The South Dakota State football team contributed more than $5,300 in donations for the Children's Miracle Network during recent State-A-Thon activities on campus.

A group of players and coaches participated in a number of carnival events, including manning a dunk tank and a pie-in-the-face booth.

"My brother and cousin have both been in a children's hospital so when I had an opportunity to give back to an organization like this, I did everything I could to help support them," said Jackrabbit offensive lineman Erik Dahl. "It was a lot of fun and a great experience to compete with my teammates in the fundraising event as well."

In all, the 2012 State-A-Thon raised more than $70,000 campus-wide.

“I went into this event not knowing what to expect, but came out with a great experience not only for me, but felt that the kids were having a blast as well," said wide receiver Trevor Tiefenthaler. "It was personally rewarding to have these children come up with huge smiles and really enjoying the event, and made me feel good about the effect that we hopefully had on them by showing up, interacting and supporting these kids and this great cause.”