A LEGISLATIVE COMMEMORATION, Celebrating the South Dakota State University Jackrabbit football team winning the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision National Championship.
WHEREAS, the first season of football at South Dakota State University was 1889, and in the past one hundred and twenty-four seasons of football, they compiled a 644-475-38 overall record, won eighteen conference titles, and made thirteen NCAA postseason appearances; and
WHEREAS, under head coach John Stiegelmeier, and his coaching and administrative staff, the Jackrabbits hold a 199-112 record and have won four conference championships, with twelve appearances in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs; and
WHEREAS, during the 2022-2023 season, the Jackrabbits had a fourteen-game winning streak and their first outright Missouri Valley Football Conference championship after going undefeated with a record of 8-0 in league play, were ranked number one in the nation in the FCS, and outscored the opposition by a combined 168-66 in four FCS playoff games; and
WHEREAS, four players were named to All-American teams, fifteen players were honored on the All-Missouri Valley Football Conference squad, and the team's combined GPA was 3.12; and
WHEREAS, on January 8, 2023, the South Dakota State University Jackrabbit Football Team beat the defending champion North Dakota State University Bison 45-21 in the national title game, before a crowd of eighteen thousand and twenty-three fans at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT COMMEMORATED, by the Ninety-Eighth Legislature of the State of South Dakota, that Coach John Stiegelmeier and the South Dakota State University Jackrabbit football team displayed exemplary teamwork, leadership, and commitment in winning the NCAA Division I FCS National Championship. GO BIG! GO BLUE! GO JACKS!