# South Dakota Coyotes football

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 | North Central Conference | Harry Gamage | 7–1 | 5–0 |
| 1939† | North Central Conference | Harry Gamage | 4–5 | 4–1 |
| 1947† | North Central Conference | Harry Gamage | 7–2 | 4–0 |
| 1951 | North Central Conference | Harry Gamage | 7–1 | 6–0 |
| 1972† | North Central Conference | Joe Salem | 9–1 | 6–1 |
| 1973† | North Central Conference | Joe Salem | 8–3 | 6–1 |
| 1974† | North Central Conference | Joe Salem | 8–3 | 5–2 |
| 1978 | North Central Conference | Beanie Cooper | 7–4 | 5–0–1^ |
| 2005† | North Central Conference | Ed Meierkort | 9–2 | 4–2 |
| 2024† | Missouri Valley Football Conference | Bob Nielson | 11–3 | 7–1 |
† Co-champions
^ South Dakota and Nebraska–Omaha split games in 1978, which counted as a tie in the NCC standings.

## 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.
| 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:
* Byron Bullock
* Matt Chatham
* Kameron Cline
* Tom Compton
* Filip Filipovic
* Stefan Logan
* Ko Quaye
* Tyler Starr
* Chris Streveler
* Jamel White
* Ordell Braase
* Thomas Dooley

## Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of January 7, 2025.
| 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 | | | | | |