Fan Responses
Tim Triplett
On November 5, 2005 a Senior Day crowd of over 9,000 in the DakotaDome saw the Coyotes clinch a share of the North Central Conference title defeating the Sioux 42-30. The atmosphere in the Dome was electric and from the first play of the game, the Coyotes were simply: unstoppable. When the final gun sounded, the fans flooded the turf as the Coyotes won their 13th consecutive game at home. “There’s no place like Dome!”
In 1986 the Coyotes defeated Troy State in the Dome to secure their first trip ever to Florence, Alabama, and the NCAA Division II National Championship. The game was described as a “tug-of-war between two nearly unstoppable offenses.” The Coyote defense forced a number of big turnovers, forcing a fumble early, deep in Coyote territory to set the tone. Again the crowd was over 9,000 and under the old roof the noise was indescribable. Of course I was only four-years old at the time but I have the highlight tape memorized and recall Tony Higgins diving over first-team All-American free safety Freddie Thomas for a touchdown that set the Dome’s noise level to Crazy Loud!
Andre Fields
My favorite memory in the DakotaDome was playing South Dakota State for Dakota Days in 1997 at 7 p.m. at night! That's significant because when you combine homecoming (craziest weekend in the fall) with the Bunnies (craziest weekend of the football or basketball season no matter what) and a night game (which means getting "prepared" all day long) equals THE BEST, CRAZIEST ATMOSPERE OF ALL TIME. I remember waiting in the tunnel to come out onto the field and seeing the fans lining the endzones and I knew then it was going to be the best atmosphere for a DakotaDome game ever......Yes we won 21-7!!! Ask anyone, especially football players, what the best Dakota Days ever is and depending on when they were in school I guarantee they say 1997.
Dr. Wayne Kindle
My vote hands-down is Mandy Koupal! Not only was she an outstanding basketball player, she is terrific person.
Scott Johnson
One of my favorite memories was during the 1990 football season. We had just played a top-20 ranked Augustana team the week before Dakota Days and beat them in Sioux Falls on their homecoming. The following week we played Morningside, who was also ranked, in the DakotaDome and beat them as well. It was a great game and we come out on top. Definitely one of the best memories during my two years at USD.
Jarrod Edelen
I was a Coyote football player from 1998-2003. I think the most memorable/exciting moment was the USD/SDSU football game of 1999. It was a game where each team had a star running back in Jamel White for USD and Josh Ranek for SDSU. The students had a yard counter for each running back on the stands and I have never seen such a big crowd in the Dome. Students were lining the endzones. USD ended up losing the game in the final minutes, but it was a thrilling rivalry game filled with excitement and big plays.
JP Buzynski (USD ’86)
As a team member on the 1985 Coyote football team, my lasting memory of the DakotaDome will always be the 1985 game versus Morningside. It was a bizarre game against our closest rival, and the ending was unbelievable. I recall kneeling on the sideline with my teammates, hoping that somehow the offense could score one more time. If you dig up the articles on that game, I think you’ll agree that it was among the greatest games ever in the Dome, and certainly one that made you believe the DakotaDome was a special place.
Randy Murphy (USD ’80)
I was a student there when the dome was built and remember a couple things – of course, I remember the spring blizzard that collapsed the first roof… not USD’s finest moment… but my fondest recollection is that myself and 4 or 5 of my friends would go to the dome either early in the morning before class or late in the evening and play Frisbee golf. With the updraft holding that roof up we could throw our 180 gram Frisbees what seemed like a country mile! The greatest thing was that we always had the place to ourselves and nobody ever told us we couldn’t use the facility. It could be 25 below outside but we played Frisbee indoors on the best facility within 300 miles! Great times!
Kevin Tubbs
A Resident Assistant on my floor my freshman year, Dave Hanna, was Charlie Coyote at the time. I will never forget the football game where he attempted to ride his mountain bike off a ramp and through a banner. He flew through fine but immediately wiped out upon landing, putting him head over tail at least twice. Of course, Charlie sprung back up to cheers from the crowd.
At that point, I KNEW I had to be Charlie Coyote someday. And I was, during my final year at USD (1990-91). It was by far the most fun experience I have ever had wearing a costume.
Marla Meyer
My husband, Steve Meyer, was an offensive lineman for the Coyotes the first year the DakotaDome was used. He was a 1979 Pipestone graduate and a starter for the Coyotes for four years. The Dome was a huge drawing card for him during his campus visits. Steve also returned to USD as an offensive line coach under John Frish. Many of his recruits from Florida and the Twin Cities were also very impressed with the Dome. We have returned to the Dome on many occasions and have seen many changes. Our daughter, Hailie Meyer, now plays soccer at the University and is also able to enjoy this great facility. My how 30 years fly by.
Mike Garry (USD ’81)
I was a student when the dome opened. One thing I missed with the new DakotaDome and the old student bleachers is when anyone finished a bottle (of Coke of course), they would drop it behind under the bleachers. The sound of the bottle could be heard through the stadium. When the bottle broke the entire student section would cheer. If the bottle didn’t break, the student section would boo. We couldn’t do this in the Dome. If you watched the game on public TV or the replay later that night, sometime you could hear the bottle. One time I remember one announcer asked the other why the student section was cheering because the opponents had just made a good play. The other announcer said the student section is cheering because the bottle broke.
I also was in ROTC and part of the color guard. I was part of the last group to present the colors at the last basketball game in the New Armory and to do the first games in the Dome (football and basketball). At basketball games in the New Armory everyone was so close to the court. I remember our cheerleaders would blow us kisses as we approached them with the flags. I always looked forward to this. In the Dome the cheerleaders were off to the side and we didn’t get to make eye contact with them. In the dome it was hard to hear our commands. It was especially hard in the middle of the football field. We used our elbows to tap each other when to stop, turn, present the flags, and other commands. We simply could not hear each other over the band and the crowd.
As a student I loved the swimming pool during the winter and running on the track. The sponge-like floor was fun to run on. It was also different playing intramural basketball in the Dome. Both the floor and shooting baskets against a glass backstop without a wall close to the basket.
I always enjoyed how the student section could make so much noise in the Dome. How it was common for the crowd to draw a penalty for so much noise. Then we would take out our keys and rattle them.
