VERMILLION, S.D. — Head football coach Travis Johansen has added James Bain to the South Dakota football staff as the offensive line coach for the 2026 season.
 
"Coach Bain is a phenomenal addition to our staff. He has a track record of developing high level offensive lineman at all levels of Division I football, alongside an incredible work ethic," said Johansen. "He brings a mentality of toughness, detail, and physicality that is right in line with what we are about at the University of South Dakota."
 
Bain joins the Coyotes after two seasons at the University of Minnesota where he served as the assistant offensive line coach for the Gophers for the 2025 season. In his first season at Minnesota, he coached a Gopher offensive line that protected for a balanced unit (18 rushing scores, 20 passing scores) that averaged 26.2 points per game.
 
Prior to Minnesota, Bain coached at UTEP for two seasons (2022-23). His first season in 2022, he was a defensive analyst before transitioning to the offensive line coach role, along with assistant special teams coach in 2023.
 
"I am fired up to have an opportunity to join Coach Johansen and the rest of the Yote family. This is a chance that I could not pass up. I knew right away that coming to Vermillion to work alongside Tim Morrison and Matt Vitzthum was a situation I could not turn down," said Bain. "The University of South Dakota football program is one that is known for elite offensive line play and I am grateful to lead these young men into battle. You can expect high energy and enthusiasm out of me. Excited to be a part of the Yote family!"
 
Bain got his start in coaching at Northern Arizona as a graduate assistant from 2019-20. While with the Lumberjacks, he worked with the special teams, tight ends, and running backs.
 
"I couldn't be more excited to work alongside of James and welcome his fiancé, Grace, to our family here in Vermillion," concluded Johansen.
 
He started his career at Humboldt State (Calif.) – now Cal Poly Humboldt - where he made close to 30 starts at tackle and helped lead the Lumberjacks to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) title in 2015 with a 10-2 (6-0 GNAC) record. He finished his career as a graduate transfer at Northern Arizona for the 2018 season.
 
Bain earned his bachelor's degree in criminology and justice studies from Humboldt State in 2018. He earned his master's degree in educational leadership from Northern Arizona in 2019.