Sioux Falls, SD – The University of South Dakota football team's Oct. 20 game against 2011 FCS national champion North Dakota State is being moved from its campus stadium in Vermillion to Sioux Falls.
USD, which is entering the Missouri Valley Football Conference this season, announced the move on Thursday. Sioux Falls, the largest metro area in South Dakota with 232,433 in the 2010 U.S. Census, is about 65 miles from the USD campus.
The game, which has a 6 p.m. local kickoff, will be played at newly renovated Howard Wood Field, which seats 10,000. The stadium was constructed in 1957 and hosted the Minnesota Vikings' first game, an exhibition against the Dallas Cowboys on Aug. 5, 1961.
"The atmosphere will be fantastic and something all football fans will want to be a part of," USD athletic director David Sayler said. "Scheduling this game in Sioux Falls accomplishes three goals for the Coyotes in that it allows us to work toward our long term scheduling goals, it allows us to market our university directly into Sioux Falls and we align ourselves with great corporate support through the Sioux Falls Sports Authority."
The change in game site leaves USD with four games at its on-campus DakotaDome, including only one in its final six games.
This is USD's first game at Howard Wood since Oct. 20, 2007, when the DakotaDome was being renovated.
USD finished 6-5 last year in its final season in the Great West Conference. The Coyotes have a new head coach in Joe Glenn.
North Dakota State won a share of the MVFC championship before going on to win its first FCS national championship.
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