Nine years in the making
On Nov. 17 the University of South Dakota will travel to Brookings to take on South Dakota State University and renew a rivalry as old as the state it’s held in.
The moment the Dakota Agricultural College established itself in February 1881, a new found rivalry was born. Shortly after, the Dakota Territory was divided and South Dakota became the 40th state to enter the union in 1889. From that moment onward the rivalry between the state’s two largest universities has grown exponentially.
In 1922, the University of South Dakota and newly renamed South Dakota State College pioneered the North Central Conference as two of the nine first charter members, strengthening the football rivalry between the two teams. Since then the rivalry has experienced stoppage just twice, once because of World War II and then again in 2003 when South Dakota State converted to a Division-I program and ended play between the teams indefinitely
Former members of the 2003 football team recall the rivalry.
Former USD head coach John Austin said the rivalry has always been passionate.
“When I played in the 70s, it was always a big and heated battle. There was certainly no love lost between the two teams,” said Austin.
Former USD linebacker Josh Gassen described the passion and intensity that an in-state rivalry creates.
“When you come into a rivalry game, especially one of this nature, it doesn’t matter what the records are,” Gassen said. “The great thing about those types of games is that the entire state got involved. Everybody was very passionate about whichever side they rooted for. It meant a lot to everybody: the community, university, faculty, fans, non-athletic and athletic individuals.”
Former USD wide receiver Chris Mikklesen remembers the rivalry vividly.
“It was a huge game. Something we circled on the calendar. The fans and students all looked forward to the games every year. The rivalry was always a dog fight,” Mikklesen said. “This year’s crowd is going to be in for something special.”
Former USD offensive lineman Nikolas Hagemann said he quickly caught onto the rivalry.
“Moving in from Iowa into South Dakota, it didn’t take long to pick up how big the rivalry was and how important the game was throughout the state,” Hagemann said. “The game carries a lot of emotions and anybody who has ever put on a pad and helmet knows how big a rivalry game is. It was the biggest game we played that year. It wasn’t only fun for the team, but you could tell that it was big for the fans and the schools. ”
Gassen said the 2012 Coyotes have what it takes to reclaim the rivalry.
“I still think the intensity of the rivalry lingers from 2003,” Gassen said. “Those that have been watching the team throughout the course of this season know that USD has the tools in place to win.”
