It's our favorite time of year in sports. Football! The college football season begins tonight for area teams.

Opening the 2024 season tonight, the University of Sioux Falls Cougars are at St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota beginning at 6:00 PM. USD Coyotes crank up the noise in the Dakota Dome for their first game of the season against Northern State. Kickoff is 7:00 PM.

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SDSU finds the Jackrabbits in Stillwater, Oklahoma on Saturday facing Oklahoma State at 1:00 PM. And, Augustana University waits until Saturday, September 5 for a 6:00 PM kickoff in Bismarck, North Dakota against UMary.

Do you think you know your teams? How about the mascots? Let's see how many you can name:

Do You Know Your South Dakota College and University Mascots

The college football experience is an ultimate high for football fans and it takes several other teams to make that happen week after week during the season.

Just think about what goes into gameday.

First and foremost, the players and coaching staff who put in hours and hours of practice and training to play in front of their fans. Then there's field prep, game officials, live broadcasts, concessions, and on-the-field entertainment. Yep, entertainment.

Second to the game, who do you watch? The cheerleaders? The band at halftime? What about the mascot? That's a job not many people can do.

I asked Sioux Falls native and former Cagey mascot for the Sioux Falls Canaries and Little Red & Herbie for the Nebraska Huskers Nate Welch about being a mascot:

  • What does it take to be a mascot?
  • "Losing a bet or filling an opportunity!" Welch says, "An internal energized desire to love life. After meeting great performers who are introverts out of costume, they become the center of attention when they take the stage. And also feeding off the performance of others."
  • Why does the mascot never talk?
  • "Know your role and shut your mouth. You are there to entertain. Tell the story with your actions and not your voice."
  • Advice to someone putting on that costume for the first time?
  • "Remember you are now in a costume. Have fun. Otherwise, you're just a dork in tights. If the fur ain't flying you ain't trying."


So, can you name the mascots at our South Dakota Colleges and Universities? Check out the gallery below:

Gallery Credit: Dave Roberts

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