Aug. 22: Blythe Halfpop, 13, of Sioux Falls won the aerial world title at the International Aerial Arts Organization’s World Competition in Aruba. She faced competitors from all across the world including Australia, Aruba, and Columbia.
Sept. 1: Bismarck State College, Dickinson State, Mayville State and Valley City State, all members of the Frontier Conference, are all bringing women’s flag football to North Dakota starting next fall.
Sept. 2: No. 1 Nebraska stopped the SDSU volleyball team 25-18, 25-20 and 25-15 in Brookings. Nebraska was led by its All-American setter Bergen Reilly, a Sioux Falls O’Gorman graduate. A SDSU program record 5,113 fans sold out First Bank & Trust Arena to watch the match. Before the match, SDSU coach Dan Georgalas said. “We get to celebrate a 5,000-person sellout and the biggest volleyball match in the state of South Dakota’s history. I’d argue it’s the biggest event at South Dakota State since we hosted College Gameday (Oct. 26, 2019). It’ll be a pretty great day.”
Sept. 3: SDSU and Onida multi-sport standout Jim Sutton has died at age 91. He became the nation’s best free throw shooter at SDSU and was drafted by the Minneapolis Lakers. However, Jim decided to return to the ranch where he and his family created the Sutton Rodeo Company, which has become one of the nation’s best providers of rodeo stock. Jim, a former accomplished rodeo performer, was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 2020.
Sept. 4: The Northwestern football team defeated Leola-Frederick 30-14 to snap a 33-game losing streak. Will Clemens led the Wildcats with two touchdowns. Northwestern last win came on Sept. 23, 2022 (36-14 over Langford).
Sept. 5: Two McLaughlin sophomore girls made some big plays defensively in the Mustangs’ 58-12 high school football loss to Crazy Horse. C’anna Little Eagle recorded a tackle for loss and Luna Little Elk had a fumble recovery for McLaughlin.
Sept. 7: Timber Lake native Tucker Kraft was again named a captain for the 2026 Green Bay Packers.
Sept. 8: In the first regular-season NCAA Division II poll of the 2026 season released by the American Football Coaches Association, the honorable mention Northern State Wolves are receiving votes. The Wolves (2-0) are joined by NSIC counterparts No. 4 Minnesota State, No. 15 Minnesota Duluth, No. 22 Augustana, and honorable mention Minnesota State-Moorhead.
Sept. 10: Class AA No. 1 Harrisburg defeated host and Class A No. 2 Dell Rapids 3-1 in volleyball. During the match, a ceiling cable holding up one of the main basketball hoops in the Dell Rapids varsity gym snapped. No one was injured. After a short delay, the game was finished in the Dell Rapids Middle School gym.
Sept. 12: After 78 home games at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings, SDSU welcomed its 1,000,000th fan. The Jacks honored Ally Pederson of Brookings with a gift bag as SDSU defeated New Haven 57-14. Dykhouse Stadium opened in 2016.
Sept. 19: Northern State came into its football game with Minnesota State at Mankato with its best start since 1989. Both teams were 3-0 and were rated nationally, with the Wolves No. 25 and the Mavericks No. 3. Minnesota State won 35-17.
Sept. 19: For the second time in college football history, USD played host Boise State, with the Coyotes (3-1) getting nipped 38-24 to the 1-1 Broncos. The game was tied at 24 with 10½ minutes left in the fourth quarter. With five minutes left and the Coyotes trailing 31-24, USD’s Bryce Cohoon recovered a Boise State fumble on a punt on the 35-yard line of the Broncos’ blue turf. With less than two minutes to play, the Coyotes had to give up the ball on the Boise State 17-yard line after turning the ball over on downs. An 83-yard run by Dyan Riley gave the Broncos their final touchdown. The first meeting between the two schools was on Dec. 1, 1973, with Bosie State beating the Coyotes 53-10 in the first round of the NCAA DII playoffs. One of the Coyotes was defensive backs was Gary Culver, now a part of the USD broadcasting team.
Sept. 26: One of the superstars of the 2026 college football season has been Pierre native Lincoln Kienholz, quarterback of the No. 16 Louisville Cardinals. ESPN’s College GameDay interviewed Kienholz before his Cardinals took on Wake Forest.
Sept. 26: College GameDay was in Knoxville for No. 1 Texas vs. No. 14 Tennessee. The GameDay crew interviewed Aberdeen native and Tennessee coach Josh Heupel on the field. After the interview, Heupel won $100,000 for one of his favorite charities by hitting crossbar with a pass from 25 yards out. Heupel quarterbacked Oklahoma to an undefeated season and the national championship in 2000 when he was an All-American and the Heisman Trophy runner-up.
Sept. 26: The NSU football team defeated the University of Mary 21-14 in front of a sold-out crowd of 7,714 for the Wolves’ homecoming game. That attendance was a stadium record at Dacotah Bank Stadium, which opened in 2021. The Wolves have played 30 games there, winning 22. Aberdeen native Cooper Eisenbeisz (Central) opened the game with an 87-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Darion Nundley (Detroit, MI) sealed the contest for the Wolves with his first interception of the season on the NSU 13-yard line with 26 seconds to play.
Email us at dave@sdsportscene.com if you think we missed something or if you have an event you would like us to consider for this feature.
