The University of South Dakota held a formal press conference on Friday to officially announce Travis Johansen as the 31st head football coach in school history. It was announced Thursday afternoon that Bob Nielson was retiring from his role, which paved the way for an internal promotion for defensive coordinator Johansen to become the next head coach.
Nielson coached football for a total of 42 years. He spent 32 of them as a head coach at the college level. The past nine seasons were spent with USD. Nielson’s career with the Coyotes lifted the program into an upper tier program in the FCS. Along with holding a 53-48 record at USD, he also took the Coyotes the playoffs four times. The past two-years have been the most impressive, leading USD to the quarterfinals in 2023 and the semifinals in 2024. 2024 was also the best overall season for the Coyotes in DI football with an 11-3 record and earning a share of the Missouri Valley Football Conference championship.
Up next is the Travis Johansen era.
“This an incredible honor for me to be able to lead this football team into where we know we’re headed,” said Johansen at Friday’s press conference. “Thank you to President Gestring, Jon Schemmel, and all our administration for entrusting me to continue the success we've built.”
Johansen has been the defensive coordinator at USD since 2019. Throughout his six seasons, the Coyote defense became one of the best in the FCS.
“Although our 2024 season was one to remember, everyone would agree, Coyote Football has our sights set on more," concluded Johansen. "We will work tirelessly to bring a National Championship to Vermillion and call on all of Coyote Nation's support to accomplish that goal.”
USD has a strong unit of players returning for the 2025 season, including quarterback Aidan Bouman, who threw for nearly 3,000-yards and 19 touchdowns in ‘24. Preseason projections are expected to list the Coyotes as one of the top teams in the nation for the ’25 campaign. They’ll play in Fargo against North Dakota State and host South Dakota State next season.
