SPEARFISH, S.D. - The Black Hills State University football team kicks off the 2026 season with the return game a home-and-home series against former conference foes east of the river at Sioux Falls on Thursday, August 27. The Yellow Jackets look to avenge a 2025 defeat from the Cougars on the home turf of Lyle Hare Stadium and to set the tone for a new campaign. Playing under the lights of Bob Young Field for the first time since 2011, the Green & Gold look to snap an 8-game losing streak against USF, as kickoff is set for 5 p.m. MT / 6 p.m. CT in Sioux Falls. 

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO 

Date/Time/Location: Thursday, August 27 / 5 p.m. MT/6 p.m. CT / Sioux Falls, S.D. / Bob Young Field 
Live Stream: RMAC Network (Pay-Per-View) 
Linear TV: Midco Sports Two 
Radio: KDSJ Radio 

BLACK HILLS STATE STORYLINES 

• Black Hills State saw a streak of three consecutive winning seasons snapped in 2025 with a 3-8 (3-6 RMAC) mark, finishing in a tie for seventh in the league. 
• The Yellow Jackets finished last year on a high note with a pair of commanding wins over Adams State (59-0) and New Mexico Highlands (55-28). The win over the Grizzlies saw BHSU's offense rack up 599 yards, the seventh most in the Breske era, while the defense pitched its first shutout since 2022. The Green & Gold's offense and defense continued to roll the following week as they posted 50 or more points in back-to-back weeks for the first time in the program's NCAA Division II era, and the defense secured six turnovers. 
• In the 2026 RMAC Preseason Football Coaches' Poll, the league tabbed the Yellow Jackets to finish eighth with 29 points. 
• After graduating Luke Duby, who was the starter under center each of the last two seasons, Kade Weber looks to take the reins of the offense. The senior played in all 11 games a year ago, completing 18-of-28 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns, while also ranking third on the team with 93 net rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. 
• The pair of Danny Davis and Wyatt Trembly look to give the Yellow Jackets another one-two punch in the rushing attack, as last year Davis shared a load of the snaps with Cameron Goods who was a key piece of the offense for four years. Davis was second on the team with 93 rushing attempts for 297 net rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground, while also being a fixture of the passing attack with 24 receptions, 160 receiving yards, and two touchdowns. Trembly appeared in all 11 games as a redshirt freshman and made the most of only eight carries as he averaged 6.0 yards per carry for a season net total of 48 on the ground. 
• The biggest piece the Yellow Jackets look to replace is wide receiver TJ Chukwurah, who was a unanimous First Team All-American a year ago with the first-ever 1,000-yard campaign of BHSU's NCAA Division II era as he tallied 1,100 yards and 16 touchdowns. Leading the charge to fill the void are Damien Boozer and Jayden Williams, who each last saw the field in 2024. Boozer led the team with 36 receptions and 445 yards and two touchdowns in just eight games two years ago, while Williams appeared in all 11 games during the season and made 29 receptions for 314 yards and tied for the team-high with three touchdowns. Other notables in the receiving room include Minnesota State transfer Joseph Randle, and returners Gavin Porch, Chase Lofton, and Bryce Coulson. 
• Coulson looks to provide the spark for the offense and special teams, as he was among the top return men in the nation a year ago. Preseason All-RMAC and a 2025 First Team All-D2CCA First Team All-Super Region 4 (Kick & Punt Return), First Team All-RMAC (Kick Return), and Second Team All-RMAC (Punt Return). A year ago he became the first player in the Yellow Jackets' DII era to notch multiple kickoff returns for touchdown in a single season, taking a 96-yard return to the house at No. 3/5 Grand Valley State and a 94-yard return for a touchdown in the season finale against New Mexico Highlands. He led the RMAC and ranked 13th nationally at the end of the regular season with 689 total return yards on kickoffs and punts. He averaged 25.52 yards per kickoff return with five returns of 35 or more yards, and 9.56 yards per punt return with three returns of 25 or more yards. 
• Cole Marquez leads the linebacker group as he brings back the fifth-most tackles of anyone on the defensive unit, tallying 36.0 in nine games as a redshirt junior and adding 2.5 tackles-for-loss. He ended the 2025 season with three straight games of five or more tackles, including posting a career-high of 9.0 tackles against the Cowboys of New Mexico Highlands in the season finale. 
• The most experienced position group for Black Hills State will be the defensive secondary, highlighted by the return of Jack Gentile and Luke Clay at the two safety positions. In 2025 Gentile lead the Green & Gold with 67.0 total tackles, while Clay was fourth on the team with 44.0 total tackles. The pair each tallied three pass break-ups, and Clay notched one of the team's eight interceptions. 
• Also among an experienced defensive secondary on the outside edges at cornerback, the Yellow Jackets will have Preseason All-RMAC selections Jaheim Roper and Joshua Faulker back. Roper is fourth among returning tackle leaders with 39.0 in 2025, and he added a team-high seven pass break-ups. Faulkner, who was just a redshirt freshman a year ago, notched 18.0 tackles while leading the program with three interceptions and added four pass break-ups. 
• Josh Breske will enter his seventh season as the head coach of his alma mater, guiding the Yellow Jackets to a 26-31 record and three winning campaigns in his tenure. 

SIOUX FALLS STORYLINES 

• Sioux Falls looks to build off a 7-4 (6-4 NSIC) campaign in 2025 as they recorded their second consecutive winning season and their 13th winning season in 14 years at the NCAA Division II level (did not compete in 2020). 
• The Cougars suffered their second losing season at Bob Young Field in the last three years, holding only a 7-8 mark at home during the Glogowski era since 2023. The 2023 (1-4) and 2025 (2-3) seasons are the only two seasons with losing home records for The Coo since the move to NCAA Division II in 2011. 
• In 2025, USF finished tied for sixth overall in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and tied for fourth in the south division. 
• The league's coaches tabled Sioux Falls fourth overall and third in the south division in the 2026 NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll. 
• Taking control of the offense after appearing in seven games last season, Tate Schafer, the brother of Black Hills State wide receivers coach Ty Schafer, looks to build off a strong 2025 campaign. A year ago, he completed 94-of-152 passes for 1,478 yards and 13 touchdowns, while also running the ball 30 times for 43 net yards and another four touchdowns. He notched big games against Southwest Minnesota State and Winona State, passing for 384 and 400 yards respectively and tossing three touchdown passes in each contest. 
• The Coo return their leading rusher from 2025, as Bubba Tann III carried the ball 196 times for 938 net rushing yards and eight touchdowns en route to earning Second Team All-NSIC South Division. On four occasions, he accumulated 100 or more yards on the ground. He also hauled in 15 receptions for 116 yards and a pair of touchdowns. 
• The receivers' room for the Cougars see seven of the top-8 receiving yards leaders back from 2025, led by Hank Brown Jr. And Adonis Hutchinson. Brown, a First Team All-NSIC South Division selection, hauled in a team-best 83 receptions for 979 yards and added a pair of touchdowns. Hutchinson, who was second on the team in receiving touchdowns with five, earned Second Team All-NSIC South Division honors as he hauled in 38 passes for 575 receiving yards. Brown notched four 100-yard receiving games while Hutchinson posted two. 
• The Sioux Falls defense is led by the trio of Garret Hoffman, London Kolb, and Owen McCloud, the top-3 tackle leaders in 2025 for The Coo. Hoffman led the team with 47.0 total tackles and a pair of interceptions as a safety, while Kolb earned Second Team All-NSIC South Division as a linebacker with 46.0 total tackles and a team-best 8.0 tackles-for-loss. McCloud was third on the team with 42.0 total tackles and 2.0 tackles-for-loss. 
• Jim Glogowski enters his fourth season as the head coach at Sioux Falls, guiding the Cougars to an 18-15 record and now two consecutive winning seasons in his tenure. He holds a career record of 37-43 overall in 11 seasons as a collegiate head coach with eight prior seasons leading the program at Simpson. 

SERIES HISTORY 

• Thursday night will mark the 34th meeting between the in-state foes, with Black Hills State holding a 20-13-1 advantage all-time.
• The teams renewed the in-state rivalry a year ago, playing for the first time in 14 years and just the second time since the split of the SDIC following 1999. The Coo earned the win in the contest, extending their winning streak to eight games with a 27-21 victory at Lyle Hare Stadium on August 28, 2025.