John Stiegelmeier


John Stiegelmeier is an American former football coach. He served as the head football coach at South [Dakota State University] from 1997 to 2022, compiling a record of 199–112. In his final season, he led the 2022 [South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team] to the NCAA Division I Football Championship title, the first national title in South Dakota State Jackrabbits football program history.

Coaching career

Stiegelmeier was hired as the 20th head coach of the South Dakota State Jackrabbits football program in 1997. In 1999, Stiegelmeier was named the North Central Conference Coach of the Year after finishing the season with an 8–3 overall record. Stiegelmeier was also honored as the Great West Football Conference Coach of the Year in 2007 after compiling a 7–4 overall record and winning the GWFC title. He was also named by the American Football Coaches Association as the 2007 NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision Region 5 Coach of the Year along with being named one of the five finalists for the 2007 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award. Stiegelmeier was also a finalist in 2009. Stiegelmeier was the recipient of the 2022 Eddie Robinson Award.
After 26 seasons, John Stiegelmeier, one of the most accomplished coaches in FCS football, announced his retirement on Thursday January 19, 2023. Stiegelmeier exited on top, as South Dakota State won the school's first-ever national title in Stiegelmeier's 26th and final season as head coach.
Overall, Stiegelmeier led the Jackrabbits to a 199-112 record in 26 seasons. With Coach "Stig" as the head coach, took SDSU to the FCS playoffs 12 times and is one of only two FCS programs to reach the postseason each of the past 11 seasons. SDSU won playoffs in nine of playoff seasons and finished in the top 25 of both major FCS polls in 14 of the last 17 years, including a 2023 [NCAA Division I FCS football season|No. 1] ranking at the end of the 2022 season.
South Dakota State reached the Football Championship Subdivision during the 2022 season. Following a season-opening, 7-3 loss at Iowa, SDSU won a school-record 14 consecutive games, as well as a 8-0 mark against Missouri Valley Football Conference. Stiegelmeier won the 2022 Eddie Robinson Award
He was replaced as head coach by defensive coordinator Jimmy Rogers.