Jim Miner - Inducted 2021

Jim Miner graduated for Watertown High School in 1959 and Huron College in 1963.  He was known as a tireless recruiter at Yankton who got many boys and girls participating in extra-curricular activities.  In 2019, he was still volunteering his services to coach students and mentor coaches.

Miner was football defensive coordinator under Max Hawk from 1965-94 as the Bucks won eight state titles and 17 ESD titles.  He then took over the program as head coach from 1995-1998 where the Bucks won one state title and two ESD titles.  He was an assistant track & field coach from 1965-1979 and became Yankton's head track & field coach from 1979-2000, guiding the boys to three state titles and the girls to four.  The boys won nine ESD titles and the girls three during his tenure.  He also served as an assistant track & field coach at Mount Marty College where he coached four All-American athletes.

Miner was named to the halls of fame of the South Dakota High School Coaches Association, the National High School Athletic Coaches Association, and the South Dakota Cross Country and Track & Field Coaches Association.  He was named State Boys’ Track & Field Coach of the Year in 1992 and 1996, the State Girls’ Track & Field Coach of the Year in 1979, and State Assistant Coach of the Year in 1989.