University of South Dakota Athletics

Jon Schemmel was appointed as the University of South Dakota’s Athletic Director in December 2023, bringing 10+ years of Division I athletic department, fundraising, and development experience back to Vermillion. He served at USD from 2011-17 in various fundraising roles within the athletic department.

In his first six months leading the USD athletic department, Schemmel has revamped the Coyotes and the future is looking bright for Coyote Nation. He closed the largest private family gift in history of Coyote Athletics that endowed the first-ever coaching position and partnered with campus to introduce a new Coyote logo that had been absent from the brand since 2018. Additionally, Schemmel and his senior staff created a formal master facility plan for the athletic department moving into the future.  

His first semester in charge, USD recorded a fundraising number of over $600,000 at Calling All Coyotes, shattering the previous best of $380,000 and over $200 thousand at Unite for USD, the department's day of giving. He has secured a new turf in the Dakota Dome and a new TaraFlex court for the volleyball team. 

Athletically, the USD men's indoor track and field team was the first Coyotes squad to win a Summit League championship while Schemmel has served as AD. Schemmel also hired a pair of head coaches in Carrie Eighmey (WBB) and Chad Green (MGOLF).

In Schemmel's first fall season (2024) as Athletic Director, the USD football team won a share of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) title and the Coyote volleyball team secured the Summit League tournament championship with a five-set win over SDSU to advance to the program's fifth NCAA tournament. 

Schemmel came back to Vermillion following a stint as the President & CEO of the Foundation & Alumni Association and Vice President of Institutional Advancement at Dakota State University. At DSU, Schemmel served on the Presidential Cabinet and oversaw all aspects of DSU’ Foundation and Alumni Association.

He restructured and built a new team and culture at Dakota State and launched the $250 million Trojans Unite Comprehensive Campaign that raised $185 million dollars for the institution in his three years of leadership. Fiscal Year 2022 saw Schemmel and his team set a new record in the state of South Dakota higher education, raising $127 million dollars.
 
Prior to Dakota State, Schemmel served at Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) as the Senior Associate Athletic Director and Assistant Vice President for Development in 2017. He spearheaded the Redhawk athletic development team, working with other constituents on campus in developing a complex development program through strategic planning and relationship building. He also was a member of the team that re-negotiated a multimedia rights contract that was worth over $1 million annually
 
In 2012, Schemmel was promoted to Senior Associate Athletic Director for Development at South Dakota where he continued to be an instrumental piece in the fundraising for Coyote athletics. Joining the Athletic Director’s senior leadership team, along with sport oversight responsibilities, Schemmel helped create a three-year strategic plan for athletic development and helped to land a multi-million-dollar multimedia rights agreement for the athletic department in 2016. He led all fundraising efforts that constructed the Sanford Coyote Sports Center, First Bank & Trust Soccer Complex, and the Lillibridge Track Complex. His team also set new annual fundraising records each year in his tenure growing the Howling Pack from $800,000 annually to over $1.3 million.
 
He came to USD in 2011 as the account executive of Coyote Sports Properties (LEARFIELD Sports) where he increased annual sales by 300% in 18 months. He managed 50+ clients and was the first person in Learfield’s nationwide company to hit their sales goal in 2012.
 
Schemmel earned his bachelor’s degree in public administration from San Diego State University in 2009. He played collegiate baseball at Concordia University, St. Paul and the University of Minnesota before a four-year professional baseball career in the New York Mets and San Diego Padres systems from 2005-08.
 
Jon and his wife, Heidi, have a son, Jameson.

UPDATED NOVEMBER 2024