Team USA talk with World Cup watch party host Jackson Rentschler of kRav'N (the official American Outlaws watch party bar of Sioux Falls)

Former SDSU coach Mike Daly's football life (full chat)

The man who changed the face of South Dakota State football isn't John Stiegelmeier. It was the head coach who preceded Stig: Mike Daly. At least, that is what Stig said in his recently-released biography book Stig & The Rise of South Dakota State Football. Daly hired Stig twice. First, as a volunteer student assistant when Daly was the Jackrabbits defensive coordinator in 1977. Fourteen years later, when Daly was hired as head coach after a decade away, he elevated Stig from defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator to defensive coordinator. After six winning seasons — SDSU won six or seven games every year, was 40-24 overall and 31-22 in the North Central Conference — Daly walked away from the school and from coaching for the rest of his life. He was just 46 years old and had 20 good coaching years left in him. Instead, Stig took over. Solid but not elite level football continued until administration and boosters got serious in 2003 and decided to make the leap to Div. I. The rest is history. SDSU became a powerhouse and eventually a national champion under Stig. Does Daly regret walking away so soon? Why did he do it in the first place? What kind of pride does he take in Stig crediting him for laying the championship foundation? More importantly, how did Daly do it? Before Daly arrived as head coach in 1991, SDSU was usually an afterthought in North Central Conference football, regularly smothered by titans like North Dakota State and North Dakota. Even arch rival South Dakota reached the national semifinals twice in a row in the 1980's. The Jackrabbit awakening all started with a TV show — The Mike Daly Show — and an absolute conviction that football should be taken seriously by players and coaches, even if the administration wouldn't. The stories of the turnaround in Brookings are just a fraction of Daly's rich football life. There was growing up in Fairmont, Minnesota, without his father — a World War II Presidential Unit Citation honoree who died of polio when Mike was a year old. There were his college days and early coaching days at Augustana, where he met and enjoyed the beer-tapped refrigerator of fellow assistant Don Morton. There were a few years in the 1970's as an assistant at SDSU, where Daly hired Stig, before Morton became NDSU head coach and whisked Daly away. In the next decade, with Daly as Morton's defensive coordinator, the Bison would win a Div. II national title, Div. I Tulsa would have one of its best teams in school history, and Wisconsin would give the duo a Big Ten opportunity of a lifetime. The Badgers were not a football-first institution. Morton went 6-27 in three years and was fired after the 1988 season. Daly was left unemployed until a chance encounter at a grocery store during a summer fishing trip changed everything. Now 76, Daly describes all this on a lazy Tuesday afternoon in Gateway Lounge — one of his regular Sioux Falls haunts — in the affable ease that made him a popular coach. Come for the story about meeting Richard Nixon at a high-end restaurant in Miami the night before Tulsa played the No. 1 ranked Miami Hurricanes in 1986. Stay for the emotional story about how the Minnesota Vikings and San Francisco 49ers may have saved the life of his only child, who is now the CEO of a hospital in Wisconsin. Enjoy the revival of The Mike Daly Show. It's must-see TV... and must-listen podcast.

NLA: Zim's MVFC Pre-Media Day primer! Where do Jacks & Yotes fit in NDSU-free picture?

Goodbye, lakeside grillouts, fireworks and family reunions. Hello, pigskin. The second the Fourth of July hits the rear view mirror, it feels like it is time to talk football. And just to ensure there is no confusion regarding which football we're talking about on this week's "Nobody's Listening Anyway" podcast with Sioux Falls Live sports editor Matt Zimmer this week, the American soccer team put itself and its World Cup title hopes in the rear view on Monday night. Nope, we're looking through the windshield. And we see the Missouri Valley Football Conference media day on the horizon, just a week away. Sioux Falls Live (yes, this website via this link [https://www.siouxfallslive.com/ksfltv]) and KSFL-TV (Ch. 36 over-the-air and Ch. 616 on Midco) will carry interviews with every player and coach representing every team in the league next Tuesday starting at 9 a.m. This gave Zim and the Happy Hour host an opportunity to prime for the event by discussing the MVFC's biggest storylines heading into the 2026 season. Namely: * Who is not coming to Media Day is the biggest story. NDSU will be eerily absent now that the Bison are in the Mountain West. And when you're the 800 lb. gorilla of a league, everyone will notice the absence as much (if not more) than when the green and gold were a part of the festivities. * Who is the favorite to win the league now that the path is way clearer without NDSU? * OK, spoiler aleart— it is SDSU. Well, that's what Zim and the host think. Why? And what kind of contenders will USD, eternally up-and-coming UND, and defending national runner-up Illinois State be? * How much will Jacks & Yotes fans care about NDSU's maiden voyage in the FBS? * Should Jacks & Yotes fans root for the Bison to be successful? Meanwhile, the lingering LeBron James free agency continues to give us an excuse to dream about the "King" taking his court to Minnesota? Would this be a royal flush? And, then, there's the other football. Team USA once again flopped in an early knockout stage. Why does the host compare the Americans to the Minnesota Vikings? Enjoy.

Happy Hour All-American Show: USD's Charles Pierre, Jr. & SDSU's Quentin Christensen

Happy Monday and Happy Sixth of July! As we continue to celebrate America's 250th & the holiday, enjoy conversations All-American football players: USD running back Charles Pierre, Jr., before his season-ending injury and SDSU's Quentin Christensen, the cattle farming offensive lineman who became a folk hero among Jackrabbit fans even before an outstanding 2025 that led to million dollar deals at major conference schools he decided to turn down so he could return to Brookings with best friend Chase Mason and chase a national title in 2026. These chats are a terrific primer to next Tuesday's Missouri Valley Football Conference Media Days, where Sioux Falls Live and KSFL-TV will be providing a bunch of live interviews with the top players and coaches in the league to get ready for the 2026 season— chats that will also be posted on Happy Hour. Happy Hour will return with new shows tomorrow (Tuesday). Get ready for an all-time SDSU legend on Wednesday! Charles Pierre, Jr. - June 3, 2025 Remember this guy? He was the MVFC's top rusher and the first USD player to rush for over 1,000 yards when he sprang for 1,244 yards in his sophomore season of 2024, earning him Third Team All-America honors from Phil Steele and honorable mention All-America from the Associated Press. Of course, he was also first team All-MVFC. In Happy Hour's enjoyable and engaging chat with the laid back Orlando native in early June 2025, Pierre gave us a glimpse into his childhood in Florida, his "alien leg," how he ended up in Vermillion, and how he was ready to tear it up in 2025 as a junior. Three months later, in USD's second game, Pierre suffered a season-ending injury at Lamar that cleared the way for backup L.J. Phillips to immediately skyrocket his way to the top of the MVFC and FCS rushing charts, earning Phillips All-America honors and an NIL payday at Iowa. This chat with Pierre will wet your whistle for his reset in 2026, and for a near-future conversation with him about going through the injury and his hunger to burst back on the field. Quentin Christensen - Jan 22, 2026 Why in the world would he do that? So many have asked that question about South Dakota State quarterback Chase Mason and All-American offensive lineman Quinten Christensen after learning both players turned down at least one offer of $1 million in NIL money to transfer to a Power Four school. Mason explained his decision to stay at SDSU in a Happy Hour conversation in December. Thursday, January 22, was Christensen's turn. Playing a position in such high demand in the SEC and the Big Ten, the in-state senior-to-be from Wessington Springs (two hours from Brookings) could have taken life-changing money and potentially raised his NIL stock by competing at a higher level. Christensen explains why his SDSU experience and the connections he has made with the program outweighs finances. One of those connections is with former teammate and current Pittsburgh Steelers lineman Mason McCormick, who took Christensen under his wing when "Q" was a freshman. Hear about what Christensen learned and continues to learn from McCormick along with what the "605 Hogs" and the 2025 Jackrabbits learned in a topsy-turvy 9-5 season, the first under Dan Jackson. It included the death of running back Nate White before the season started and the foot injury to Mason that started a four-game losing streak after a 7-0 start. "Q" offers his perspective on Jackson and the influence coach John Stiegelmeier still casts on Christensen and the players three years after "Stig" retired. The Happy Hour conversation begins with a trip back in time to Christensen's upbringing on the family cattle ranch in Wessington Springs and the influence his parents — both athletes — had on his development in football and wrestling.

Happy Hour All-American Show: SDSU's Quentin Christensen

Happy Monday and Happy Sixth of July! As we continue to celebrate America's 250th & the holiday, enjoy conversations with All-American football players: USD running back Charles Pierre, Jr., before his season-ending injury and SDSU's Quentin Christensen, the cattle farming offensive lineman who became a folk hero among Jackrabbit fans even before an outstanding 2025 that led to million-dollar deals at major conference schools he decided to turn down so he could return to Brookings with best friend Chase Mason and chase a national title in 2026. These chats are a terrific primer to next Tuesday's Missouri Valley Football Conference Media Days, where Sioux Falls Live and KSFL-TV will be providing a bunch of live interviews with the top players and coaches in the league to get ready for the 2026 season— chats that will also be posted on Happy Hour. Happy Hour will return with new shows tomorrow (Tuesday). Get ready for an all-time SDSU legend on Wednesday! Quentin Christensen - Jan 22, 2026 Why in the world would he do that? So many have asked that question about South Dakota State quarterback Chase Mason and All-American offensive lineman Quinten Christensen after learning both players turned down at least one offer of $1 million in NIL money to transfer to a Power Four school. Mason explained his decision to stay at SDSU in a Happy Hour conversation in December. Thursday, January 22, was Christensen's turn. Playing a position in such high demand in the SEC and the Big Ten, the in-state senior-to-be from Wessington Springs (two hours from Brookings) could have taken life-changing money and potentially raised his NIL stock by competing at a higher level. Christensen explains why his SDSU experience and the connections he has made with the program outweighs finances. One of those connections is with former teammate and current Pittsburgh Steelers lineman Mason McCormick, who took Christensen under his wing when "Q" was a freshman. Hear about what Christensen learned and continues to learn from McCormick, along with what the "605 Hogs" and the 2025 Jackrabbits learned in a topsy-turvy 9-5 season, the first under Dan Jackson. It included the death of running back Nate White before the season started and the foot injury to Mason that started a four-game losing streak after a 7-0 start. "Q" offers his perspective on Jackson and the influence coach John Stiegelmeier still casts on Christensen and the players three years after "Stig" retired. The Happy Hour conversation begins with a trip back in time to Christensen's upbringing on the family cattle ranch in Wessington Springs and the influence his parents — both athletes — had on his development in football and wrestling.

Happy Hour All-American Show: USD's Charles Pierre, Jr.

Happy Monday and Happy Sixth of July! As we continue to celebrate America's 250th & the holiday, enjoy conversations with All-American football players: USD running back Charles Pierre, Jr., before his season-ending injury, and SDSU's Quentin Christensen, the cattle-farming offensive lineman who became a folk hero among Jackrabbit fans even before an outstanding 2025 that led to million-dollar deals at major conference schools he decided to turn down, so he could return to Brookings with best friend Chase Mason and chase a national title in 2026. These chats are a terrific primer to next Tuesday's Missouri Valley Football Conference Media Days, where Sioux Falls Live and KSFL-TV will be providing a bunch of live interviews with the top players and coaches in the league to get ready for the 2026 season— chats that will also be posted on Happy Hour. Happy Hour will return with new shows tomorrow (Tuesday). Get ready for an all-time SDSU legend on Wednesday! Charles Pierre, Jr. - June 3, 2025 Remember this guy? He was the MVFC's top rusher and the first USD player to rush for over 1,000 yards when he sprang for 1,244 yards in his sophomore season of 2024, earning him Third Team All-America honors from Phil Steele and honorable mention All-America from the Associated Press. Of course, he was also first team All-MVFC. In Happy Hour's enjoyable and engaging chat with the laid-back Orlando native in early June 2025, Pierre gave us a glimpse into his childhood in Florida, his "alien leg," how he ended up in Vermillion, and how he was ready to tear it up in 2025 as a junior. Three months later, in USD's second game, Pierre suffered a season-ending injury at Lamar that cleared the way for backup L.J. Phillips to immediately skyrocket his way to the top of the MVFC and FCS rushing charts, earning Phillips All-America honors and an NIL payday at Iowa. This chat with Pierre will wet your whistle for his reset in 2026, and for a near-future conversation with him about going through the injury and his hunger to burst back on the field.