South Dakota's Identity Crisis

Football has reached mid-season. It's felt like a long month and a half for many Coyote fans as South Dakota is 1-4 coming into week #7. Although many fans were vocal, doubting South Dakota's admission to the Missouri Valley Football Conference was a good thing, I still think that the Coyotes have plenty of positives, despite the poor performance on the field so far, to bring to the conference.

As with any transition, the Coyotes are in the midst of an identity crisis. After moving up from Division II where South Dakota was extremely successful in many sports, Division I hasn't been as pleasant...yet. During the transitional years (2008-2011) the Coyotes have accumulated a record of 21-22. Here is a complete list of the wins and losses during that time:

South Dakota's QB Josh Vander Maten looks to throw
against Northwestern earlier this season. 

Wins

2008, St Ambrose 52-0 (D-II)

2008, Culver-Stockton 70-7 (D-III)

2008, Missouri S&T 34-3 (D-II)

2008, North Greenville 63-0 (D-II)

2008, Southern Oregon 37-0 (D-II)

2008, Southern Utah 42-20 (Great West) - First D-I Win

2009, William Penn 52-0 (D-II)

2009, Drake 51-31 (Pioneer)

2009, Southeastern Louisiana 44-13 (Southland)

2009, Southern Utah 45-21 (Great West)

2009, Cal Poly 50-48 (Great West)

2010, Minnesota 41-38 (Big Ten) - First FBS Win

2010, Northwestern Oklahoma State 48-14 (D-II)

2010, North Dakota 27-17 (Great West - Transitional D-I)

2010, Northern Colorado 34-6 (Big Sky)

2011, Eastern Washington 30-17 (Big Sky) - EWU #1 at the time

2011, Northwestern Oklahoma State 48-10 (D-II)

2011, Lindenwood 30-0 (D-III)

2011, Southern Utah 24-19 (Great West)

2011, UC Davis 27024 (Great West)

2011, Missouri S&T 48-14 (D-II)

Former USD QB, Dante Warren against future
conference mate Northern Iowa. South Dakota
lost this game 19-14, proving they could compete.

Losses

2008, Northern Iowa 24-13 (MVFC)

2008, Southeastern Louisiana 31-30 (Southland)

2008, Montana State 37-18 (Big Sky)

2008, Cal Poly 49-22 (Great West)

2008, North Dakota 34-31 (Great West - Transitional D-I)

2009, Northern Iowa 66-7 (MVFC)

2009, North Dakota 27-12 (Great West - Transitional D-I)

2009, UC Davis 24-23 OT (Great West)

2009, Montana State 31-24 OT (Big Sky)

2009, Northern Colorado 21-17 (Big Sky)

2010, Central Florida 38-7 (CUSA) - First FBS Opponent

2010, North Dakota State 38-16 (MVFC)

2010, UC Davis 17-13 (Great West)

2010, Northern Iowa 19-14 (MVFC)

2010, Southern Utah 31-14 (Great West)

2010, Cal Poly 38-24 (Great West)

2010, Lamar 24-20 (Southland)

2011, Air Force 37-20 (Mountain West)

2011, Wisconsin 59-10 (Big Ten)

2011, Illinois State 28-3 (MVFC)

2011, Cal Poly 27-24 (Great West)

2011, North Dakota 38-37 (Great West - Transitional D-I)

Looking through this list it is obvious to see that South Dakota has a very up-and-down transition from D-II. The first couple of years most of their wins came from D-II or D-III teams--which is a normal scenario for teams moving up to D-I. However, what separates the transitions of South Dakota from those of South Dakota State and North Dakota State was the overall success of the two "State U's" in the Great West Football Conference. Beginning in 2004, the Great West was composed of UC Davis, Cal Poly, Northern Colorado, Southern Utah, North Dakota State, and South Dakota State. Cal Poly dominated the the first two years of the Great West, however, the 2006 and 2007 were overwhelmingly dominated by North Dakota State and South Dakota State. The Coyotes did manage to perform very well against FBS competition, they beat Minnesota and they played well against against Central Florida and Air Force. South Dakota State has yet to beat an FBS team, their best performance was a 16-13 losing effort against...Minnesota. 

The other difference between The Coyote's transition was the expansion of the fanbase. North Dakota State and South Dakota State continually fill their venue for an afternoon or night of football. I remember back to the first year of South Dakota State's transition and just over 10,000 fans showed up on Hobo Day--and I was impressed. Today, if 15,000 fans don't show up on Hobo Day, that would be considered a disappointment. North Dakota State has done the same, and then some, today every NDSU game is a sell-out and the atmosphere is electric. 

The DakotaDome

Now, I've said alot on why South Dakota's transition has not been as successful as North Dakota State's or South Dakota State's, but I still think that the Coyotes have a football program that is rich with history and success that can make it a competitor in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The DakotaDome is out-dated, horribly configured, and a terrible venue--Coyote fans even know and admit that. In the next couple of years, there will be many adjustments being made. First, once South Dakota has build their new basketball facility, the DakotaDome will be available for reconfiguration. Also, if they build a new indoor track facility that also leave the DakotaDome to focus on football. For those who haven't ever been to the DakotaDome it is basically the same thing as the UNIDome except one-sided and not as pretty. 

Once those facility projects are completed and Joe Glenn has fully implemented and had a few years to recruit his players, I fully expect South Dakota to be competitive in the MVFC. Currently, it feels like the Coyotes are in limbo, they have talented players who have felt success in the past, but they just need an extra push to put them over the top. This year could certainly be a long year for the Coyote fans, but I wouldn't be surprised to see spurts of brilliant and confident performances come from this Coyote football squad. This team reminds me of Southern Illinois the past two years; they know they have talent they are just not consistent with how well they play. Be patient with the Coyotes, I'm certain that in a few years South Dakota will add to the MVFC conference strength.