Stig, Nelson, Vinatieri, 20 Others into South Dakota Sports HoF

South Dakota has an expansive, intriguing, and impactful sports history, and the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame continues to honor it.

This year, a total of 23 legends with ties to our great state will be inducted as part of the 2025 Hall of Fame Class.

The class is set to include NFL football players, many notable coaches, as well as a sled dog racer.

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For the full release, including biographies and details on the class, visit 605Sports.com's article here.

Here's a list of this year's inductees:

JO (HAASE) AUCH

TOM CASEY

JESSI COMBS (Born 1980. Died 2019.)

CATHY COYLE

DONOVAN GIBBS (Born 1931. Died 2010.)

VERN HALTER

RYAN JANSA

EDGAR LONE HILL (Born 1932. Died 1999.)

HOBART LONE HILL (Born 1936. Died 2018.)

GUY MACKNER

BILL MARQUARDT

Christine Manika - Townsquare Media - Kim Nelson

KIM NELSON

1974 Lake Benton (MN) High School/1979 Dakota State graduate. Nelson is the winningest high school football coach in South Dakota history. As the Sioux Falls Roosevelt football coach, Nelson collected his 300th career win Sept. 26, 2020. He was the first high school coach in state history to reach 300 wins.

CANDI NIELSEN

TOM REEVES

JOHN “DEAC” SANDERS

Getty Images - John Stiegelmeier

JOHN “STIG” STIEGELMEIER

1975 Selby/1979 SDSU graduate. SDSU’s winningest football coach in school history, with a 199-112 record in 26 seasons. Retired after the 2022 season in which the Jackrabbits won the FCS Division I national title. The Jacks were national runners-up during the spring 2021 season. Beginning in 2004, Stiegelmeier led SDSU’s transition from NCAA DII to the Division I Football Championship Subdivision level.

JIM “SLIM JIM” & “JUMPING JIM” TAYS

MARK TETZLAFF

DENNIS TIEFENTHALER

BUCK TIMMINS (Born 1948. Died 2020.)

LEMOINE TROUT (Born 1943. Died 2002.)

JIM UTTECHT

Getty Images - Adam Vinatieri

ADAM VINATIERI

Born in Yankton. 1991 Rapid City Central/1995 SDSU graduate. Most agree the greatest kicker in NFL history. Played for New England Patriots (1996-2005) and Indianapolis Colts (2006-19). Became the all-time leading scorer in NFL history in his 24 seasons. Was a four-time Super Bowl champion and three-time pro bowler.

Source: 605 Sports

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