VERMILLION, S.D. — The wait is over. The No. 5-ranked University of South Dakota football team opens the 2024 season on Thursday night inside the DakotaDome when they play host to the Northern State University Wolves at 7:00 p.m. You can catch all the action on ESPN+ and Midco Sports Plus or on the radio on Coyotes Sports Network (KVHT 106.3 FM).
 
BLACK OUT

• The season opener against Northern State on Thursday will be a BLACK OUT inside the DakotaDome.
• USD is set to unveil a new all-black uniform to kick off the 2024 campaign.
• The new black uniforms comes nearly a month after the announcement of the new secondary coyote logo. 

SOUTH DAKOTA (0-0, 0-0 MVFC) vs. NORTHERN STATE (0-0, 0-0 NSIC)
Date | Time				Thursday, August 29 | 7:00 PM (CT)
Location | Stadium				Vermillion, S.D. | The DakotaDome (9,100)
Game Day Information				Click here for the latest information about tickets, parking, food & beverage, activities and more.
Television				ESPN+/MidcoSports: Jay Elsen (play-by-play) and Andre Fields (analyst).
Radio				Coyote Sports Network by LEARFIELD (KHVT 106.3 FM): John Thayer (play-by-play), Gary Culver (analyst), and Jerry Palleschi (sideline).
Streaming Audio				Varsity Netowrk
Live Stats				SIDEARM | StatBroadcast
Game Notes				South Dakota | Northern State | MVFC
Social Media				@SDCoyotesFB  | #GoYotes x #WeAreSouthDakota | @sdcoyotesfb  | Facebook

GAME STORYLINES

• The Yotes return 15 starters from the 2023 squad that went 10-3 and made the program's first-ever appearance in the NCAA FCS Playoffs quarterfinals.
• The Coyotes are ranked No. 5 in both major FCS preseason polls (STATS Perform & AFCA Coaches') and were picked to finish third in the highly competitive Missouri Valley Football Conference.
• South Dakota is in search of their first win in the month of August under head coach Bob Nielson (0-2).
• USD enters the ninth season under Nielson in 2024, the program's 30^th head coach.
• Northern State marks the first non-Division I opponent on the schedule since William Penn University (NAIA) in 2014, where the Yotes won 41-16 (Sept. 16, 2024).
• It's the first NCAA Division II opponent since 2011 in a season where they went 3-0 against DII opponents (NW Oklahoma State, Lindenwood, and Missouri S&T).
• Since the turn of the century, South Dakota is 25-11 (.694) against current members of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).

⬛️ 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄. 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊. ⬛️

It's finally here, Coyote football returns this week!

📅 Aug. 29
⏰ 7:00 PM
📍The DakotaDome#GoYotes x #WeAreSouthDakota pic.twitter.com/4zKkJPmB6F

— South Dakota Football (@SDCoyotesFB) August 26, 2024

COYOTES IN SEASON OPENERS

• Dating back to 1889 with available records (missing records from 1890-95), South Dakota is 78-55-2 in season openers.
• Since joining the Division I FCS ranks in 2008, USD holds an 8-17 record in season openers.
• Also with available records, USD is 6-4 in season openers in the month of August (2-3 in the DI era).
• The last season opener to be in the month of August was against UC Davis (W, 10-7) in 2013 (Aug. 31).

SERIES HISTORY

• The Coyotes and Wolves meet for the ninth time to kick off the 2024 season.
• USD has won the eight prior meetings (8-0) with the last meeting being back in 1997.
• The Yotes prevailed 41-16 in the 1997 meeting with both teams being members of Division II at the time.
• For Nielson, it'll be the 12^th meeting he's had with Northern State in his career, holding a 7-4 record.
• 10 of those meetings came while he was at DII Minnesota Duluth (7-3) while they were conference foes. The first meeting came during his tenure at UW-Eau Claire.

AROUND THE VALLEY

• USD is one of four MVFC teams to play on Thursday night to kick off the 2024 season with two teams making trips to play Power 5 opponents.
• Thursday MVFC games: Murray State @ Missouri, Youngstown State @ Villanova, and North Dakota State @ Colorado.