South Dakota State University

Texas Christian usually likes to ease into the season, and play most of its high-drama games in October and November.  This year, the Frogs are opening the season at home against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits.

South Dakota State has not made much of an impression on the college football world.  The university itself was founded in the Dakota Territory in 1881.  Back then, it was known as Dakota Agriculture College.  The first building was finished in 1883, six years before South Dakota became a state.  In 1904, the name was changed to South Dakota State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, which strikes me as a great name for a college.  But in 1964, thanks to pressure from the alumni, the name was changed to South Dakota State University.  According to U.S. News and World Report, SDSU is in a tie for 187th place among National Universities.  It is tied with the University of Alabama-Huntsville, the University of Houston, the University of Nevada-Reno, the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, Western Michigan University, and Widener University.  (Texas Christian is tied for 82d place with Miami of Ohio, UC-Santa Cruz, and the University of Iowa.)

The two most famous SDSU alumni, at least to me, are Tom Daschle and Adam Vinatieri.  (George McGovern graduated from Dakota Wesleyan University.  Tom Brokaw graduated from the University of South Dakota.)

The Jackrabbits have played football since 1889.  From 1922 to 2003, they were in the North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, which is a great name for a conference.  Their fellow members for most of that period included the University of South Dakota, the University of North Dakota, North Dakota State University, Augustana College, and Morningside College.  These were Division II schools, and to me the idea of the schools up there carrying on these rivalries year after year seems like a really good idea.  But Americans are an ambitious people, and in 2004 South Dakota State and North Dakota State broke away to form something called the Great West Conference, which is about as contrived as you would imagine.  It's defunct now.  These days, North Dakota State, South Dakota, and South Dakota State all play in something called the Missouri Valley Football Conference, which features mostly Midwestern schools.  North Dakota is in the Big Sky Conference, which features mostly Western schools.  From this I conclude that the folks at North Dakota are a bunch of snobs.

Anyway, all that ambition paid off -- at least to some extent.  North Dakota State has become the dominant powerhouse in I-AA football, winning the title in each of the last five years.  And South Dakota State has reached the I-AA playoffs for the last four years in a row -- although they have yet to make it past the second round.  Their all-time record is 571-450-38, and their best team was probably in 2014, when they went 9-5 and reached the second round of the I-AA playoffs.  They lost to North Dakota State 27-24, and then NDSU went all the way.

This year, the Jackrabbits begin the year ranked number 14 in I-AA, and their fans will have high hopes for another big season.  They are opening a new stadium, which you can see here.  Next week, they will have a Kickoff Celebration for the stadium featuring Luke Bryan, Little Big Town, and Lee Brice.  That sounds great.  Of course, it will be even better if they can show off the Big Gold Trophy.