September 01, 2010
(Madison, SD) -- Dakota State University’s men’s basketball team continues their assistance and involvement with the Habitat for Humanity project in Madison, S.D. Recently, the Trojan men’s basketball team painted a house.
This is one of the many projects that Habitat for Humanity does to be able to help and support the building of houses in the Madison area.
The Trojan men’s basketball took some time off the court to volunteer and enhance their involvement with the community as part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Champions of Character initiative program.
DSU men’s basketball student-athletes took part of community/volunteer service for a minimum of five hours each semester.
Barbara Johnson is the executive director of the East Central South Dakota Habitat for Humanity. For more information or interested in volunteering in the Habitat for Humanity project, contact Barbara Johnson at 605-427-9906.
August 23, 2010
(Kansas City, MO) -- Former Dickinson State volleyball coach Dave Moody has been selected to the NAIA Hall of Fame. Moody led the Blue Hawks to 12 regular season conference championships, eight trips to the NAIA National Tournament, five appearances in the elite eight and a national championship in 2000. He was named the NAIA National Coach of the Year in 2000. In 18 seasons, Moody led the Blue Hawks to a 466-159 record.
He joins former Blue Hawk players Funda Aliskan and Neslihan Yilmaz as NAIA Hall of Famers and is the second DSU coach to be honored, joining football coach Hank Biesiot. Moody will be inducted on November 29 at the NAIA National Tournament in Sioux City, IA.
Other notables from the 2011 Hall of Fame class are former NBA standouts Scottie Pippen from Central Arkansas and Terry Porter from Wisconsin-Stevens Point, who will be honored at the NAIA Division I hoops tournament in Kansas City on March 22.
For complete information on 2011 NAIA Hall of Fame honorees, go to the NAIA web-site.
August 19, 2010
(Valley City, ND) -- Two women’s athletic teams at Valley City State University were recently recognized for academic excellence during the 2009-2010 academic year by their respective national associations.
The Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) named the Viking Women’s Basketball team to the 2009-10 Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll. This award, given to teams in the NAIA and NCAA, and Junior College/Community Colleges, awards teams throughout the nation that carry the highest grade point averages (GPA) for the entire season. The GPA of VCSU’s Women’s Basketball team was 3.688 on a 4.0 scale, second nationally in the NAIA and third in the entire WBCA.
In addition, the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced recently that the Viking Volleyball team was recognized with the AVCA Team Academic Award for the 2009-2010 season. The award honors collegiate and high school volleyball teams that displayed excellence in the classroom during the school year by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative team grade-point average on a 4.0 scale.
Dr. Steve Shirley, president of VCSU, said, “We are very proud of the tradition of academic success in the athletic programs at VCSU. We recruit young people that epitomize the term student-athlete and they take seriously the responsibility for their academic effort. Our philosophy is to encourage our student-athletes to achieve both on and off the court, and we expect that they give their best effort in all that they do.”
Valley City State University (VCSU) prepares people for life through visionary leadership and exemplary practices in teaching, learning and service. VCSU is nationally acclaimed for attracting and retaining talented individuals who advance quality learning opportunities and economic growth through technology and innovation.
August 17, 2010
(Madison, SD) -- Dakota State University’s football team volunteered to help the Habitat for Humanity project in Madison, S.D. last weekend. Partial Trojan football team helped paint houses and other projects.
This is one of the many projects that Habitat for Humanity does to be able to help and support the building of houses in the Madison area.
The Trojan Football team had their time to help and enhance their involvement with the community as part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Champions of Character program.
DSU football student-athletes took part of community/volunteer service for a minimum of 10 hours each semester. “We have had many of our athletes get started with their hours even before the season started and this is just one example of the many projects we have helped within the area,” said head coach Josh Anderson. “High character kids are who we are going to build the program around and these young men are responding accordingly.”
Barbara Johnson is the executive director of the East Central South Dakota Habitat for Humanity. For more information or interested in volunteering in the Habitat for Humanity project, contact Barbara Johnson at 605-427-9906.
August 10, 2010
(Dickinson, ND) -- Coming off a second straight NAIA Football National Championship, Sioux Falls, SD holds the No. 1 position in the Football Coaches’ Preseason Top 25 Poll, announced by the NAIA on Monday. Coached by first-year general Jed Stugart, the Cougars begin defense of their national title with a Sept. 4 night game at Northwestern, IA. Sioux Falls rides a school-record 29-game winning streak into that match-up, which is the longest active streak in any level of college football.
National runner-up Lindenwood, MO is rated second with Carroll, MT third, St. Xavier, IL fourth and Morningside, IA fifth.
Defending DAC co-champions Minot State and Dickinson State are rated in the preseason balloting. The Beavers, coming off an 8-3 record in 2009, are ranked fourteenth, while the Blue Hawks, fresh off a 7-4 season, are ranked eighteenth.
Go to the NAIA website for the complete poll.
August 04, 2010
(Dickinson, ND) -- On Tuesday, August 3, at a meeting comprised of presidents, athletic directors, and coaches, members of the NAIA-affiliated Dakota Athletic Conference voted to move to plan for a five-team schedule and conference beginning July 1, 2011. This decision effectively speeds up the timeframe recently established with the applications from current DAC members Black Hills State University and the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology being formally accepted to candidacy by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). With BHSU and SDSM&T moving forward with their NCAA application, the five-school schedule would have ordinarily been implemented on July 1, 2012; yesterday’s decision essentially serves to move up the scheduling change by one year.
Dr. Steve Shirley, president of Valley City State University and the current president of the DAC Board of Directors commented, “This is a time of transition for the DAC. The NAIA is a strong association with nearly 300 member colleges and universities, and the five institutions have declared their commitment to the NAIA and look forward to beginning the new schedule. We wish BHSU and SDSM&T well in their future paths, but are also excited to explore a new direction with new possibilities as we focus on the terrific competition and long-term, historic rivalries among our five member schools.”
The DAC and its member institutions are affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Dakota State University (SD), Dickinson State University, Jamestown College, Mayville State University, and Valley City State University are the five member institutions who will begin with the new scheduling effective in fall 2011. Coaches and athletic directors will begin the process of planning for the schedules under the new format immediately.
July 30, 2010
(Dickinson, ND) -- Dickinson State University named Kristen Fleury the new head coach of softball and assistant director of athletics. She begins her new position Aug. 2.
A defensive specialist, Fleury has served as the interim head softball coach since 2009. Prior to that, she served as assistant coach for the Blue Hawks. A native of San Jose, Calif., Fleury attended nearby West Valley Junior College (Saratoga) from 2003-05 where she twice helped the Vikings claim 3rd place finishes in the state. In 2005, she was named to the All-Coast Conference 2nd team.
Fleury transferred to Dickinson State in 2005, and, in two years, she started 90 games at third base for the Blue Hawks. Her .353 career batting average helped DSU to the 2006 and 2007 DAC championship and DAC Tournament championship. Fleury was a first-team All-DAC selection in 2006 and 2007.
Fleury graduated from DSU in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in University Studies with minors in coaching and sociology.
“I want to thank Dickinson State and the community of Dickinson for their support and for putting their trust in me to lead this softball program,” Fleury said. “I am extremely fortunate to work with great people and athletes here in Dickinson and am excited to continue to lead this program at the national level.”
July 27, 2010
(Madison, SD) -- Dakota State University’s Athletic Director Gene Wockenfuss announces the hiring of Scott Hortness as the new head baseball coach. He replaces Dean Berry, who left earlier this summer to take a position at Northern State.
Hortness was a top assistant baseball and pitching coach at Campbellsville University in Kentucky since 2002. He helped the team capture the regular season championship four times and won the conference tournament six times. Campbellsville has been ranked nationally six of the last seven seasons and qualified for the NAIA World Series in 2009.
“I want to thank Gene Wockenfuss, the search committee and Dakota State University for putting their trust in me,” said Hortness, “and thank you to Campbellsville University and Beauford Saunders for treating me so well for nine years.”
Hortness is originally from Parker, S.D. He has a masters and bachelors in education from Northern State University. Hortness had been assistant baseball coach at Dakota Wesleyan, University of South Dakota and Northern State. He has numerous years of experience in coaching from youth to amateur levels.
“I’m elated that Scott Hortness has accepted the position as DSU’s head baseball coach,” stated Wockenfuss. “Scott brings a wealth of experience from his very successful winning programs. He’s a local South Dakota guy from Parker that attended DSU and played baseball until DSU’s mission change and the sport was temporarily discontinued, then he transferred to Northern State.”
“It was obvious from the start of the process that Scott is very passionate about his time spent at DSU and believes that the baseball program can be elevated to a consistent competitor at the national level,” said Wockenfuss.
Hortness will also be an instructor in the College of Education at DSU.
“The growth and development that we are discussing not only will affect the baseball program but the entire university and community of Madison,” added Hortness. “Achieving those goals will take the cooperation, communication, organization and patience of many people. I am looking forward to being a part of this challenge.”
July 12, 2010
(Rapid City, SD) -- South Dakota School of Mines student-athletes do not have a lot of spare time during their normal day of being a student and a collegiate athlete. Things such as studying, going to class, practice, traveling and competition make up a large portion of their daily activities. But despite their time demands, Hardrocker student-athletes found time to devote countless hours and energy to “give back” to the community during the recent academic year. This often meant leaving the comfort of their dorm rooms and venturing out into Rapid City to participate in a variety of community service projects.
“One of the very important initiatives of President Wharton and South Dakota School of Mines as a whole has been for the institution to become more involved with the community,” said Hardrocker Athletics Director Dick Kaiser.
A total of 218 Hardrocker student-athletes and staff members volunteered their time over the past year in which they logged 2,115 hours of community service.
Kaiser indicated, “The number of individuals, the number of hours and the various activities emulating from the student-athletes, coaches and athletic administrative staff within our athletic department was a tremendous effort to accomplish a portion of that goal,” Kaiser said.
“Many of our student-athletes and coaches take great pride in connecting with the community of Rapid City. It was an absolute pleasure to watch the various interactions, especially with the youth, and know that we were making a positive difference in someone’s life that day, even if it was only for an hour or two,” Kaiser added.
Activities the Hardrockers were involved in included: Big Brothers-Big Sisters; YMCA youth programs; a Red Cross blood drive; Christmas programs for kids; Breast Cancer Awareness; hosting a Lions Club Eye Bank awareness night; hosting a free track and field camp for local kids; help organize and run a youth volleyball camp; mentoring an after school reading program; and the entire department helped plant trees around the SD Mines campus on Earth Day.
“We obviously feel that community service is a necessary and vital part of the entire educational experience at South Dakota School of Mines,” Kaiser said.
“It is our desire to embed a community service mind-set that will stay with each of our student-athletes long after they graduate. Our coaches and student-athletes were challenged last fall to become more actively engaged within the area of community service in whatever way they so chose. I am extremely proud of the effort that was made by everyone within the athletic department to accomplish what I hope is just the beginning step of increased interaction in the future.
July 12, 2010
(Madison, SD) -- Dakota State University’s Athletic Director Gene Wockenfuss announces the hiring of Michael Nekuda as the head men’s and women’s
cross country coach and the head women’s track coach.
Nekuda was an assistant coach for the DSU cross country team when they earned their first Dakota Athletic Conference title in 2009. He left to become the distance track and field coach at Laramie County School District in Cheyenne, WY. He returns to DSU following a successful year at Laramie where he coached the women to the state indoor championship and accumulated 7 all-state performances and 4 state individual champions.
Wockenfuss says Nekuda’s past experience with the DSU team is an asset. “Mike was part of the recruitment process for the current team, and has a similar training philosophy to former Coach Trent Mack.” Nekuda replaces Mack, who left earlier this month to take a position in Ohio.
Nekuda has a masters in human performance and physical education from Adams State College in Alamosa, CO. He earned an undergraduate degree in physical education from Black Hills State University, where he ran cross country and track.
“I am excited to start the cross country season, and am honored to coach such dedicated student athletes. I fully accept the responsibility to lead this program and continue the winning ways of DSU,” states Nekuda.
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