South Dakota Coyotes football

South Dakota Coyotes football
South Dakota Coyotes football
	2024 South Dakota Coyotes football team
First season	1889; 136 years ago
Athletic director	David Herbster
Head coach	Travis Johansen ; 1st season, 0–0 (–)
Stadium	DakotaDome; (capacity: 9,100)
Location	Vermillion, South Dakota
NCAA division	Division I FCS
Conference	Missouri Valley
All-time record	524–500–36 (.511)
Playoff appearances	8; (Div. II): 1973, 1985, 1986, 2006; (Div. I FCS): 2017, 2021, 2023, 2024
Playoff record	Div. II: 4–4 (.500); Div. I FCS: 3–3 (.500)
National finalist	1; (Div. II): 1985
Conference titles	11; (1 MVFC, 10 NCC)
Rivalries	North Dakota State; South Dakota State (rivalry); North Dakota (Sitting Bull Trophy)
Colors	Red and white;
Fight song	Hail, South Dakota!
Mascot	Charlie Coyote
Marching band	The Sound of USD
Website	goyotes.com

The South Dakota Coyotes football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of South Dakota located in the U.S. state of South Dakota. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC). South Dakota's first football team was fielded in 1889. The team plays its home games at the 9,100-seat DakotaDome in Vermillion, South Dakota.

History

Classifications

1952–1959: NAIA
1956–1972: NCAA College Division
1973–2007: NCAA Division II
2008–present: NCAA Division I FCS

Conference memberships

1889–1921: Independent
1922–2007: North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
2008–2011: Great West Football Conference
2012–present: Missouri Valley Football Conference

Head coaching history

The Coyotes have had at least 26 head coaches throughout the program's history. It is not known who coached the team between 1889–1900. South Dakota did not field teams in 1943 and 1944 due to World War II.


Coach	Seasons	Term	Wins	Losses	Ties	Win%	Conference titles	Playoff appearances
No coach	5	1889–1890, 1894–1895, 1900	11	5	3	.657	N/A	N/A
Bert H. Morrison (manager)	2	1898–1899	5	2	2	.666	N/A	N/A
Ralph Norton	1	1901	6	1	1	.812	N/A	N/A
Arthur H. Whittemore	10	1902–1909, 1920–1921	37	21	6	.625	N/A	N/A
Joseph Pipal	1	1910	5	2	0	.714	N/A	N/A
James Henderson	3	1911–1913	15	5	0	.750	N/A	N/A
Ion Cortright	2	1914–1915	9	4	3	.656	N/A	N/A
Blaine McKusick	2	1916–1917	3	8	2	.307	N/A	N/A
John W. Stewart	2	1918–1919	3	8	0	.272	N/A	N/A
Stub Allison	5	1922–1926	20	19	3	.512	0	N/A
Vincent E. Montgomery	4	1927–1930	15	16	3	.485	1	N/A
Stanley G. Backman	3	1931–1933	11	16	1	.410	0	N/A
Harry Gamage	18	1934–1941, 1946–1955	82	67	7	.548	4	N/A
Cletus Clinker	1	1942	5	3	0	.625	0	N/A
Grant Heckenlively	1	1945	0	4	0	.000	0	N/A
Ralph Stewart	6	1956–1961	19	33	2	.370	0	N/A
Bob Burns	1	1962	1	9	0	.100	0	N/A
Marv Rist	3	1963–1965	6	21	0	.222	0	N/A
Joe Salem	9	1966–1974	51	39	2	.565	3	1
Beanie Cooper	4	1975–1978	18	24	1	.430	1	0
Dave Triplett	10	1979–1988	70	45	0	.608	0	2
John Fritsch	3	1989–1991	10	21	0	.322	0	0
Dennis Creehan	5	1992–1996	28	27	0	.509	0	0
Ron Rankin	2	1997–1998	8	14	0	.364	0	0
John Austin	5	1999–2003	22	32	0	.407	0	0
Ed Meierkort	8	2004–2011	54	35	0	.606	1	1
Joe Glenn	4	2012–2015	12	34	0	.260	0	0
Bob Nielson	9	2016–2024	53	48	0	.525	1	4

Championships

Conference championships

The Coyotes have won 11 conference championships.


Year	Conference	Coach	Overall record	Conference record
1927†	North Central Conference	Vincent E. Montgomery	7–2	5–0
1938		Harry Gamage	7–1	5–0
1939†			4–5	4–1
1947†			7–2	4–0
1951			7–1	6–0
1972†		Joe Salem	9–1	6–1
1973†			8–3	6–1
1974†			8–3	5–2
1978		Beanie Cooper	7–4	5–0–1^
2005†		Ed Meierkort	9–2	4–2
2024†	Missouri Valley Football Conference	Bob Nielson	TBD	7–1

† Co-champions

^ South Dakota and Nebraska–Omaha split games in 1978, which counted as a tie in the NCC standings.^[2]

Playoff appearances

NCAA Division II

The Coyotes appeared in the Division II playoffs four times. Their record was 4–4.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1973	Quarterfinals	Boise State	L 10–53
1985	Quarterfinals Semifinals	Central State (OH) North Dakota State	W 13–10 ^2OT L 7–16
1986	Quarterfinals Semifinals National Championship	UC Davis Troy State North Dakota State	W 26–23 W 42–28 L 7–27
2006	First Round Second Round	Northwood Grand Valley State	W 31–28 L 17–35

NCAA Division I-AA/FCS

The Coyotes have appeared in the FCS playoffs four times, with a combined record of 4–4.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2017	First Round Second Round	Nicholls State Sam Houston State	W 38–31 L 42–54
2021	First Round	Southern Illinois	L 10–22
2023	Second Round Quarterfinals	Sacramento State North Dakota State	W 34–24 L 17–45
2024	Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals	Tarleton State UC Davis Montana State	W 42–31 W 35–21 L 17–31

Record versus Missouri Valley Football Conference

Records through the end of the 2016–2017 school year.

^[3]

Opponent	Win %	Wins	Losses	Ties	Last meeting
Illinois State	.167	1	5	–	Won 27–24 on 10/22/16
Indiana State	.667	2	1	–	Won 33–30 on 10/15/2016
Missouri State	.500	2	2	–	Won 40–10 on 10/24/2015
North Dakota State	.335	26	53	3	Lost 21–28 on 11/19/2016
Northern Iowa	.415	19	27	1	Won 28–25 on 10/8/2016
South Dakota State	.496	52	53	7	Lost 28–3
Southern Illinois	.333	1	2	–	Lost 28–35 11/5/2016
Western Illinois	.286	2	5	–	Lost 34–35 10/29/2016
Youngstown State	.000	0	5	–	Lost 20–30 on 10/1/2016

Notable former players

Notable alumni include:

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of January 7, 2025.^[4]

2025	2026	2027	2028	2029	2030
at Iowa State	at Northern Colorado	at Kansas State	at McNeese	Idaho	at Iowa State
at Lamar	Eastern Washington	McNeese			Portland State
Northern Colorado	at Boise State	at Eastern Washington			at Idaho
Drake

References

^ University of South Dakota Graphic Standards and Editorial Guide. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
^ "2023 Media Supplement (PDF)" (PDF). University of South Dakota Athletics. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
^ "South Dakota Historical Data (Football)". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
^ "South Dakota Coyotes Football Future Schedules". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved January 7, 2025.

External links

Official website

[1] University of South Dakota Graphic Standards and Editorial Guide. Retrieved April 16, 2016.

[2] "2023 Media Supplement (PDF)" (PDF). University of South Dakota Athletics. Retrieved December 7, 2024.

[3] "South Dakota Historical Data (Football)". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved October 7, 2015.

[nonconfopp-4] "South Dakota Coyotes Football Future Schedules". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved January 7, 2025.

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