VERMILLION, S.D. - The University of South Dakota Department of Athletics kicked-off the 2011-2012 academic year by auctioning off fun and unique items to raise money for scholarships, which began Friday, August 5, at 8 a.m. CT, and runs through Monday, August 15, at 8 p.m. This is a fun and exciting way for alumni, fans, and friends from all over the country to support the University of South Dakota and, at the same time, have a chance to land some unique items.

Fans can log on to www.usdcoyotes.com and click on the Coyote Kick-off Online Auction 2011 button on the right-hand side of the home page. From there, they will be taken to the bidding page. A total of 75 items currently are up for sale on the site.

This past Wednesday, more than 200 people wearing their red and white proudly were in attendance at the Ramkota Exhibit Hall in Sioux Falls, S.D., for the annual Dinner and Auction Kick-off event.

The festivities began with a social hour that led into a tailgate themed dinner. KSFY News Sports Director, Erik Thorstenson, emceed the event and opened the program talking about his experiences as a Coyote and concluded by showing the 2010-2011 Coyote Highlight video.

Thorstenson was followed by two current South Dakota student-athletes in seniors Annie Roche from women's basketball and Will Powell from football. Both gave elegant speeches about what it means to them to be a Coyote, how much the donor dollars mean to them and their colleagues and what their aspirations going forward are with their USD education.

Coyote Director of Athletics, David Sayler, spoke about his vision for Coyote Athletics and talked about what he called "My Big Rocks" which are the focus for everything the athletic department does. His first "big rock" was discussing facility improvements for a new arena for basketball and volleyball, renovations to the DakotaDome and the creation of an outdoor track and soccer complex.

Sayler showed the 2015 Master Plans for Athletic Facilities.

From there, he spoke about the importance of graduating Coyote student-athletes and marketing the athletic program with a consistent brand and message. With the transition to Division I almost complete, Sayler mentioned the want to compete and win using "PHD" as a model for Passion, Hunger and Desire.

Sayler then asked Coyote Nation to help align with his vision by increasing home attendance, doubling Howling Pack gift donations, each current Howling Pack member getting two of their friends to join, giving to the new arena project, DakotaDome renovation or the new outdoor track and soccer complex. Check with the above links for more information on Coyote Nation and the Howling Pack.

Sayler also talked about funding a Great Expectations Scholarship and spoke about the newly instilled Coyote Letterman's Club where each student-athlete who earns a varsity letter will receive an item for each of their years of service at USD beginning with a letter jacket.

He concluded with a question to the audience "Did you build South Dakota's athletic image or did you break it?" Sayler went on to say "Starting today, we need to make a conscious effort to build relationships and each other up honestly and sincerely. We need to work at not breaking. If we can do that, then the 'building moments' will outshine the 'breaking moments' and the positive balance is definitely within our reach."

"So, the next time someone from Coyote Nation asks you, 'what did you do today?' Sayler continued. "Wouldn't it be nice to simply say, I built!"

Finally, Wayne Haines and Gary Madsen conducted the live auction where seven items were auctioned off to the highest bidder with all of the earnings going to support Coyote Athletics.

The Coyotes open the home portion of the season with an exhibition soccer game against Drake University, Aug. 11 at 4 p.m., and the regular season home opener Aug. 28 against Nebraska-Omaha at 1 p.m. The volleyball team opens the home slate Sept. 19 against rival North Dakota State at 7 p.m., while the football team opens against defending FCS National Champion Eastern Washington Sept. 10 at 4 p.m.

For information on tickets, please contact the Coyote Ticket Office at (605) 677-5959. Ticket office hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.