Bob Nielson has retired as head coach of the South Dakota Coyotes (MVFC). The Coyotes are coming off the school’s best season as an FCS program and named defensive coordinator Travis Johansen as Nielson’s replacement.
Nielson guided USD since 2016 reaching the FCS playoffs once in his first five seasons but took the program to new heights in his final two seasons. In 2023, the Coyotes went 10-3 marking the first time the program had 10 or more wins since 1986 and the first time as an FCS program. USD reached the FCS quarterfinals as the third-seeded team before losing to North Dakota State. Nielson signed a four-year extension in the offseason following the program’s best season to that point.
As good as 2023 was, the 2024 season turned out even better as the Coyotes won a share of the MVFC for the first time in school history. The 11 wins tied the 1986 season for most in program history and South Dakota reached the FCS semifinals for the first time. While South Dakota fell to top-ranked Montana State (Big Sky) in the semifinals, it was the best season as an FCS team with Nielson receiving MVFC Coach of the Year honors.
Nielson’s career began at NCAA Division III Ripon College in 1989. After two years with the Redmen, he was named the head coach of the D-III Wartburg Knights in 1991. He went 39-14 overall in five seasons including the IIAC title in 1993 and two playoff appearances. In 1996, he joined Wisconsin-Eau Claire where he went 22-11 overall in three seasons and led the Blugolds to the D-III semifinals in 1998. The next step for Nielson was to D-II where he took over the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs and led them to exactly 100 wins over 10 seasons including D-II National Championships in 2008 and 2010. In his final five seasons with the Bulldogs, he won or shared four Northern Sun titles, won 10 or more games each year, and made the D-II playoffs each season.
Nielson’s first step into the FCS came in 2013 when he was named head coach of Western Illinois for three seasons. In his final year with WIU, he led them to the FCS Playoffs before joining USD in 2016. In his 9 seasons with South Dakota, he went 53-48 overall and 33-32 in the MVFC. Nielson went 239-128-1 overall, 170-85 in conference games, and 19-12 in NCAA playoff games while winning 8 conference titles and two National Championships over his 32 seasons as a head coach.
South Dakota will begin the 2025 season at Iowa State (Big 12) on August 30 in Travis Johansen’s debut followed by a road game at Lamar (Southland) on September 6. Johansen’s first two home games will be against Northern Colorado (Big Sky) on September 13 and Drake (PFL) on September 20. USD’s first MVFC game in 2025 will be at the defending FCS Champions North Dakota State on September 27.
Photo Credit to the University of South Dakota Athletics
