The South Dakota State Athletic Department added a number of new employees over the summer and into the fall, and promoted several others to new positions.

Chris Bono took over the Jackrabbit wrestling program in the offseason after leading the wrestling program at Tennessee-Chattanooga for five seasons.

The wrestling program also added pair of assistant coaches in Israel Silva, a former assistant coach at the Northwest Wrestling Regional Training Center in Corvallis, Ore., and Andrew Sorenson, a two-time national qualifier at Iowa State. 

A 2012 graduate of SDSU and former student employee at the DeHaan Equestrian Center, Rachel Boone joined the staff as the new equestrian barn manager.

A former graduate assistant with the football team and 2008 SDSU graduate, Jesse Currier joined the staff full-time as the defensive tackles coach.

The football staff also saw the addition of John Flynn in February as the team's new offensive line coach. Flynn came to SDSU from his alma mater, Oklahoma, where he spent the last five seasons on head coach Bob Stoops' staff.

Fremont, Neb., native and Wayne State College graduate Jason Holtz returned to the Midwest as the Jackrabbits new assistant athletic director of facilities after spending the last four years as the facility and event coordinator at California State University, Fresno.

Eric Hrubes came to South Dakota State from Northern Iowa when he accepted the job as the Jackrabbits new assistant athletic director for marketing and promotions.

Former Nebraska Cornhusker Alex Hupp joined the Jackrabbit softball staff as an assistant coach over the summer after spending two seasons as a graduate assistant coach at Emporia State University in her home state of Kansas.

The women's basketball program added a pair of assistant coaches in the offseason to replace two coaches to accepted head coaching positions at other universities. Veteran coach Mike Jewett joined the staff in July, and brings with him nearly 20 years of coaching experience throughout the Midwest.

The Jackrabbit women also added former graduate assistant Carissa Nord to the staff in the offseason. Along with her one season as the Jacks graduate assistant, Nord also brings experience at the NCAA Division II and Division III levels.

The voice of both Jackrabbit football and men's basketball, Tyler Merriam joined the staff full-time over the summer as the coordinator of broadcast services. In addition to his play-by-play-duties, the Pierre native also serves as the host and producer of the "Jackrabbit Insider."

Ed Posaski joined the staff in August as an assistant athletic director for budget. The Freehold, N.J., native came to SDSU from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, where he worked for the last six years.

Both Ashley Joachim and Jennie Sell joined the staff as academic advisors in recent months. A Rapid City native, Joachim moved to the athletic department from the SDSU First-Year Advising Center, where she worked as a probation advisor.

Sell brought more than 10 years of experience with her when she joined the staff in August, including five years as an academic advisor for athletics at the University of Northern Iowa.

Former Jackrabbit student-athlete Sara Ackman, now Sara Schneider, joined the Jackrabbit staff in October as the coordinator of athletic development and special events.

Schneider works with Slade Larscheid, who earned a promotion to associate athletic director for development and Nik Aamlid, who also earned a promotion to assistant athletic director for annual giving.

Longtime assistant athletic director for tickets, Christi Williams accepted a new position of associate athletic director for tickets and marketing over the summer as well.

Associate Dean of Engineering Richard Reid also joined the Jackrabbits as the new faculty athletic representative. Reid replaces Mylo Helickson, who retired after serving as the FAR since 1977.