Coughlin–Alumni Stadium

Coughlin-Alumni Stadium is a 15,000-seat stadium in Brookings, South Dakota. It opened in 1962 replacing State Field and is home to the South Dakota State University Jackrabbits football team. The stadium is name in part for Charles Coughlin, who donated towards the construction of the stadium.

Coughlin-Alumni Stadium will celebrate its 50th season as home of the Jackrabbit football team during the 2011 season. In the quest to maintain it as the second best football facility in the state of South Dakota (to the DakotaDome), Coughlin-Alumni Stadium has undergone major changes during recent years. A new scoreboard was installed in the south end zone prior to the 2005 season. The scoreboard, which was manufactured by Brookings-based Daktronics, measures approximately 121 feet wide by 56 feet high and features a large full-color ProStar video replay screen in the center with additional statistical and advertising panels. Each game-day production features live game action, instant replays, real-time statistics, full-motion graphics, interactive contests and games, commercial spots and special features from around the entire campus. The football scoreboard was part of a $3 million upgrade to scoreboard display systems and signage at SDSU athletic facilities.

Also in recent years, lights were added, parking lots were paved, new restrooms were constructed, a new ticket booth added, and an organized tailgating area known as “The Backyard” was cleared directly north of the stadium. With the addition of the lights during the summer of 2001, CAS became the home of the Brookings High School Bobcats. SDSU played its first game under the lights at CAS on Sept. 1, 2001, defeating Ferris State (Mich.), 34-24. The Jackrabbits have gone on to compile a 20-5 record in night games at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium.

The stadium project was started after Charles Coughlin, a 1909 SDSU graduate and former student-athlete, donated $50,000 towards the building of a new stadium to replace State Field. The remaining $250,000 of the original $300,000 cost was raised from alumni, students and friends of SDSU. Within two years after the completion of the stadium, a locker room facility was constructed and a press box added. Staff offices and meeting rooms were later added on the east side of the grandstands, next to the practice fields.

In spring 2010, the Dykhouse Student-Athlete Center opened in the north end zone. The Dykhouse Center is the home to many athletic offices, film rooms, and training rooms, along with the home locker room.

Plans are in the works for a complete stadium renovation, with long term plans calling for a horseshoe style stadium similar to TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis (only at a much smaller scale)Citation?. All of these improvements will be implemented once funding and donations have been received.

The natural-grass stadium opened Sept. 22, 1962, when the Jacks lost a 9-7 decision to Arkansas State. Through the first 48 years of operation, there have been 256 games against 60 different opponents at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium, with SDSU holding a 158-98 record (.617 winning percentage) on its home field. There has never been a tie game at CAS.

Since moving to the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision in 2004, the Jackrabbits have posted a 25-7 mark at CAS, but have had much less success overall trying to compete at this level.

The largest crowd ever to see a football game of any kind in South Dakota came through the turnstiles on Nov. 17, 2007, when 16,345 fans watched the Jackrabbits defeat North Dakota State, 29-24, for the Great West Football Conference title. NDSU entered the game undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the FCS Coaches Poll. The previous single-game attendance record was set on Hobo Day, Oct. 19, 1985, when 16,193 fans saw SDSU defeat the University of South Dakota 24-12. USD also was undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the nation at the time. In 2009, SDSU set a single-season attendance record as an average of 13,265 fans attended each of the Jackrabbits’ five home games. All five of the games drew crowds better than 10,000 fans. The Jackrabbits have performed well in front of large crowds, winning eight of the 10 most-attended games.

Top 10 Crowds

References

• http://www.gojacks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=15000&ATCLID=925148&SPID=7153&SPSID=88457
• http://issuu.com/jackrabbitathletics/docs/fb_media_guide_2010-2/5?mode=a_p