University of South Dakota Athletics

Don Bierle, a native of Yankton, SD, was a former state senator, who played an instrumental role in getting the necessary legislation passed for the construction of the DakotaDome when administration discussion started in 1972. A former president of the South Dakota Alumni Association, Bierle was sports editor of the Yankton Press & Dakotan for 25 years. He was one of the originators of the South Dakota Sports Writers Association and a founder of the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame.