The South Dakota State University football team moved into new headquarters following the completion of the Dykhouse Student-Athlete Center in the north end zone of Coughlin-Alumni Stadium prior to the start of the 2010 season.

“The Dykhouse Student-Athlete Center is the home of all of SDSU Football — past and present,” head coach John Stiegelmeier said. “Our present players benefit from having everything they need in one location. Our past players benefit as this facility holds the records of their past. Bottom line, the DSAC is a first-class facility for a first-class football program.” 

Construction on the Dykhouse Student-Athlete Center began in the fall of 2008 and marks the first stage of a master plan to dramatically modernize athletic facilities at SDSU. 

The $6 million donated by Sioux Falls bankers Dana Dykhouse and T. Denny Sanford in the fall of 2007 set in motion the construction of the first major athletic building on campus since Frost Arena in 1973. 

Dana Dykhouse is a 1979 graduate of South Dakota State University. A three-year letter winner on the Jackrabbit football team, Dykhouse was an honorable mention all-conference defensive tackle in 1978. His wife, LaDawn, also is a 1979 graduate of SDSU. They have two children, Dan and Alana. Dan lettered in football for the Jackrabbits from 2004-06.

The building spans nearly 30,000 square feet and was built of brick, precast concrete, and glass. 

Facing the football field, the second floor features an outdoor deck and the Chicoine Champions Room, offering panoramic views of the stadium and game-day action below for athletic department donors of a certain level and special guests. Members of the football coaching staff also use the area for recruiting functions.

Each of the coaches’ offices in the building contains windows offering views onto the field. The building’s interior includes state-of-the-art technology with rooms for editing and viewing game film, and walls are decorated with artworks highlighting great moments in SDSU sports history. 

The Dykhouse Student-Athlete Center also houses an academic center equipped with study areas, computers, tutors, and other educational aids for all SDSU teams.   

Besides housing a new locker room for the Jackrabbit football team, a well-equipped weight room for strength and conditioning is a welcomed component of the facility. Athletic training and rehabilitation areas also are  located in the Dykhouse Student-Athlete Center. 

The building was designed to allow for expansion to include coaches’ offices and meeting rooms for other Jackrabbit sports teams in the future.

What They are Saying About the Dykhouse Center

Features
(click on the photos to enlarge)

"The Dykhouse Student-Athlete Center will soon become a reality.  We are deeply grateful to the Dykhouse family and to Mr. T. Denny Sanford for their profound generosity.  They have given of themselves so that generations of student-athletes will have a drastically enhanced experience as they compete both in athletics and academics.  Their gifts signal a belief that Jackrabbit athletes deserve the very best that we can provide.  The importance of this outstanding facility for the strength of the Jackrabbit program cannot be overstated.  This facility provides an environment where coaches and athletes can excel, the recruitment process rises to a new level, and Jackrabbit alumni and friends can look at their new athletic complex with pride.  Facilities are a silent statement of what we believe in and aspire to become.  This facility gives us all an opportunity to join the Dykhouse family and T. Denny Sanford by working together to make this facility and these programs even stronger.  There is a new spirit alive in Jackrabbit Athletics.  I hope that you will contribute to this excitement by making a financial commitment for excellence that provides our family of student-athletes and coaches the support that they have earned and deserve."

- Mike Burgers - Associate AD - Development

"The Athletic Department, and specifically the Football Program, are tremendously excited about the opportunities the Dykhouse Student-Athlete Center will provide the football team. Its completion will be a huge step toward our goal to be the #1 Division I -Football Conference Subdivision program in America. The Dykhouse Student-Athlete Center will be a one-stop football facility. It will allow us to teach, train and house the football program under one roof twelve months a year. It will not only be home to the present football program, but ideally be a home for all living football alums who have worn the Yellow and Blue. The history and spirit of all Jackrabbit football players will be part of this special facility!"

- John Stiegelmeier - Head Football Coach

SDSU Locker Room

The future home of Jackrabbit Football players will consist of a stateof-the-art locker room, which will be second to none in the region. It will embody everything that SDSU Athletics stand for: Honor, Tradition, and Excellence.

Weight Room

Players will have the opportunity to condition and train in the 4,100-square-foot Strength & Conditioning Center, filled with the latest strength training and fitness equipment.

Chicoine Champions Room

Academic Center

Meeting Rooms

Coaches' Office