The South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame will be inducting 23 sports legends on Sept. 14 at the Sioux Falls Convention Center.

The 2025 class includes perhaps the greatest kicker in NFL history, world record holders, champion coaches, women athlete pioneers, a pro cowboy and South Dakota’s most well-known sled dog racer.

Tickets will go on sale later this year.

The new inductees are: Jo (Haase) Auch, Tom Casey, Jessi Combs (deceased), Cathy Coyle, Donovan Gibbs (deceased), Vern Halter, Ryan Jansa, brothers Edgar and Hobart Lone Hill (both deceased), Guy Mackner, Bill Marquardt, Kim Nelson, Candi Nielsen, Tom Reeves, John “Deac” Sanders, John “Stig” Stiegelmeier, “Jumping Jim” Tays, Mark Tetzlaff, Dennis Tiefenthaler, Buck Timmins (deceased), Lemoine Trout (deceased), Jim Uttecht and Adam Vinatieri.

With the 23 new inductees, the hall will have enshrined 395 women and men from every part of the state representing more than 30 sports. The South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame was established in 1968 by the South Dakota Sportswriters Association. A group of unpaid volunteers from across the state now manages it.

Inductees are voted into the hall in four categories: as athletes, coaches, contributors (such as media, administrators and/or officials) and/or legends (deceased).

Below are the bios of the inductees that are from, played or coached in the Brookings area.

Vern Halter

1967 Flandreau/1971 USD graduate who later earned law degree in Vermillion

One of the world’s and South Dakota’s most famous sled-dog racer, Halter competed in the 1,000-mile (Anchorage to Nome) Iditarod 19 times in a 22-year span (1983-2005).

His best finish was third in 1999 to earn about $46,000, with three top five and nine top 10 finishes. His fastest time came in the 2002 race when Halter finished fifth in nine days, seven hours, 47 minutes and 48 seconds.

Also has raced in the Yukon Quest (1,000 miles from Fairbanks to Whitehorn, Yukon) six times, winning that 1,000-mile race in 1990 in 11 days, 17 hours, 9 minutes to earn $20,000. Halter also placed second in 1989 and sixth in 1991 in the Yukon Quest.

Also had had success racing in Minnesota’s John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon and is a past champion in Alaska’s Moose Creek Nugget 100. Halter secured one of the largest corporate sponsorships (Norwest/Wells Fargo) in the history of mushing.
Has lived in Alaska since 1977. Halter’s friend David Monson (from Roslyn, SD), who married four time Iditarod Champion Susan Butcher, inspired Halter to run his first Iditarod. Halter won more than $300,000 in career earnings.

Halter was a wrestler in high school and is a member of the Flandreau Hall of Fame. He also tirelessly promoted his sport, bringing some of his puppies to schools across South Dakota over the years.

A former mayor, public defender and judge in Alaska, Halter and veterinarian wife, Dr. Susan Whiton, own and manage the successful Dream-A-Dream Sled Dog Tours, Bed & Breakfast and Kennel. Whiton also was a musher and played a key role in Halter’s success in the sport.

Kim Nelson

1974 Lake Benton (Minnesota) 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.

In 2023, SF Washington coach Chad Stadem said Nelson changed East River and Sioux Falls football when he brought his modern passing attack to Washington in 1993. At the end of the 2023 season when he decided to step down, SFR had won one state title (2011) in five state championship appearances under Nelson.

In 45 seasons, his overall head prep coaching record at the end of 2023 was 314-154 (Milbank 1979-87; RC Central 1987-93; SF Washington 1993-05; Edina, MN — got 30 wins there from 2005-09, —and SFR 2009-2023). Nelson was state football coach of the year in 2011 and a 2024 and 2015 national finalist for coach of year. Was University of Sioux Falls assistant in 2023 and was the SFR freshman coach in 2024.

Nelson was a multi-sport star in high school and DSU where he played football, basketball and baseball.

He’s DSU hall of fame as a coach and as a member of the 1976 Trojans’ football team that finished ranked ninth in the NAIA nation. Also was DSU alumni coach of the year in 2001.

Among the players Nelson coached were future NFL Hall of Fame kicker Adam Vinatieri; New York Islanders hockey great Anders Lee; and NFL offensive lineman Mason McCormick.
Several of Nelson’s assistants became state championship winning high school coaches and Nelson gave Milbank native and now Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer one of his first coaching gigs.

SF Jefferson coach Vince Benedetto in 2023 said: “From East River to West River, thousands of players and numerous coaches are better for having crossed Kim’s path.”

At Lake Benton High School, Nelson played for his dad and legendary Hall of Fame coach Andy Nelson, and as a three-year starting QB, All-Stater Kim led his team to win 34 of 38 games, his last 21 in a row and the 1973 Minnesota State Nine-Man Championship.

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.

During the school’s first 19 seasons at DI FCS, Stiegelmeier guided the Jacks to 17 winning seasons, 12 playoff appearances and four conference titles.

Coach Stig also was on the SDSU staff as a student assistant in 1977-79 and from 1988-96 as an assistant coach before becoming the head coach, so he has been on the Jackrabbit sidelines for 419 games (264 wins).

He was an excellent multi-sport athlete at Selby High School. He also was an assistant at Northern Iowa (1980) and Northern State (1984-86) and the University of Wisconsin (1987) as well as a high school coach in Eau Claire (WI) for three seasons (1981-1983).

He made all programs he touched better with not only his coaching, but his ability to teach life lessons to those with whom he came in contact. His ability to coach the coaches was second to none. His program at SDSU consistently produced All-Americans, professional players, high graduation rates and good and productive citizens off the field.

Mark Tetzlaff

1981 Hamlin/1985 SDSU graduate

Hayti native who finished his basketball career as SDSU’s all-time leading scorer (1,931 points) and rebounder (1,132).
As a senior in 1985, he led the Jackrabbits to the NCAA Division II finals, where he was named MVP of the Final Four despite SDSU losing the title game. He also set SDSU career record for field-goal shooting (60.7 percent).

He was a three-time all-North Central Conference player and was NCC MVP in 1985, when he averaged 18.6 points and 8.8 rebounds a game. Not only known for his scoring and rebounding, Tetzlaff was an excellent defender.

In SDSU’s first two games in the 1981-82 season, SDSU won the four-team, two-night Rushmore Classic in Rapid City. Tetzlaff made his college debut with 19 points and 22 points coming off the bench, and was named the MVP of the tourney. In his third college game, he moved into the starting rotation and never left it through his college career.

At Hamlin, the 6-foot-6 center was a three-time all-stater who led the Chargers to the State B tourney twice with 1,204 career points and 981 career rebounds. Also was a standout football player and track athlete for the Chargers. Member of SDSU and SD Basketball halls of fame.

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.

Named to the NFL 2000s All-Decade Team, NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team and the New England Patriots 50th Anniversary Team.

Counting regular-season and playoff games, Vinatieri played in 397 NFL games (263 wins), made 655 of 784 FGs (84 percent) and 943 of 968 PATs (97 percent) for 2,908 career points.

He made 29 game-winning kicks, including two that won Super Bowls. Some feel his best game came in the 2001 playoffs when he made a 45-yard field goal in a swirling windy snowstorm to tie the game at 13 and send it into overtime.

Vinatieri then got the 16-13 OT win for his Patriots over the Oakland Raiders by kicking the game-winning 23-yard FG.
Of his 38 career tackles, Vinatieri’s most famous one came when he ran down Herschel Walker to make a textbook, touchdown-saving tackle in 1996. Walker was visibly upset he was caught after his 73-yard return.

In 2004, Vinatieri had a hand in 22 points in a 40-22 Patriots win over St. Louis when he kicked four FGs, four PATs and threw a TD pass.

Born in Yankton, moved to Rapid City when he was 5 where he was a standout in several sports including football, wrestling, soccer and track.

All-state football player who rarely came off the field for the Cobblers as a running quarterback, part-time linebacker and kicker/punter. Vinatieri left SDSU as an all-conference kicker and punter and the school’s all-time leading scorer (185 career points).

Overcame being undrafted and a shaky NFL start to become known as Automatic Adam, Mr. Clutch and Iceman later to his pro teammates. In 1995, first played with the Amsterdam Admirals of the World League of American Football before winning the New England job in the 1996 NFL pre-season.