South Dakota State University Jackrabbits

[West-River_Jack]

Greetings from a South Dakota State University Jackrabbits fan.

I may be a bit premature in starting this thread. I also hope that you don't mind a visit from fans of the opponents. Our team has a bye this weekend so the next great thing we have to anticipate is your team's visit to Brookings on September 26th.

First, let me wish you the best of luck against Notre Dame this weekend.

Once that game is over, you may wish to start learning about your next opponent, my SDSU Jackrabbits. Let me give you a couple of suggestions for places you may wish to consider viewing. We have a pretty active fan discussion site. it is http://sdsufans.com/board/forum.php and is free and easy to navigate. If you wish to post, registration is also quite easy. We frequently welcome posts from fans of our opponents. The official website for our university's athletic department is http://www.gojacks.com/ and is full of information.

We are currently in the process of rebuilding our football stadium. It will not be fully completed until next season. However, the construction should not be a factor in the playing of the game. We are the last team in the Missouri Valley Football Conference to play on natural grass. This is our last season before we also move to an artificial turf playing surface. If you visit either of the two sites I have mentioned you will see that a lot of excitement exits, both among the university and the fans, for this stadium to be completed. I see on your website that you have a Daktronics scoreboard at your football stadium. That company was founded and is headquartered in Brookings. Needless to say, we have a new Daktronics scoreboard in our stadium too.

The extended forecast for the day predicts that the weather should be great for football.

Again, good luck in your game this weekend. We look forward to your team's visit to the state of South Dakota. We hope that a few fans will also make it to the game. Thank you for making the trip to South Dakota State University.

 

[Original_RMC]

Thank you for your visit and post West-River_Jack.

 

[West-River_Jack]

Unfortunately, the type of area you are looking for really doesn't exist in Brookings like it does in many cities. The stadium is located on the northeastern edge of the campus which is, likewise, located on the northeastern corner of the city. Beyond it, is rural farmland. But that doesn't mean you cannot find what you are looking for. Brookings is extremely easy to navigate by car. IF the 10 day forecast holds up, there are places that you can walk from restaurant to campus in nice weather. It just takes a while. (And remember, Brookings was recently named the safest college town in the nation.) Google maps says it is 1.8 miles, a 35 minute walk, from Cubby's to Coughlin-Alumni Stadium. From Buffalo Wild Wings it is 0.9 miles, an 18 minute walk. From the Ground Round, which is located in the same building as the Days Inn, it is 1.5 miles, a 29 minute walk.

I have re-posted your question on our forum. We have many friendly posters who will be far more helpful than I. I live over 350 miles from the campus. You can find that thread here: http://sdsufans.com/board/showthread.php?14113-Hospitality-Information-for-Out-of-Town-Fans which you should be able to read without the need to register.

 

[scka]

Its funny that they actually have a Ground Round across the road from campus, just like RMU. However, theirs is much newer and nicer version, complete with pictures of SDSU's most famous alum, Adam Vinatieri.

 

[West-River_Jack]

Is your group staying overnight in South Dakota, or are you flying in and out all on the same day? If you are staying, where?

 

[West-River_Jack]

It will be a small group but most are flying in Friday night and staying until Sunday morning. Some are staying in town, others near the airport.

I am assuming the airport in Sioux Falls. Am I correct? Is anyone staying in Brookings?

 

[West-River_Jack]

While my intent is only to give more information to make your stay pleasant, I have to commend you on your attention to protecting the privacy and safety of your fans and your team.

Remember that you will be in a different time zone. The game is at 5 p.m. Central Time. We wouldn't want you to travel that far and accidentally show up late. Actually, come an hour or two early and roam around in our tailgate areas. The principal one is to the north of the stadium, although people tailgate in other lots too. Wear your team colors proudly. I think you will find a warm welcome from the Jackrabbit fans there.

If you have a little time in Brookings, you might check out one or more of these local favorites: Cubby's, Wooden Legs Brewery, The Back Yard Barbeque, and Nick's hamburger shop.

If you have a chance, you can get some great ice cream which is made right on campus. SDSU teaches our dairy science students to make it right. I don't know if the on-campus store has game day hours this year (they are usually only open Monday-Friday), but there are usually at least a couple of flavors available inside of the stadium.

If you are staying in Sioux Falls, I cannot give you much advice about places to go there. It has been more than two decades since I have spent much time in that city.

If your seats are in the area where visiting fans usually sit, bring sunglasses and/or a hat/visor. The setting sun is brutal on that side of the field. The field runs north and south so the players should have less problems with the sun than the fans on the east side.

 

[n49b]

Is the game available to stream?

 

[Zalt152]

West-river_jack. Thanks for the information and hospitality. My husband and I are flying in for the game and we look forward to exploring the campus/city per your suggestions.

 

[rabidrabbit]

Is the game available to stream?

Yes. It'll be available on espn3.

 

[JackJD]

West-RiverJack, I'm not comfortable giving out more specific information but we will be at the stadium at 6:00 to support our boys! Looking forward to it.

Keep in mind: 6:00 Eastern but 5:00 Central time in Brookings.

Here's a link to the game story on GoJacks.com (official SDSU Athletics site) including a link to the usual pre-game media info in pdf format.
http://www.gojacks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=7153&DB_OEM_ID=15000&ATCLID=210362702

Safe travels and best of luck to you.

 

[JackJD]

Hey West-River_jack, there is a group of parents flying in for the weekend. Can you recommend a restaurant/bar area where our parents can meet before the game, within walking distance of the stadium? We saw Chubby's online and wondered if that would logistically make sense.

The reference to "Chubby's" made me chuckle. It's "Cubby's". My first thought was "Chubby's"? -- that must be reference to NDSU fans.

You'll want to have a car from Cubby's to the stadium...it's probably a little too far for a walk prior to a game. But Cubby's is a fun spot: a classic college-town, homegrown sports bar. Good food, good selection of cold beer including some local and South Dakota craft beers (I'm partial to some of the Crow Peak beers --- made in Spearfish, SD on the west side of the state.)

 

[JackJD]

Its funny that they actually have a Ground Round across the road from campus, just like RMU. However, theirs is much newer and nicer version, complete with pictures of SDSU's most famous alum, Adam Vinatieri.

We're real proud of Vinateiri. His nephew is a rookie -- redshirt -- on the Jacks roster. We have some other notables. One of my favorites is NFL Hall of Famer Jim Langer of the Miami Dolphins, the best center to play the game. Jim Langer played for the Jackrabbits 1966-69. Watch his grandson, Cole Langer, #54, a junior defensive lineman. He's one of the anchors of the defensive line.

 

[scka]

We're real proud of Vinateiri. His nephew is a rookie -- redshirt -- on the Jacks roster. We have some other notables. One of my favorites is NFL Hall of Famer Jim Langer of the Miami Dolphins, the best center to play the game. Jim Langer played for the Jackrabbits 1966-69. Watch his grandson, Cole Langer, #54, a junior defensive lineman. He's one of the anchors of the defensive line.

 

[scka]

You may get an argument about "the best center to play the game". We have a couple of guys named Mike Webster and Dermontti Dawson in our neck of the woods that might change your mind

 

[JackJD]

Hard to argue about Webster and Dawson. They were great players and I remember those Steelers teams. I just remember an old film about Hall of Fame inductees referring to Langer, as 'perhaps the best center to play the game'. I think there was a qualifier like "perhaps".

Geography requires most out here on the east side of South Dakota to be Vikings fans with more than a few Packers cheeseheads here and there (Brookings, home of SDSU, is a little more than 4 hours from Minneapolis). West side of the state will have more Broncos fans. I recall Dawson taking over for Webster...that was quite a pair of centers.

For the game today, it's going to be in the low- to mid-70s all afternoon with kickoff temp predicted at 73. There'll be a breeze of about 10-13 mph from the south. SDSU's stadium runs north to south. There shouldn't be any clouds in the sky. Sundown is 7:17 so the lights (they're new this season as part of the construction of the new stadium -- they're as good as daylight) will be on for most of the game. The field is natural grass and its probably going to be a little tired. The local high school plays its game on the same field. The grass will be replaced with artificial turf after this season is concluded and the west-side stands are removed and replaced prior to the 2016 season.

 

[JackJD]

Here's a view of the stadium taken from the west side, looking at the south stands (student section) and the scoreboard. Taken two weeks ago when SDSU played Southern Utah.

 

[JackJD]

One more picture: this one was taken in August from the south stands looking north. The stands to the west are what's left of the "old" stadium and will come down when this season is concluded. The brick building immediately to the north end of the field contains football lockerooms, meeting rooms, weight room etc. The larger building behind (has the white facing/roof with the Jackrabbit logo) is the new (opened last year) indoor facility which includes a practice field and 300-meter track. The steelwork behind the west grand stands is the frame for a new building. The new west grandstand will start in about the same place as the current one depicted and will go up to the building which will contain suites, press box etc. Current seating with the old west side is about 17,000. When the new west grandstand is completed, seating will be a little more than 19,000.

 

[West-River_Jack]

I had the pleasure of visiting with a couple of RMU fans in the stadium today. Good luck for the rest of the season.