National Championship-winning coach retires from college football

John Stiegelmeier, who won the FCS National Championship this past season with the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, has retired from coaching.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported the news of Stiegelmeier’s retirement on Thursday. Stielgelmeier’s retirement comes after 26 seasons as the head coach of the Jackrabbits. His run with the program concluded with South Dakota State’s first FCS National Championship this season, in which they went 14-1 with a title game win over North Dakota State.

“South Dakota State head coach John Stiegelmeier is set to retire,” Thamel tweeted on Thursday. “South Dakota State won the school’s first-ever national title in Stiegelmeier’s 26th and final season as head coach.”

Sources: South Dakota State head coach John Stiegelmeier is set to retire. South Dakota State won the school’s first-even national title in Stiegelmeier’s 26th and final season as head coach in 2022. He’ll be replaced by defensive coordinator Jimmy Rogers. https://t.co/OH5rVeqFmh

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 19, 2023

Thamel reports also that Jimmy Rogers, SDSU’s defensive coordinator, will replace Stiegelmeier next season.

Before he assumed the reigns as head coach in 1997, Stiegelmeier worked on staff since 1998. He started as a defensive backs coach and was then their defensive coordinator from 1991-97.

Stiegelmeier won the 2022 Eddie Robinson Award, which honors the National Coach of the Year, for his work in the 2022 season.

At SDSU, he won one National Championship in 2022, one Great West Conference Championship in 207, and three Missouri Valley Football Conference Championships — in 2016, 2020, and finally in 2022. The last three seasons were undoubtedly his most successful, with two championship game appearances, one championship, and a record of 33-7 and 18-4 in conference.

Happy retirement to Coach Stiegelmeier, who will go down as arguably the best coach in SDSU history.

[Pete Thamel]