Schroeder, Bob
The Miller High and University of South Dakota grad was an extremely successful high school football, basketball and track coach at Miller from the 1940s to the mid-1970s, and he coached two of the greatest teams in state history. Schroeder was an accomplished athlete at Miller while competing in those three sports. He was the […]
Swisher, Clark
Born March 27, 1916 in Vermillion. 1934 Vermillion HS grad. 1938 USD grad. Was a coach and/or athletic director at Northern State from 1946-1986. When he started at NSU, he coached football, basketball, track, tennis and golf – with no assistants. The winningest football coach in NSU history, he was 146-42-4 with four perfect seasons […]
Wachs, Bob
Born Jan. 26, 1923 in Tracy, Minn. 1947 Northern Colorado grad. The winningest coach in the history of South Dakota men’s basketball, Wachs compiled a 532-286 record in 30 years at Northern State (1955-85). The Wolves were SDIC champions 10 times and NIC champs twice under Wachs, who also led the Wolves to the NAIA […]
Martin, Doug
A basketball coach for 46 years, Martin guided Dakota Wesleyan to four conference titles and a national tournament berth in 17 seasons. Martin coached college men’s basketball for 31 years in South Dakota, starting as an assistant at the University of South Dakota from 1974-78. He was Mount Marty’s head coach for four years, then […]
Meyer, Don
Northern State’s coach for 11 seasons, Meyer retired in 2010 as the winningest men’s basketball coach in NCAA history, breaking a record set by Bobby Knight. In a 38-year career, the Wayne, Neb., native and Northern Colorado grad won 923 games and lost 324. And in all that time only one player who completed his […]
Mitchell, Floyd
Born in 1908. 1927 Highmore grad. 1933 Iowa grad. Mitchell’s career as an athlete and coach spanned more than 50 years in South Dakota. He was the coach at Southern State Teachers College (later known as USD-Springfield) for almost 30 years, and he guided the Pointers to their first South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference basketball title […]
Mitchell, Ronald
Ronald Mitchell is hearing, but for nearly 50 years was a dedicated supporter/promoter of deaf sports programs in South Dakota, Minnesota and nationally as an athlete, coach and administrator. Mitchell served as a Team USA assistant coach at the 1993 Deaf Olympics in Sweden, where one of his athletes won five gold medals. For 36 […]
Nelson, Kim
1974 Lake Benton (MN) High School/1979 Dakota State graduate. Nelson is the winningest high school football coach in South Dakota history. As the Sioux Falls Roosevelt football coach, Nelson collected his 300th career win Sept. 26, 2020. He was the first high school coach in state history to reach 300 wins. Former SF O’Gorman coach […]
Olson, Leonard
1921 Red Wing, Minn. HS grad. 1927 Luther College grad. Olson became head coach of all sports at Augustana in 1931 and remained a member of the staff until he retired in 1968. From 1931-41, the last year Augustana was a member of the South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference, Lefty’s Vikings won eight conference titles in […]
Ploof, Dave
With Ploof as its coach for 47 years, Rapid City Post 22 was one of the most successful American Legion baseball programs in the country. The Austin, Minn., native and Mankato State grad coached the Hardhats from 1965-2011, compiling a 2,483-808 record, making him the winningest coach in the history of Legion baseball. Under Ploof, […]