:South Dakota Coyotes football

{{Short description|College football team of University of South Dakota}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2024}}{{Infobox NCAA football school

| CurrentSeason = 2024 South Dakota Coyotes football team

| TeamName = South Dakota Coyotes football

| Image = South Dakota Coyotes wordmark.svg

| ImageSize = 100

| FirstYear = 1889; {{Time ago|1889}}

| AthleticDirector = David Herbster

| HeadCoach = Travis Johansen

| HeadCoachYear = 1st

| HCWins = 0

| HCLosses = 0

| Stadium = DakotaDome

| StadCapacity = 9,100

| StadSurface =

| Location = Vermillion, South Dakota

| NCAAdivision = I FCS

| Conference = Missouri Valley

| ATWins = 524

| ATLosses = 500

| ATTies = 36

| PlayoffApps = 8
(Div. II): 1973, 1985, 1986, 2006
(Div. I FCS): 2017, 2021, 2023, 2024

| Playoffs = Div. II: 4–4 ({{Winning percentage|4|4}})
Div. I FCS: 3–3 ({{Winning percentage|3|3}})

| NatlTitles =

| ConfTitles = 11
(1 MVFC, 10 NCC)

| DivTitles =

| AllAmericans =

| uniform =

| FightSong = Hail, South Dakota!

| MascotDisplay = Charlie Coyote

| MarchingBand = The Sound of USD

| Rivalries = North Dakota State
South Dakota State (rivalry)
North Dakota (Sitting Bull Trophy)

| WebsiteName = goyotes.com

| WebsiteURL = https://goyotes.com/sports/football

|NatlFinalist=1
(Div. II): 1985}}

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.

class="wikitable"

|+

!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

Bert H. Morrison (manager)

|2

|1898–1899

|5

|2

|.666

|N/A

Ralph Norton

|1

|1901

|6

|1

|.812

|N/A

Arthur H. Whittemore

|10

|1902–1909, 1920–1921

|37

|21

|6

|.625

|N/A

Joseph Pipal

|1

|1910

|5

|2

|0

|.714

|N/A

James Henderson

|3

|1911–1913

|15

|5

|0

|.750

|N/A

Ion Cortright

|2

|1914–1915

|9

|4

|3

|.656

|N/A

Blaine McKusick

|2

|1916–1917

|3

|8

|2

|.307

|N/A

John W. Stewart

|2

|1918–1919

|3

|8

|0

|.272

|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

Dennis Creehan

|5

|1992–1996

|28

|27

|0

|.509

|0

Ron Rankin

|2

|1997–1998

|8

|14

|0

|.364

|0

John Austin

|5

|1999–2003

|22

|32

|0

|.407

|0

Ed Meierkort

|8

|2004–2011

|54

|35

|0

|.606

|1

Joe Glenn

|4

|2012–2015

|12

|34

|0

|.260

|0

Bob Nielson

|9

|2016–2024

|53

|48

|0

|{{Winning percentage|53|48}}

|1

|4

Championships

= Conference championships =

The Coyotes have won 11 conference championships.

class="wikitable"

|+

!Year

!Conference

!Coach

!Overall record

!Conference record

1927†

| rowspan="10" |North Central Conference

|Vincent E. Montgomery

|7–2

|5–0

1938

| rowspan="4" |Harry Gamage

|7–1

|5–0

1939†

|4–5

|4–1

1947†

|7–2

|4–0

1951

|7–1

|6–0

1972†

| rowspan="3" |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

|11–3

|7–1

† Co-champions

^ South Dakota and Nebraska–Omaha split games in 1978, which counted as a tie in the NCC standings.{{Cite web |title=2023 Media Supplement (PDF) |url=https://goyotes.com/documents/2023/8/29/2023_FB_Media_Guide.pdf |access-date=2024-12-07 |website=University of South Dakota Athletics |language=en}}

Playoff appearances

=NCAA Division II=

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

class="wikitable"

{{CollegePrimaryHeader|team=South Dakota Coyotes|Year|Round|Opponent|Result}}

align="center"

| 1973

| Quarterfinals

| Boise State

| L 10–53

align="center"

| 1985

| Quarterfinals
Semifinals

| Central State (OH)
North Dakota State

| W 13–10 ^2OT
L 7–16

align="center"

| 1986

| Quarterfinals
Semifinals
National Championship

| UC Davis
Troy State
North Dakota State

| W 26–23
W 42–28
L 7–27

align="center"

| 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.

class="wikitable"
{{CollegePrimaryHeader\|team=South Dakota Coyotes\|Year\|Round\|Opponent\|Result}}
align="center" \| 2017	First Round Second Round	Nicholls State Sam Houston State	W 38–31 L 42–54
align="center" \| 2021	First Round	Southern Illinois	L 10–22
align="center" \| 2023	Second Round Quarterfinals	Sacramento State North Dakota State	W 34–24 L 17–45
align="center" \| 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.

{{cite web|url=http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/active/s/south_dakota/index.php|title=South Dakota Historical Data (Football)|publisher=College Football Data Warehouse|access-date=October 7, 2015|archive-date=September 5, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905080311/http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/active/s/south_dakota/index.php|url-status=dead}}

Opponent ! Win % ! Wins ! Losses ! Ties ! Last meeting
class="wikitable"
Illinois State	{{winpct\|1\|5}}	1	5	–	Won 27–24 on 10/22/16
Indiana State	{{winpct\|2\|1}}	2	1	–	Won 33–30 on 10/15/2016
Missouri State	{{winpct\|2\|2}}	2	2	–	Won 40–10 on 10/24/2015
North Dakota State	{{winpct\|26\|53\|3}}	26	53	3	Lost 21–28 on 11/19/2016
Northern Iowa	{{winpct\|19\|27\|1}}	19	27	1	Won 28–25 on 10/8/2016
South Dakota State	{{winpct\|52\|53\|7}}	52	53	7	Lost 28–3
Southern Illinois	{{winpct\|1\|2}}	1	2	–	Lost 28–35 11/5/2016
Western Illinois	{{winpct\|2\|5}}	2	5	–	Lost 34–35 10/29/2016
Youngstown State	{{winpct\|0\|5}}	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.{{cite web |title=South Dakota Coyotes Football Future Schedules |publisher=FBSchedules.com |url=https://fbschedules.com/ncaa/south-dakota/ |access-date=January 7, 2025}}

class="wikitable"

{{CollegePrimaryHeader|team=South Dakota Coyotes|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

|