The University of South Dakota athletic department is first up on a new "Explore the Summit" series initiated by The Summit League office in Sioux Falls. The initiative aims to highlight a conference member, its student-athletes, staff and campus, each week over the course of two months.
 
The series launches Monday with an introduction from Coyote Athletic Director David Herbster and a USD takeover of The Summit League's Instagram account – @thesummitleague. Expect photos and videos of the Vermillion campus directly from the student-athletes.
 
Senior women's basketball player Claudia Kunzer and senior distance runner Cole Streich will represent the U in a #CanYouReachTheSummit contest in which the athletes face multiple-choice and true or false questions in a quiz spanning a variety of topics. Streich's episode will be available at noon Tuesday while Kunzer's will be available at noon Thursday.
 
Summit League Assistant Commissioner for Communications Ryan Powell will lead a Summit Sit-Down at noon Wednesday with Coyote coaches and student-athletes to discuss ways in which USD is promoting diversity and inclusion on its campus.
 
On Friday, Summit League Assistant Director for Communications Michael Palmer takes a look back at some historic moments inside the Coyotes' first decade as a member of the league. He caught up with alumna Bethany (Buell) Firsick recently and discussed how her national championship impacted both the conference's profile in the sport and the continued rise of Coyote pole vaulting.
 
Plus, each afternoon the league will feature a member of the USD athletic department staff in a "Behind the Mask" segment. Those features will display on www.thesummitleague.org and on the league's social media accounts. And look for #ReachTheSummit features on senior golfer Julia Hall, the Coyotes' Courage Award winner after battling back from a knee injury to return to her sport, and on sophomore basketball player Tasos Kamateros and his journey from Athens, Greece, to Vermillion.
 
Follow all of South Dakota's and The Summit League's accounts at:
Instagram: @SDCoyotes | @TheSummitLeague
Twitter: @SDCoyotes | @TheSummitLeague
Facebook: /SDCoyotes | /TheSummitLeague