Burns, Bob
Born Feb. 8, 1920, in Sioux City, Iowa. 1938 Sioux City Central HS grad. 1942 University of South Dakota. One of the most colorful and successful football coaches in state history, he began coaching in 1947 in Yankton. He also coached at Washington High, Augustana, the University of South Dakota and O’Gorman High School. In […]
Busch, Galen
The Huron High and South Dakota State grad got in on the ground floor of high school volleyball in South Dakota and left as the winningest volleyball coach in the state. The first person from the sport of volleyball to be selected to the Sports Hall of Fame, Busch had a 617-305 record in 26 […]
Christensen, Jill
Jill (Smidt) Christensen graduated in 1979 from Lennox High School and from Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa in 1983. In high school, she was a two-time Class A 1st team All-State girls basketball player and earned four medals at the State Track Meet in the 880-yard run and the 2-mile relay. While at NWC, […]
Coplan, Burdell
Born Jan. 13, 1928 in Watertown. 1946 Watertown HS grad. 1952 USD grad. Coplan was the football coach at Canton High School for 35 years (1955-89), compiling a 228-82-9 record. Seven times his teams were undefeated (1959, ’61, ’63, ’70, ’71, ’75, ’86) and five times the C-Hawks were ranked No. 1. His 1986 team […]
Dirksen, Jay
A 1963 graduate of General Beadle High School in Madison, Dirksen excelled as a runner and a coach. The 1968 South Dakota State grad coached SDSU to the 1973 NCAA Division II men’s cross country title before spending more than 30 years as a coach at the Division I level, mostly at Nebraska. He began […]
Dummermuth, Chris (Sandvig)
Dummermuth has spent virtually her entire life playing, teaching and coaching tennis – beyond what any woman has done in South Dakota. She grew up near the McKennan Park courts in Sioux Falls and started played tennis when she was 10. She was a two-time state prep singles champion (1971-72) at Washington High. She played […]
Thune, Harold
A Murdo High and University of Minnesota grad, Thune was one of the state’s greatest basketball players in the 1930s. He led Murdo to the 1937 state Class B tournament finals, where he was named captain of the all-tourney team. He was the top scorer in the tourney with 35 points. After one year at […]
Tibbs, Casey
Casey Tibbs: Born March 5, 1929 near Fort Pierre. Perhaps the most famous rodeo competitor of all time, Tibbs was to rodeo what Babe Ruth was to baseball. A 28-foot tall bronze statue of Tibbs riding the famed bucking horse Necktie was dedicated outside the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs in 1989. […]
Tiefenthaler, Jeff
Jeff Tiefenthaler, a 1981 graduate of Armour High School and 1986 graduate of South Dakota State University (SDSU), played a pivotal role in helping Armour win seven state titles—three in track & field and two each in baseball and basketball. At SDSU, he excelled in both football and track & field. Initially attending on a […]
Tiefenthaler, Denis
Dennis Tiefenthaler was born on May 17, 1962, and now resides in Dewey (AZ). In the words of hall of fame member Greg Hanson, “Athletic versatility did not originate with Dennis Tiefenthaler, he has simply refined it to an art seldom seen before in the state of South Dakota. In a time when two out […]