experience and knowledge of swimming than my dad. He definitely pushed me hard.” That pushing not only resulted in a championship swimmer, but also in lessons that resonate with Ben Erickson to this day. “I think there are many similarities between swimming and my professional life,” Erickson says. “Swimming is a very physically and mentally exhausting sport. The restaurant business is also very physically and mentally exhausting. Both have taught me that hard work and perseverance pay off.” DANA HESS
WINTER 2010
11
d-Rabbit Tracks_Magazine 2/23/10 9:40 AM Page 12
JACKS HOPE TO BUILD ON
2009’S ‘GOOD’ SEASON
An 8-4 record Big wins over North Dakota State University and Northern Iowa The school’s first-ever trip to the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs
W
ith all of these accomplishments and more, ask head coach John Stiegelmeier about his team’s season and his answer is low-key as he notes that the Jackrabbits were one game away from the playoffs in 2008. “This year we made the playoffs,” Stiegelmeier says. “Our football team 12
RABBIT TRACKS
obviously took another step in the direction we want to be.” After the 2009 season ended, it seemed that everyday brought the announcement of another postseason award or accolade for the Jacks. While Stiegelmeier is obviously proud of all of his team’s accomplishments, the first one he mentions isn’t from the playing field, but from the classroom.
d-Rabbit Tracks_Magazine 2/23/10 9:40 AM Page 13
FOOTBALL RECAP 2009
“I KNOW ALL OF OUR PLAYERS FELT THEY WERE GOING TO WIN THAT FOOTBALL GAME. THEY WENT FROM THE HIGHEST TO THE LOWEST FEELING THEY EVER FELT. THAT’S SPORTS. IT MARKS YOU.” SDSU HEAD FOOTBALL COACH JOHN STIEGELMEIER
This is the fifth year that SDSU has led in academic all-conference selections— a streak that spans membership in two different conferences. As a team honor, Stiegelmeier notes the computerized rankings that tabbed the Jacks as ninth in the nation in the Football Championship Subdivision after the Hobo Day victory over Northern Iowa. “That ranking is the thing we feel best about,” Stiegelmeier says. Keeping the team focused Earning and living up to that ranking would be tough. With ninety players, fifteen coaches, and assisting personnel, “there are a lot of things that need to come together,” Stiegelmeier says. To keep that many people focused on a goal, the Jacks use a unique approach. Each week, they endeavor to finish the week 1-0. Another inspiration for the team was the fact that they only had ninety-nine days together. Counting down the days, and eventually the hours, “really got our guys motivated,” Stiegelmeier recalls. “For the seniors, it’s their last ninety-nine days.” Senior leadership key to success The focus, preparation, and countdown resulted in an overall record of 8-4. That record is the Jacks’ best in their six-year Football Championship Subdivision history, a history in which the Jacks have had a winning record every season.
“We’re a better FCS program than Division II program,” Stiegelmeier asserts, noting that the program’s success at a higher level is due to the commitment of the team’s senior leadership. Many of the Jacks’ sixteen seniors were on the squad through SDSU’s transition to Division I. “They have created a different mindset for SDSU,” Stiegelmeier says. “The mentality, the vision for the program is solidified at that level.” It’s a level that has high expectations and refuses to sugarcoat failure. During the season the Jacks suffered tough losses to Cal Poly and Minnesota. Fan reaction to the Minnesota loss seems particularly irksome to Stiegelmeier. A close, 16-13, game played against a Big Ten opponent in its new stadium was enough of an effort for some fans to declare it a triumph. “Some people feel the Minnesota game was a victory,” Stiegelmeier says. “The guys in the locker room don’t take that mentality. Their measure of success is the scoreboard at the end of the game.” The loss to Cal Poly was particularly costly with injuries to senior quarterback Ryan Crawford and sophomore defensive end Jack Steffen. Even with those losses, the Jacks had a chance to win, tied late in the game when they fumbled the ball away. As it turns out, the initial loss of Crawford was the Jacks’ introduction to a
OPPOSITE PAGE: Julian Wagner (20) hoists the Dakota Marker trophy as his teammates celebrate SDSU’s defeat of rival North Dakota State University 28-13. INSETS, FROM LEFT: Jake Steffen pressures Georgia Southern quarterback Lee Chapple; nose tackle Ross Basham lines up against University of Minnesota center D.J. Burris at the Gopher’s new TCF Bank Stadium; wide receiver Glen Fox dives for additional yardage against Southern Illinois. ABOVE RIGHT: Redshirt freshman quarterback Thomas O’Brien started seven games for SDSU, including the Jacks playoff game at Montana.
new quarterback, redshirt freshman Thomas O’Brien. According to Stiegelmeier, backup players are taught to step into a starting role at a moment’s notice. “Whoever’s on the field’s number one,” Stiegelmeier says. “Play like a starter.” And that’s what O’Brien did as the Jacks reeled off three victories, beating Missouri State, North Dakota State University, and sixth-ranked Northern Iowa. Crawford came back for the game against Youngstown while O’Brien took the rest of the snaps. “We had ‘variety’ at quarterback,” Stiegelmeier says, “which you don’t want to have in a season.” Historic opportunity ends in epic defeat The Jacks’ first trip to a Football Championship Subdivision playoff game found them in Missoula, Montana, against the University of Montana. Though the 6148 outcome was not pretty, there’s nothing but pride in Stiegelmeier’s voice when he talks about the game and its impact. “Our guys went against the number-oneseeded team in the toughest environment,” Stiegelmeier says, “and I’m not talking about the thin air and the cold. Nineteen thousand Grizzly fans. They don’t keep quiet.” WINTER 2010
13
d-Rabbit Tracks_Magazine 2/23/10 9:40 AM Page 14
FOOTBALL RECAP 2009
Crowd noise didn’t keep the Jacks from building a comfortable lead that found them twenty-seven points ahead in the third quarter. “I know all of our players felt they were going to win that football game,” Stiegelmeier says. “They went from the highest to the lowest feeling they ever felt. That’s sports. It marks you.” Stiegelmeier explains that sports accomplishments are memorable, perhaps because they’re so visceral. Athletes always remember their first touchdown or first home run. “Nobody remembers their first A in math,” Stiegelmeier says. “The investment, the power of sport, seems to etch it in your heart.” Lessons learned every year The first trip to the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs, like much of the Division I experience, provided lessons and insights for the Jackrabbit coaching staff. “We’ve learned things we didn’t envision,” Stiegelmeier says. A victory in Montana would have meant a week of preparation for the next playoff game in twenty-five-below zero temperatures. “You can’t practice football in weather like that,” Stiegelmeier says. Had they made it that far, the weather would have forced the Jacks to practice in a gymnasium or bus to a covered field in Sioux Falls. “If we stay the course,” Stiegelmeier says, “it’s imperative that there’s an indoor facility.” He notes that the Football Championship Subdivision playoff field will increase to twenty teams in 2010, adding a week to the playoffs and pushing the championship game into January. No let-up after season ends Stiegelmeier says recruiting is going well for the Jacks, and he seems to relish the challenge of winnowing as many as 400 prospective players down to forty-five visits and eighteen offers. “It’s a huge blessing to meet guys who are the cream of the crop in their schools,” Stiegelmeier says.
14
RABBIT TRACKS
Some of those recruits may be asked to step up for the Jacks as their sixteen senior losses from the 2009 team include three starting linebackers, three starting offensive linemen, three wide receivers, an All-American defensive end, and a starting quarterback. For Stiegelmeier, however, there’s no looking back. “Once they walk out the door, we play in the present,” says Stiegelmeier who recalls a meeting with his team’s twenty-one juniors. “I told them, ‘This is your team.’” Big crowds, big noise for Jacks If recent history is any indication, next year’s team will be cheered on at home by large, thunderous crowds. Stiegelmeier characterizes the increase in attendance to a record average of 13,245 at five home football games as “phenomenal.” “We shattered per game attendance records,” says Stiegelmeier who wonders how a stadium with 10,200 seats handles crowds of more than 13,000 people. “That’s 3,000 people wandering around.” Grateful for the home crowd support, the coach knows that it can influence the players and the game. “The crowd has much more impact on a football game than a coach’s pregame speech,” Stiegelmeier says, noting that the speech may last less than a minute but the crowd roars for three hours. “Many times it’s the students,” Stiegelmeier says. “They’re the crazy ones. They take it to the next level.”
TOP: Kyle Harris kicks off against the University of Minnesota, a Big Ten school that SDSU hadn’t played since 1933. The U of M won 16-13 on a late field goal. ABOVE: SDSU averaged 13,245 people in five home games, easily smashing the previous attendance record of 11,218 set in 2007.
And, if Stiegelmeier has his way, the Jackrabbits will take it to the next level, too. “It was a good year,” Stiegelmeier says of the 2009 season. “Until we finish number one at Chattanooga, it won’t be a great year. That’s the mindset of our players. That’s the mindset of our coaches.” DANA HESS
d-Rabbit Tracks_Magazine 2/23/10 9:40 AM Page 15
FOOTBALL RECAP 2009
LEADERS TALK ABOUT
TEAM’S PHILOSOPHY
GLEN FOX
CONRAD KJERSTAD
Q: Coach Stiegelmeier attributes the Jacks’ success in the Football Championship Subdivision to senior leadership. As a senior, what sort of leadership role did you have on the team? Glen Fox: We had so many good senior leaders this year and no one or two people had major leadership roles. We as a group of seniors just used our experiences over the past five years to help keep everyone going from week to week and, most of all, keep everyone focused on our goals. One of the biggest things was to continue to remind the team of what we were playing for each week and what we had to do to stay on track. Senior leaders are the closest thing younger players can get to having coaches on the field with them so we recognize the importance of that and use it as an advantage. Q: Next year you’ll be a senior. What sort of leadership role do you see for yourself on the team? Conrad Kjerstad: I’ve always looked up to the seniors that lead by example—the guys that bust their tail all the time—guys like Mitch Erickson, Justin Kubesh, Chris Johnson, and Jimmy Rogers. Just doing the small things all the time and showing the passion you have for the game really makes a program grow. Our seniors this year and years past really laid a foundation of effort, passion, and love for the game. I hope the younger guys know how much football means to the seniors because not everyone gets a chance to play D-1 football and your time here is limited.
Senior leadership has been a key to the Jackrabbits’ success since entering the Football Championship Subdivision. One leader from the 2009 season, team captain senior wide receiver Glen Fox of Fairfax, Iowa, and one from next year’s squad, junior defensive back Conrad Kjerstad of Wall, agreed to answer some questions about the team and its philosophy.
Q: As a team leader, how do you get your teammates to look past or grow from the loss at Montana? Conrad Kjerstad: I hope it’s not the case, but some might have doubted we could play with and beat teams like Montana or Minnesota. I think our guys need the confidence that we cannot only play against these teams but also beat these teams and win championships. I think right now it’s important for everyone to start working in the weight room and on conditioning to gain the confidence to beat those teams. The harder you work in the off-season, the easier it is to win during the season. Q: One of the football team’s goals is to finish the week 1-0. Has making that kind of concentrated effort week after week carried over into any other aspects of your life? Glen Fox: The 1-0 motto does translate to other areas of your life. During the fall it is a great example of doing what you need to do during the week to finish 1-0 come Saturday. To me that translates to preparing in my everyday life whether that be taking a test, preparing for a job interview, or investing in important relationships. Living with the 1-0 motto reminds me to
put it the work and time necessary to garner success. This is something I will carry with me into other areas of my life into the future as well. Q: The crowds at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium have grown in recent years. How important is it for the players to be cheered on by a big home crowd? Glen Fox: Playing in front of a large crowd is exciting no matter where it is but it is extremely special taking the field at Coughlin with a lot of excitement and support behind you. The fans this past season made an impact when they came and supported us, and our success as a program will depend on them continuing to give the Jacks a homefield advantage with the tough schedule we play every year. Conrad Kjerstad: I love our fans at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium; they are the best in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. When we play at home we have an advantage because we have great fan support and that helps us win close games. I appreciate our great fan support because we play schools with bigger enrollments and bigger stadiums that don’t have the fan support SDSU has. Our crowd amplifies the team’s energy and really helps. WINTER 2010
15
d-Rabbit Tracks_Magazine 2/23/10 10:11 AM Page 16
WOMEN’S
SPORTS HISTORY A SERIES EDITOR’S NOTE: The focus of these stories is not to include every record, championship, or top performer, but to give a glimpse into the program from the perspective of some who helped shape it. More women’s sports will be covered in the next issue.
Jackrabbits gather after the 1989 Division II national cross country race at East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. Members are, from left, Linda Groon, Kiri Johnson, Angela Aukes, Christy Young, Nicole Scherr, Susie Oster, and Kim Fordham.
CROSS COUNTRY PROGRAM RUNS UP A MOUNTAIN OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS Eastern South Dakota never will be known as a runner’s paradise. Its frigid winters, omnipresent wind, and gravel road scenery means the region won’t be listed among the best places to run in America. But in spite of this, or perhaps because of this, the region has produced some of the nation’s best runners and many have come through the SDSU cross country program. The men’s program already was a power when Coach Jay Dirksen organized the first women’s team in 1975. “Totally new to all of us,” team member Diane (Kittelson) Lowery recalls. “None of us had participated in cross country at high school. It wasn’t available. We knew we liked to run. We had run distance races in [college] track in the preceding spring. We had never even seen a cross country meet, much less run in one. “Jay Dirksen put out a flier, advertised broadly on campus. He had a meeting in the spring. He was in touch with a letter periodically through the summer. Those interested were invited to come in a little bit before school in August. “There might have been ten or more that showed up in the spring. Fewer than that started practice and we lost a few during the season. We had just the seven runners needed for a full team.” Thomas first among many standouts Lowery, whose son Brad would go on to be one of SDSU’s all-time greats, can remember almost all of her teammates, including Sue Thomas, who paced SDSU at its first national meet, which was sponsored by the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women. That was in 1976. Thomas, a four-time team MVP, would also lead SDSU at the 1977 and 1978 national AIAW meets.
16
RABBIT TRACKS
By 1978 Dirksen had moved to the Division I coaching ranks and 1973 grad Scott Underwood was tabbed as coach. By 1979 scholarships were being offered and Underwood brought in Lori Bocklund of Burnsville, Minnesota; Rapid City Stevens standout Cindy (Sargent) Wiles, and Carolyn (Burnison) Steinborn of Huron to go with Vicky (Coyle) Nelson of Huron. Coyle walked on, flourished as the number two runner behind Thomas, and earned a scholarship her sophomore season. Becoming a national power That talented 1979 squad finished fourth nationally at the AIAW meet, and Bocklund became the first SDSU women’s cross country runner to earn All-American status. She would do so four times. It’s a feat that only has been repeated twice and likely will never happen again. In 1980, only six years after Dirksen cast an invitation for girls to join a new cross country program, SDSU won the national title. Nancy Gieske, a freshman from Minnesota, finished second and Bocklund was fifth followed by Sargent (nineteenth), and two Minnesota freshmen—Laura (Geason) Carlson (twenty-sixth) and Jill (Ramsdell) Anderson (thirty-fourth). The team edged the favorite, host Seattle Pacific, 82 to 99. Entire team All-Americans That was the last year for AIAW competition. In 1981 the NCAA had organized a women’s cross country championship. With an incredible seven All-Americans, SDSU easily won the first NCAA Division II title. Its twenty-six points was the best championship score until Adams State’s twenty-three in 1999. Seven of the top fourteen runners at the meet in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, were from SDSU. Only thirty-eight seconds separated its top runner—Coyle (17:55) and its number seven runner. “By my senior year we had ten runners that could have gone to nationals. We dominated,” says Coyle, now a rehabilitation counselor with the state of South Dakota in Sioux Falls. “There wasn’t any question we were going to win it, it was just a matter of how much.” Bocklund adds, “We were just a very motivated group of women that liked to run and train together.”
d-Rabbit Tracks_Magazine 2/23/10 9:40 AM Page 17
“CERTAINLY IT WAS FUN WINNING BUT THE FRIENDSHIPS LAST FOREVER.” LORI BOCKLUND ’83, SDSU’S FIRST CROSS COUNTRY ALL-AMERICAN
Nevertheless, she finished eighth and was third among Jackrabbit runners—behind Bocklund (third) and Audrey (Stavrum) Riggs (fifth).
TOP: The seven All-Americans from the 1981 national championship team are, from left, Kristin Asp, Nancy Gieske, Lori Bocklund, Vicki Coyle, Audrey Stavrum, Cindy Sargent, Laura Geason. Coach Scott Underwood is standing. ABOVE: Gathering at a 2007 reunion in Brookings are, from left, Vicki (Coyle) Nelson, Diane (Kimball) Dokken, Lori Bocklund, Carolyn (Burnison) Steinborn, Cindy (Sargent) Wiles, Audrey Stavrum Riggs, Laura (Geason) Carlson, Tammi (Wermers) Cheever. RIGHT: Lori Bocklund (432) is sandwiched between a pair of Cal-Poly SLO runners while covering the snow-covered course in St. Cloud, Minnesota, at the 1982 national championship. She finished third and SDSU was the runner-up to the California squad.
When weather and running intersect That training included smearing Vaseline on their cheeks, wrapping scarves around their necks, and topping it off with stocking hats, before going out on a ten-mile run on a biting winter day. As it turned out, the team also needed a deep snow to prepare for the 1982 national championship. That was the one and only year that the meet has been hosted in St. Cloud, Minnesota. The first blizzard of the season dropped eight inches of snow in St. Cloud in advance of the November 13 championship and thirteen inches along the Minnesota-South Dakota state line. “We left school early to try to beat the storm and stopped [for the night] at Marshall,” Minnesota, sixty miles from Brookings, Bocklund, now of Beaverton, Oregon, recalls. “We wondered if we would even get there. The guys had to get out and push the van a couple times.” The team did make it to St. Cloud, and the meet went on despite the cold, windy, and slippery conditions. Kristin (Asp) Schoffman, a sophomore that year, says, “You had to do a different style of running, bringing your knees up higher, shorter strides. . . . People who had different strengths did better. It was a challenge for me. It was one of the hardest races I had to run because of the conditions.”
What’s that shiny material? Bocklund recalls, “We ran in long underwear under our shorts. Cal Poly [San Luis Obispo] had Lycra [tights]. It was the first time we had ever seen Lycra.” Neither team had the comfort of wearing sports bras, she adds, as an example of what today’s runners take for granted. Ironically, the team used to running in cold weather fell to the gals wearing Lycra. It was the first of ten consecutive titles for Cal Poly. SDSU would earn runner-up status again in 1984 and finish sixth in 1985, but not place again at the national level until the Kiri (Johnson) Solberg era. In Johnson’s freshman, sophomore, and junior years (1989-91) the Jackrabbits won the North Central Conference crown and placed third nationally. While the team struggled her senior year, Johnson again qualified for nationals and matched her 1991 effort with a tenth-place finish. An opportunity left unclaimed “My junior year we really thought we had a chance to win the national championship,” Johnson shares. “All our parents were there [Edwardsville, Illinois]. That, for sure, was the biggest disappointment. We had been ranked No. 1 during the year. Some of our runners didn’t have good races. I really wanted it that year. “I still have regrets we didn’t win a team championship on the women’s side the years I was there.” Injuries had weakened that team by the time of the title meet, but Johnson, as Coach Underwood was quoted, “is money in the bank at the big meets.” Asp, Johnson, and Sheena Dauer are the school’s only three-time winners of the North Central Conference meet. “I just decided I owned that meet,” says Johnson, a Reeder, North Dakota, native who now pastors in Coon Rapids, Minnesota.
WINTER 2010
17
d-Rabbit Tracks_Magazine 2/23/10 10:11 AM Page 18
WOMEN’S
SPORTS HISTORY “My first championship I wasn’t expected to win, and I was able to run down a runner from NDSU [North Dakota State] at the end. In my junior and senior year Coach Undie said I was one of five with potential to win the conference,” Johnson remembers. She lived up to that potential even though teammates Pam Hanson (1991) and Ann Westby (1992) may have been stronger runners. Passing the baton: Johnson, Westby, Dauer Westby finished fourth in the nation in 1992, her best of three All-American efforts. The Jacks finished fifth in Westby’s senior year and would have one other national placing (fifth in 1996) until the Sheena Dauer era. An eleventh place finish her freshman year (2000) was followed by seventh and fifth place finishes her junior and senior years (2002 and 2003). “I knew the goals were winning the NCC and getting to NCAAs. . . . It was awesome to be able to do that,” Dauer says. “My three NCC championship races were very memorable to me. The first one [2001] was at EROS Data Center [near Garretson]. That was so unexpected. ‘What was I doing leading the race?’ I thought to myself. That was just awesome. What a great day that was. “I knew if I could do well at the NCC meet I would be sitting well as far as the national rankings.” Dauer never had a “great day” at her four national meets, finishing well off the pace except for an eighteenth place finish in 2002. But she still considers those days great experiences. “Here I was lining up with all these incredible runners that I’m usually looking up on the Internet.” Danger credited for bolstering confidence While she was a decorated runner at Comfrey-Springfield [Minnesota] High School, Dauer didn’t consider herself a college runner. She credits Coach Paul Danger for changing that thinking. “He was wonderful. He really made me feel like I had a chance,” she says. “From day one, the recruiting visit, knowing what would be possible inspired me. Really the only thing that was questionable was if we were going to put in the effort” individually. For Dauer, that was never a question. “Everyday there was somebody to push me and somebody to give me guidance,” she says. “Sheena Dauer was a huge role model for me,” says Becka (Mansheim) Foerster, a 2007 graduate and the latest in a line of distance-running standouts. “When I came in she was a senior. . . . She was one of the hardest workers I’ve ever met.” Mansheim and Dauer became roommates and best friends. “Inside and outside of running, she was a huge inspiration for me,” Mansheim says. That bond between teammates wasn’t new to the runners of this millennium. Bocklund was the school’s first All-American and first four-time All-American, but you ask her what stands out about her years at
18
RABBIT TRACKS
SDSU cross country runners, from left, Megan Poppens, Kari Schaefer, Shannon Hattervig, Ashley Adams, Becka Mansheim, and Sheena Dauer, running unattached, take off at a North Dakota State University dual in 2004. Mansheim and Dauer were the program’s dominant runners this decade.
SDSU and she responds: “The team, how they supported each other, traveling together, training together. Any given day someone [different] could end up first. I still remember the picture of the conference meet where the top seven leading [runners in] the field were from SDSU. “Certainly it was fun winning but the friendships last forever.” Moving to Division I era With SDSU’s transition to Division I, Mansheim’s winning came on a different level. In her freshman year (2003) the Jackrabbits placed fourth at regionals and the Brookings native got to run in SDSU’s last appearance at a Division II national championship. Her other postseason appearances would be at the Division I Independents Championships, a nine-school meet. Mansheim excelled, finishing sixth as a sophomore and winning the title as junior and senior. She enrolled at State unsure if she was even a Division II athlete, much less a Division I athlete. She also credits Coach Danger (1998-2004) for inspiring her to accept the challenge. “He talked about SDSU’s reputation for taking above-average runners in high school and making them great runners in college,” Mansheim says. By the time she had graduated Mansheim could safely be put in that category. “To be able to watch her develop and lead the team was a special experience,” says Dauer, who spent the 2006 season as a graduate assistant while getting a master’s in exercise science. Mansheim admits there is regret that she was unable to experience the excitement of a national meet again. “As I got older and got better, I saw my times would have been top three in Division II. That’s hard to see, but I know that being in Division I brought us a lot more opportunities. . . . [Coach] Rod DeHaven was so good about putting us in situations that would help us run well even though we didn’t have that postseason experience. “We definitely got more opportunities being Division I.” DAVE GRAVES
d-Rabbit Tracks_Magazine
2/24/10
1:13 PM
Page 19
GOLF ‘SILENT SISTER’ PROGRAM LOOKING MORE ATTRACTIVE When chronographing the SDSU athletic family, women’s golf is a bit like that second cousin you never met but knew she was spoken of highly. Now thirty-five years old, the program has entered a new stage in life and sits in a more prominent seat at the family reunion. While she always will sit in the shadow of football or women’s basketball, women’s golf now clads herself in the fine cloth of her more prominent family members. The sport has a full-time coach, can offer the maximum number of scholarships, and has NCAA championship opportunities. Now a Division I program, women’s golf team members travel to places like Crystal River, Florida, and Phoenix, as well as hosting its own invitational in Primm, Nevada, south of Las Vegas, March 1516. What’s more, the team is able to fly to these locations. Some weeks, Coach Jared Baszler’s squad is at more mundane locations like Morton, Minnesota, and Lincoln, Nebraska. Early days with Lockwood But as it has been since the beginning, home is Brookings Country Club south of the city. “I loved playing at Brookings Country Club,” says Wendy (Maynes) Johnson ’95, one of the program’s top golfers during its Division II days. “They always had the course in nice shape.” As a golf team member, she could play at the scenic, lakeside course for no charge, “which was an awesome perk,” Maynes says. The coach in Maynes’ days was Pat Lockwood ’82, a Brookings native who was one of the top golfers to go through the men’s program. He spent a year as the men’s cohead coach with Mark Amundson before becoming the cohead coach of both the men’s and women’s programs in fall of 1993 with Amundson. Soon Amundson had a career change and Maynes took control of the programs for the
LEFT: Holly Opatz, a 2009 graduate, ranks fifth in career scoring average during SDSU Division I era. Her seventy-nine rounds between 2005 and 2009 is tops for SDSU golfers. below: The 1994 team gathers after winning the North Central Conference championship October 9 at Willow Run in Sioux Falls. Pictured, from left, are Assistant Coach Coke Newman, Holly Ramsell, Sara Stulken, Jen Pitt, Wendy Maynes, Coach Steve Randall, and Darla Christopherson.
next few years. Eventually assistant sports information director Steve Randall would assume Amundson’s position as cocoach with Lockwood. As he was then, Lockwood is an investment representative with Edward D. Jones and Company in Brookings. Coaching “was a hobby which got to be very time consuming,” says Lockwood. “I have good memories of being around a sport I love with young women that like to compete and people that I would help with their golf game. They were very coachable kids.” Maynes credits Lockwood and Amundson for the improvement in her game from her days at Lincoln High School. “Pat and Mark provided more private golf instruction than I’ve ever had,” says Maynes, recalling videotape sessions on the driving range, in Frost Arena, and at Par Line Golf Shop in Brookings. “They provided great technical assistance. They had a lot of knowledge to offer.” Playing on a national stage With that knowledge and talent honed since she was 5 years old, Maynes became a four-time national qualifier. This was an era before there was a regional qualifying tournament or an NCAA-sanctioned tournament for Division II schools. A National Golf Coaches Association committee selected six teams and an additional six to ten individuals to play in a national tournament. “It was a huge thing just to be able to go play,” Lockwood says of the May national tournament. Maynes remembers national tournaments in Boston; Raleigh, North Carolina; Indianapolis; and Des Moines, Iowa. “It was a great experience, and golf courses were phenomenal. I’m 37 years old now. That was a lifetime experience I may never have again. “I got to play two practice rounds at these fantastic courses and the tournament was three rounds.” Off the course, team members visited the site of the Boston Tea Party, the bar made famous in the television series Cheers, and the Indy 500 track. Teammate Holly (Ramsell) Piearson says, “The most important thing is the friendships and the opportunities to travel and play different courses.”
WINTER 2010
19
d-Rabbit Tracks_Magazine
2/24/10
1:13 PM
Page 20
WOMEN’S
SPORTS HISTORY The Texas trip Before the 1993-94 season, golf was strictly a fall sport. To give the team a better shot at national qualification, spring events were added. The second half of the season always began with a spring break trip to Fort Worth, Texas. “We took the People Mover or my wife drove one of the vans one year. It was a lot of fun,” recalls Steve Randall, who helped Lockwood and Amundson and later became head coach. Ramsell recalls, “We had to play two rounds of eighteen holes right in a row. We were sunburned and tired when we were done.” Don’t interpret that as a complaint, especially after a phone conversation with her mother during her sophomore or junior year. “My mom called and asked, ‘What are you doing this weekend?’ I said, ‘I have to go play golf.’ She said, ‘Did you hear what you said? There are people that would just love to go play golf.’ “I wanted to stay and hang with some of my other friends. Then I thought about it. I get to go play golf and my friends are sitting in class,” Ramsell says.
Welcome to Division I The trio formed the core of the team as it launched Division I play and are still in the top ten for career scoring average. Ahead of Evans on the career-scoring list are (in order) Hillary Gerster, Sydney Sturdevant, and Rebecca Swords. The later two are current members of the team while Gerster dropped golf in spring 2009 to focus on getting accepted into the pharmacy program. Holly Opatz, who graduated in 2009 and played more rounds of Division I golf than any other Jackrabbit, is number five on the career scoring list. Amanda Rosol is another notable player. “She was the type who came here as a student but turned into being a really good golfer for us,” Baszler says. “She wasn’t a Division I golfer when she came here but became one. She was a tennis player and golfer in high school, and became my most improved golfer.” Coach notes Rosol also was selected for pharmacy school last spring. She was one of five conference all-academic selections.
A relaxed environment While competing for the Jackrabbits wasn’t a weekend golfing vacation, “We didn’t feel pressure from the coaches,” Ramsell says. “You just take it hole to hole. It’s not like you can hand the ball off to your teammate and go. For the most part you’re nervous for the first few holes, then you get in a groove. “I was more nervous in high school. At college, not that many people paid attention to it.” Baszler, who was named coach in 2003 and became a full-time coach in 2008, says, “Expectation has changed. Women’s golf is something people know about. Back in the day it was an afterthought. Today it is more of a sport than a leisure activity.” At the top of the list in the Division I era is Kelly Evans, a Brookings native who transferred to SDSU from Bucknell. She teamed with Lindsey Brown and Kelli Endahl to help SDSU qualify for the regional tournament in spring 2004, State’s last year of Division II play.
Success on the horizon Golfers compete in The Summit League with the conference tournament champion automatically qualifying for the national tournament. In 2008, the Jackrabbits finished second out of ten teams with Gerster and Rosol each placing in the top five. In 2009, SDSU took a step backward, finishing fifth. But Baszler is optimistic. This year’s junior-laden team has no seniors. “The future is very bright. The success on the women’s side hasn’t been as quick as the men’s side but I think the next year is going to be very good. We’ve got a good foundation for not just next year but the years to come,” says Baszler, who now has six scholarships to offer. It’s a big jump from the one that Lockwood had to offer. But when one looks closely at the current Jackrabbit family picture, there is still a strong resemblance to the ones that have been snapped ever since 1975.
EQUESTRIAN PROGRAM BROKEN IN, GROWING INTO NATIONAL PRESENCE SDSU’s stable of athletic teams grew to twenty-one with the addition of equestrian, a women’s sport, in fall 2005. Megan McGee was hired as head coach August 31, 2004, and Joe Humphrey was added to the staff in spring 2005. The pair continues to reign over a program that has sent riders to national competitions each year since 2007, when Kaylee DeVries became the first Jackrabbit to compete nationally.
20
RABBIT TRACKS
DAVE GRAVES
SDSU became the twenty-second school to field an equestrian team when the announcement was made summer 2004. The NCAA doesn’t field a tournament for the sport because not enough schools have teams. So SDSU competes for crowns awarded by the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (English riding) and the Varsity Equestrian National Championships (Western riding). National caliber In addition to DeVries’ performance in intermediate equitation at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association nationals, the 2007 postseason also saw its seven-rider Western riding team qualify for the Varsity Equestrian National Championship in Waco, Texas. The 2008 postseason saw four national qualifiers—Abby Knobbe and Marian Michalson in English riding, and Lydia Placzek and Trisha Smeenk in western riding. Smeenk placed third and Placzek was fourth in reining.
d-Rabbit Tracks_Magazine 2/23/10 9:41 AM Page 21
LEFT: Ashley Marrin, a junior landscape architecture major from Palos Heights, Illinois, competes in Chicago in 2009. RIGHT: Kaylee Mundwiler, a senior Spanish and global studies major, from Milbank, competes at Texas A&M in November 2009.
The 2009 postseason again saw the Jackrabbits’ Western squad selected to compete in the Varsity Equestrian National Championships, gaining a number-ten seed in the twelve-team field. Also, at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association Zone Championships top-two performances by Ashley Marrin, Melissa Zajac and Molly Ryan earned them trips to the IHSA Nationals in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Marrin placed fourth at nationals in intermediate equitation on the flat. Last year the program’s first full class completed its eligibility. This year Tory Ruppert is among the graduating seniors. Personally, her highlights include finishing first in both days of competition at a Crookston, Minnesota, meet in December 2009 and advancing to the Western National Semifinals in 2009. A place of their own What have been the biggest achievements for the program? Ruppert says, “It would have to be getting the new buildings so we can practice inside year around, and we’re making the girls better each year.” This is the second year at the Nathelle and Lawrence DeHaan Equestrian Center, which was dedicated October 15, 2008. The program has previously used a smaller private facility located near I-29 and Highway 14 northeast of campus. DeHaan Equestrian Center sits on 154 acres directly north of campus off of Highway 14. The 50,000-square-foot center includes a riding arena of nearly 26,000 square feet compared with 6,000 at the leased Pegasus Equine Center. The benefit is more riders can practice at once. That meant the team roster could grow. It started at twenty-eight in 2005-06 and peaked at forty-two in 2007-08. Privately financed The plan is to take the roster to sixty riders, but that will require an expansion of stables. The SDSU Foundation plans to raise funds for that project after all the funds are in for the current $3.6 million building. Other project pieces are a large outdoor arena, viewing rooms, coaching offices, a meeting room, and a trophy room. The lead gift for phase one came from 1937 grad Nathelle DeHaan. The DeHaans were active in the local horse community for nearly five decades, judging and showing quarter horses. In addition to the climate-controlled indoor arena, the current facility includes forty-two stalls as well as additional areas for
“THE PROGRAM HAS BEEN AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THESE TALENTED STUDENT-ATHLETES TO KEEP RIDING AND GET THEIR EDUCATION AND OPEN UP SOME DOORS THEY WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO IF SDSU HADN’T BEEN WILLING TO TAKE A CHANCE ON US.” COACH MEGAN MCGEE
grooming, washing, and preparing horses. There are also work areas for veterinarians and farriers, and a locker room/study area. Marking a new path Reflecting on her six-plus years with the program, McGee says, “It was a pretty steep learning curve, especially when you go to combine the horses with a traditional sports program. Understanding terminology–with media and people in the University—was a challenge. “There were new vendors, new ways of doing the traditional business. . . . Equipment added a whole new dimension to what athletics had been prepared to offer.” She cited an example of buying bits for the horses. “Between campus, and there are so many departments that the bid process has to go through, by the time the proposal got to Pierre, bit became bite. Horse suppliers don’t know what a bite is. No one bid on the bites. So if no one bids on it, you can’t get it. “I couldn’t operate my program without bits to ride the horses in during practice. But people were good with getting it straightened out,” McGee says. Now the program is saddled up for another year of postseason competition with aims of collecting hardware for the future trophy room. “The program has been an opportunity for these talented studentathletes to keep riding and get their education and open up some doors that they wouldn’t have been able to if SDSU hadn’t been willing to take a chance on us,” McGee says. DAVE GRAVES
WINTER 2010
21
d-Rabbit Tracks_Magazine 2/23/10 9:41 AM Page 22
FALL RECAP 2009
WOMEN’S SOCCER, MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
EARN SUMMIT HONORS
The fall was a time for athletic excellence at SDSU. The football team went to its first-ever Football Championship Subdivision playoff game (see story on page 12), the men’s cross-country team won the conference title in the thin air of host Southern Utah, and the women’s soccer team won a share of the Summit League title for the second straight year. Young soccer squad hosts SDSU’s first Summit League tourney The 2009 season could easily be seen as a rebuilding year for a soccer squad that lost nine seniors and eight starters from the previous year. “We knew there would be some learning and adjusting to new roles and responsibilities at the beginning of the season,” says head coach Lang Wedemeyer, “but they came together very well through conference play.” The Jacks ended the season with a 11-7-2 overall record and a share of the league title. Getting to that point wasn’t always a smooth ride. Wedemeyer notes a turnaround in October. After two overtime losses at home, the Jacks traveled to Western Illinois where they posted a 2-1 win. “To get a win away from home was something that propelled us through the rest of the Summit League schedule,” Wedemeyer says. That propulsion started the next day with one of the season highlights, scoring in the last minute and short one player to beat Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis 1-0. On the young squad, players had to step into new roles that required more playing time. Players with twenty to thirty minutes in games the year before were called on to compete for eighty or ninety minutes per game in 2009. “Kelli Herman was a great example of a someone who hardly played at all in 2008 and played almost ninety minutes every game this season and got stronger as the season wore on,” Wedemeyer says. The Jacks fell short of their goal by losing the Summit League championship game to IUPUI. The loss was all the tougher because it came on their home field. The tournament was the first Summit League conference tournament held in Brookings and Wedemeyer gives the event high marks for professionalism.
Emily Quigley dribbles away from a defender in The Summit League championship at Fishback Soccer Park in Brookings. Indiana UniversityPurdue University Indianapolis claimed the crown 4-1. 22
RABBIT TRACKS
d-Rabbit Tracks_Magazine 2/23/10 9:41 AM Page 23
FALL RECAP 2009
ABOVE: The Jackrabbit men bolt from the starting line at The Summit League Cross Country Championship at Cedar City, Utah. SDSU upset the favored hosts, Southern Utah, 59-64, to become the first men's team to win a Summit League title. Pictured, from left, are Mike Krsnak, Alex Lohr (back), Anthony Bongard, Jake Schneller (back), Greg Vollmer, Jared Ailts (back), Greg Beesley (headband), Marshall Kambestad, Kyle Schmidt (back).
“Everything from the organization to the field maintenance to the hospitality tent was done with class,” Wedemeyer says, noting the hard work put in by assistant coach Brock Thompson. Looking ahead to next year, Wedemeyer notes the loss of only one senior and a good recruiting class headed for SDSU. “I am sure our players remember how it felt to lose that last game on our home field,” Wedemeyer says, “and that they want to work extra hard this off-season to be even better in 2010.” Thinclads excel in Utah’s thin air Youth was also a factor on the fall men’s cross-country squad with only one senior on a team dominated by freshmen and sophomores. Coming off a 2008 season that coach Rod DeHaven says was disappointing, the Jacks thought they were better than their preseason pick to finish fifth at the Summit League meet. “In 2009 we grew up quite a bit,” according to DeHaven, who notes the emergence of junior Greg Vollmer as a team leader. “He really grew up as a young man. He was always rock solid. He got everybody fired up before races.” Throughout the season, DeHaven and his squad were focused on the Summit League meet, hosted by Southern Utah, the unanimous preseason choice to win the title. October was an important month for the Jacks. They ran well, winning their own meet and finishing third out of twenty-nine teams in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Off the course, a study of meet results pointed to a flaw on Southern Utah’s squad where the fourth and fifth runners were showing inconsistency. DeHaven thinks the Thunderbirds may also have been hurt by an ambitious schedule that had them hosting a
home meet sandwiched by airplane trips to other meets before the conference meet. “That was a tough schedule,” DeHaven says, “especially for a team that didn’t have a ton of depth.” Depth wasn’t DeHaven’s concern as much as getting his runners ready to compete in the thin air of the Southern Utah course 6,000 feet above sea level. There are methods for training at sea level for high elevation races. DeHaven explains that it requires a training regimen designed to keep runners tired. “You try to run the whole workout tired,” DeHaven says. In the end, DeHaven believed his squad wasn’t mature enough for such a training schedule. His tactic was to build up their confidence. “We tried to instill as much confidence as we could, saying we were a prohibitive favorite at sea level and a close favorite at Southern Utah’s level,” DeHaven says. The Jacks came through in the thin air to win the conference crown, the first Summit League title for a men’s sport at SDSU. The event was capped by DeHaven’s selection as coach of the year. “Southern Utah will come back kicking and screaming,” DeHaven predicts. “Competition is always going to bring out the best in folks.” As for bringing out the best in his young squad, DeHaven believes that to be successful, veteran members who train by running as much as eighty-five miles a week may have to increase that regimen. “We probably need to run even more to be more successful on a national level,” DeHaven says. “You need fifteen guys willing to deal with the sacrifices and make running a lifestyle.” DANA HESS
WINTER 2010
23
d-Rabbit Tracks_Magazine 2/23/10 9:41 AM Page 24
At South Dakota State University, our football program is more than wins and losses on the field. It ’s about heart, passion, and growing young men into leaders for tomorrow. Now you have the opportunity to help mold the future of Jackrabbit Football by becoming a Locker Legend in the new Dykhouse Student-Athlete Center! Be one of the first 110 people to step up and contribute $1,000 a year on a 5- or 10-year pledge to the Dykhouse Student-Athlete Center and a locker will be labeled in your honor. Your name will be displayed on a personalized plaque inside the Jackrabbit Football locker room, showing your pride and support well into the Jackrabbits’ future.
d-Rabbit Tracks Cover_Layout 1 2/23/10 9:12 AM Page 2
Milestones reflect Jackrabbit momentum
LOCKER LEGENDS OPPORTUNITY
Greetings to the Jackrabbit Family! We had a great fall and I can really feel the momentum of our success as a program and University. As I reflect on the past several months, here are some noteworthy achievements of our student-athletes and our Department: • Our student-athletes have a cumulative GPA of 3.16, with fifty-nine perfect 4.0’s, an additional ninety-eight with a 3.5 or higher and another 130 with a 3.0 or better (that’s 287 out of 475 above a 3.0). Perhaps more impressive is that we are spread over seventy majors with many in biology, engineering, pharmacy, nursing, and economics. • Our women’s soccer team won the Summit League regular season title and our men’s cross country team brought home our first men’s Summit League Championship. • The football team made the FCS playoffs for the first time in school history (finishing as one of the top teams in the country) while winning the Missouri Valley Football Conference Academic Trophy. Our football players have an impressive 3.019 cumulative GPA. • In addition, we averaged 13,200 fans for each football game (all-time high), won the Dakota Marker for the third straight time, beat the University of Northern Iowa (personally very fulfilling!) and are 13-3 in the conference during the past two years! • The Jackrabbit Club has grown from 865 to 1,111 members since August. We are just beginning a new Letterwinners Club to engage our former student-athletes and hope to send the message “Once a Jackrabbit, always a Jackrabbit!” • We have been active with community-service activities and held our first-ever Jackrabbit Caravan to Sioux Falls in August. • We started the Jackrabbit Insider, which airs at 10:35 p.m. Sundays on KSFY. Tune in to learn about the personalities that shape our athletic program. You can also catch the Insider and other SDSU Jacks programs through Mediacom, Midcontinent, and on gojacks.com. • Jacks After Hours premiered at Cubby’s and is held at 5:15 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month. Come and join us! • Our Web site traffic has doubled, and we added radio affiliates in Rapid City and Pierre. On television, six football games were aired as well as several men’s and women’s basketball games. We added three new billboards on I-29 and I-90. • The jackrabbit mascot spent four weeks in first place of the Capital One Mascot Challenge and Coach Stig was a finalist for the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year. • The Dykhouse Student-Athlete Center is open, and we gave a facelift to the athletic offices. • We are in the process of completing a master plan for athletic facilities that include the feasibility of building a new stadium, indoor practice facility, and Frost Arena expansion/renovation, among other items. These are a few of the highlights from the past six months. We are continually making plans for the future to ensure the success of our program. We welcome everyone to get involved by attending our athletic contests and other athletic gatherings as well as becoming a member of the Jackrabbit Club. While it’s been a whirlwind for me so far, I am truly enjoying getting to know our terrific student-athletes. All of our programs are working hard to make all of you very proud! I also want to thank all of our fans and supporters for making my first year here at SDSU so special. I am convinced that we have the best fans in America! We are proud to represent SDSU and the state of South Dakota!
Go Big. Go Blue. Go Jacks.
JUSTIN SELL DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS
something l. f o t r a p , y a il e b m a to the chancelife, something truly speciaill bit Football F e b v a a r h k c u a o y J e r r e a e D e in life wrheat impact on someone’s r Locker Legends, you will m o c s ie it n tu r o p Many op ing that will have a g Student-Athlete Centes in our program. You w big, someth donation to the Dykhouse on the student-athlete With your ect and profound impact zed in the e li a n so r e p ir r d e k a c have ifference! to have a ,loyou can set up your pledgnd le p o e p d 0 1 a 1 e k ly ma e one of onture. To reserve a locker to www.GoJacks.com ao m o c e b d n a s u Please joinit Football home of the fu-688-5988 or by goinggends button. You can alsto us Jackrabb 866-GoJacks or 605 thlete Center Locker Le formation and send it by calling e Dykhouse Student-Aa check or credit card in click on ththe enclosed form with S WIN! complete hen you commit, JACK today. W Take Care, lmeier John Stiege Coach
● Pledge $10,000 over 10 years for a locker in perpetuity ● Pledge $5,000 over 5 years for a locker for five years
FOR MORE INFO visit www.gojacks.com or call 866-GoJacks
Head Footbaotlla State University South Dak
DYKHOUSE STUDENT-ATHLETE CENTER PERSONALIZED LOCKER REQUEST FORM I want to be a part of the Jackrabbit Football future by reserving a personalized locker in the Dykhouse Student-Athlete Center. ■ I am making a gift of $10,000 OR pledging $1,000 a year over a 10-year period to receive one of 110 personalized lockers, in perpetuity. ■ I am making a gift of $5,000 OR pledging $1,000 a year over a 5-year period to receive one of 110 personalized lockers, for 5 years. NAME _____________________________________ SIGNATURE ________________________________
■ Check
ADDRESS ______________________________________________________________________________
CARD NUMBER
CITY ____________________________________________ STATE __________ ZIP _________________
EXP. DATE
PHONE ________________________________________________________________________________
SIGNATURE
Return your completed form and gift to: SDSU Athletics, Box 2820, Brookings, SD 57007
■ VISA
■ Mastercard
Make checks payable to SDSU Athletics (write “Football Locker” in the subject line).
d-Rabbit Tracks Cover_Layout 1 2/23/10 9:12 AM Page 1
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY
Athletics Department Box 2820 Brookings, SD 57007-1497
NON-PROFIT US POSTAGE PAID BROOKINGS SD PERMIT 24
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY
RABBIT TRACKS VOLUME 15 NO. 1 \ WINTER 2010
JACKRABBITS IN THE COMMUNITY ATHLETES TEAM UP WITH SPECIAL OLYMPICS A RABBIT IN THE DESERT
GRIDIRON GLORY ABOVE: Construction on the $6.1 million Dykhouse Student-Athlete Center at the north end of Coughlin-Alumni Stadium progressed through fall 2009. Donors of the privately funded facility were given tours prior to a February 8 basketball game. The official grand opening is the weekend of the spring game in April 24. Look for a full story on the center in the next issue of Rabbit Tracks.
TAKING IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL