VERMILLION, S.D. | With new sports facilities and an exciting new football conference, progress at the University of South Dakota is transforming the landscape of Coyote Athletics.
The South Dakota Board of Regents in October authorized the University of South Dakota to move forward on two major projects that will impact the backdrop of athletic facilities near the DakotaDome on the USD campus in Vermillion: the USD Sports Performance Enhancement Facility Arena and Outdoor Track and Soccer Complex and the USD Science, Health and Research Lab.
The two facilities, totaling $58.8 million, won the regents' approval during a meeting at the Muenster University Center last fall. The Sports Performance Enhancement Facility includes a 6,000-seat arena for men’s and women’s basketball and Coyote volleyball programs, a new outdoor track and field facility and a complex for the Coyote women’s soccer program.
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The Science, Health and Research Lab Building, which will connect the DakotaDome with the new arena when completed, will accommodate USD’s occupational therapy, physical therapy, physician assistant and kinesiology and sports sciences programs. Classrooms and office space along with a weight room and a state-of-the-art sports medicine area will be the structure's main features.
Along with the regents' approval to build the new facilities, USD and USD Foundation officials also announced a $20 million donation from Sanford Health that will not only launch the transformation of USD athletic facilities, it will also be used to support student scholarships and university faculty members.
Sanford Health has had a long-standing relationship with USD and has served as the sports medicine provider for the university since 2005. In addition to Sanford Health’s generous 20-year gift, the agency will continue to serve as the exclusive sports medicine provider of Coyote Athletics for the next 15 years.
“Sanford Health is making an imprint on our campus with their generous support of the University of South Dakota,” said USD Foundation President and CEO Steve Brown. “This is more than an investment in Coyote Athletics. It is a commitment to our students, the Vermillion community, the region and the state of South Dakota.”
This past year was also a benchmark for Coyote Athletics after USD received notification from the NCAA Division I Committee on Athletics Certification that the school successfully completed its self-study process pursuant to NCAA requirements for Division I membership.
As a result of this significant accomplishment, USD is fully vested in its requirements for Division I membership. In 2012-13, Coyote Athletics – with the exception of football – participated as a member of the Summit League, including the men’s and women’s basketball teams, which will play in the Summit League Basketball Tournament for the first time as conference members this month in Sioux Falls. Last fall, the Coyote football program played its first season as a full member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference, considered by many to be the premier FCS NCAA Division I conference.
The NCAA establishes benchmarks for all programs to achieve throughout a university’s transition to Division I and in the final year, that process included a self-study and site visit from a peer-review team, which was conducted at USD in September 2011.
