VERMILLION, S.D. — Head Coach Travis Johansen continues to add to his staff heading into the 2025 campaign, announcing the addition of Chad Traver as the program's head strength and conditioning coach.
 
"We have one of the best strength and conditioning staffs in the country. As we continue to invest in ways that serve all Coyotes, bringing our strength and conditioning efforts internally allows us to give our student-athletes a premier developmental experience across all athletics," commented Johansen. "Coach Traver's addition to our football staff, leading sports performance, will be instrumental in Coyote football continuing to win championships and developing NFL talent. From all levels of college football, and all regions of the country, coach brings experience that our players will benefit from immediately. More than anything Coach Traver is a quality person who cares about the person not just the athlete. We are elated to have Chad, his wife Manda, and son Tate join our football family."
 
Traver comes to Vermillion after five seasons at the University of Wyoming, where he served as the Associate Head Sports Performance Coach for the Cowboy football program. At Wyoming, he was actively involved in every aspect of managing and implementing a comprehensive program to serve the football program.
 
"My family and I are beyond excited to have the honor to serve the football athletes at the University of South Dakota and we are excited to be a part of the community," commented Traver. "Coach Johansen is a phenomenal man and leader. His vision for the future of Coyote football made us want to get here as soon as possible and get to work."
 
In his strength and conditioning career, Traver has three stops at then Power 5 institutions at Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Washington State.
 
After completing professional internships, Traver would be on staff at Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and Washington State for different segments, mainly working with football programs.
 
In 2015, Traver took his first Division I job at the University of Southern Mississippi where he oversaw the Coliseum and was responsible for the development of Golden Eagle men's basketball, women's basketball, and volleyball.
 
Making the jump to Division I as a volunteer assistant at Washington State, Traver worked with different Cougar student-athletes in 2014. He would then move to a similar role in the SEC at Ole Miss, before returning back to Washington State.
 
He began his strength coaching career at the University of Louisiana at Monroe as a graduate assistant for the 2008-09 academic year. Moving back to the Midwest, Traver first full-time roles were at Augustana (S.D.) and Morningside (Iowa) from 2010-14.
 
Traver is a 2008 graduate of the University of Sioux Falls with a degree in exercise science. In 2010, he earned his master's degree in applied exercise physiology from the University of Louisiana at Monroe.
 
Traver and his wife, Manda, and their son Tate joined the program this winter.