The Sioux Falls Cougars football team represents the University of Sioux Falls, located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in NCAA Division II college football.
The Cougars, who began playing football in 1902, currently compete as members of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
Sioux Falls won the NAIA Division II football national championship in 1996 and the NAIA football national championship in 2006, 2008 and 2009. All four of Sioux Falls national championships have been undefeated seasons.
Contents
History
Jon Anderson took over as coach in 2017, replacing Jed Stugart. Stugart took over for alum Kalen DeBoer in 2010. DeBoer led USF to a 67–3 record in his five years with 3 national titles as head coach. Legendary coach Bob Young led the Cougars from 1983–2004 guiding them to their first national championship in 1996.
From 2008–2010 the team sported a 42-game winning streak which tied an NAIA record.. In 2012, USF moved to NCAA Division II and joined the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and now has a 69–19 record in the NSIC. Sioux Falls has a 76–26 mark in 102 games at the Division II level. Additionally, the Cougars have made four playoff appearances in the past five years (2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019), missing only in the 7–4 season in 2018. The Cougars won their first-ever NSIC title in 2016 with head coach Jed Stugart leading the Cougars to an 11–0 league mark and 12–1 overall. They had their first-ever playoff win and home playoff win with a 34–21 verdict in the first round of the NCAA Division II playoffs at Bob Young Field, they advanced to the second round in the NCAA Division II playoffs and would lose to end their 2016 season.
Conferences
1892–1920: Independent
1917–1939: South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference
1940–1947: South Dakota College Conference
1948–1959: South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference
1960–1976: Tri-State Conference
1977–2000: South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference
2000–2011: Great Plains Athletic Conference
2012–present: Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference
Championships
Postseason appearances
NCAA Division II
The Cougars have made four appearances in the NCAA Division II playoffs, with a combined record of 1–4.
NAIA
The Cougars made sixteen appearances in the NAIA playoffs, with a combined record of 36–12 and four national championships.
Notable players
The football program has had four NAIA Players of the Year Award winners, running back Nick Kortan in 2002, quarterback Chad Cavender in 2007, quarterback Lorenzo Brown in 2009 and receiver Jon Ryan in 2010. The program has won 19 conference titles, including 10 in the SDIC (1981, 1984, 1988–1989, 1994–1999) and 9 in the GPAC (2001–2004, 2006–2010).