48 Notable alumni of South Dakota State University
Updated: June 12, 2026 EliteDegrees
South Dakota State University is ranked #792 in the world and #223 in United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 48 notable alumni from South Dakota State University sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with South Dakota State University won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. Larry E. Rolufs
1940-. (aged 86)
civil servant
Larry E. Rolufs was an official in the United States Department of the Treasury who was Director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing from 1995 to 1997.
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2. Larry Long
1947-. (aged 79)
lawyer
judge
politician
Larry Long is an American judge and the former 29th Attorney General of the state of South Dakota, United States. A Republican, he was first elected Attorney General in 2002 and left office in 2009 to accept an appointment by Gov. Mike Rounds to a judgeship in the state's Second Judicial District.
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3. Gary Boner
1940-2005 (aged 65)
basketball coach
Gary L. Boner was an American football player and coach. He was the longest-tenured head football coach for South Dakota School of Mines & Technology (SDSM&T) in Rapid City, South Dakota, serving from 1971 to 1989. With a record of 92–73–7, he won more games than any football coach in SDSM&T history.
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4. Clarence Hoffman
1933-2025 (aged 92)
politician
Clarence Clifford Hoffman was an American politician who served as a Republican member of the Iowa House of Representatives from 1999 to 2009.
5. Robert A. Johnson
1921-2014 (aged 93)
politician
Robert A. Johnson was an American politician in the state of South Dakota. He was a member of the South Dakota State Senate. Born in Chicago, Illinois, Johnson grew up on a farm in Groton, South Dakota. He was an alumnus of South Dakota State University and was a farmer and insurance agent. He died on December 11, 2014.
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6. John Merton Aldrich
1866-1934 (aged 68)
botanical collector
scientific collector
entomologist
zoologist
John Merton Aldrich was an American entomologist. Aldrich was the Associate Curator of Insects at the United States National Museum. He is considered one of the most prolific entomologists in the study of flies.
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7. Rich Olive
1949-2016 (aged 67)
politician
Richard Warren "Rich" Olive was an American realtor and politician from Iowa. A Democrat, he served the Fifth District in the Iowa Senate from 2007 until 2011.
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8. Al Novstrup
1954-. (aged 72)
politician
Al Novstrup is business owner, an American politician and a Republican member of the South Dakota House of Representatives representing District 3 since January 2015.
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9. Philo Hall
1865-1938 (aged 73)
lawyer
politician
Philo Hall was a South Dakota attorney and politician. He served as Attorney General of South Dakota and a member of the United States House of Representatives.
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10. Ross Paustian
1956-. (aged 70)
politician
Ross C. Paustian is an American politician and a farmer from Iowa. Paustian is a former Republican member of the Iowa House of Representatives, representing District 92 from 2015 to 2023.
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11. Cal Ludeman
1951-. (aged 75)
politician
Cal R. Ludeman is an American politician who most recently served as Secretary of the Minnesota Senate. He is a former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from southwestern Minnesota. First elected in 1978, he was re-elected in 1980 and 1982. He represented the old District 20B and, after redistricting in 1980, District 27A, which included all or portions...
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12. Tom Fiegen
1958-. (aged 68)
lawyer
politician
Thomas Lewis Fiegen is an American attorney and Democratic Party politician. He served in the Iowa State Senate from 2001 to 2003. He sought the Democratic nomination in the 2010 U.S. Senate election in Iowa but came in third against Roxanne Conlin who won the primary, with Bob Krause coming in second. Fiegen again sought the Democratic nomination in the...
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13. Doug Eggers
1930-2025 (aged 95)
businessperson
American football player
Douglas Boyd Eggers was an American professional football player who was a linebacker for five seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Baltimore Colts and Chicago Cardinals. He played college football for the South Dakota State Jackrabbits.
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14. Vern L. Schramm
1941-. (aged 85)
biochemist
researcher
Vern L. Schramm is a professor and Ruth Merns Chair in Biochemistry at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. Schramm was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2007. His laboratory's research focuses on the elucidation of enzymatic mechanisms and transition state structure.
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15. Vean Gregg
1885-1964 (aged 79)
baseball player
Sylveanus Augustus "Vean" Gregg was an American professional baseball player. A pitcher, Gregg played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Naps, Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Athletics, and Washington Senators from 1911 through 1925.
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16. Laurie Nichols
academic
Laurie Nichols is an American academic administrator serving as the interim president at Northern State University. Nichols previously served as the 11th president of Black Hills State University and the 26th president of the University of Wyoming.
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17. David Gilbertson
1949-. (aged 77)
lawyer
judge
David Gilbertson is the former Chief Justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court.
18. Cynthia MacAdams
1939-. (aged 87)
stage actor
film actor
Cynthia MacAdams is an American actress and photographer. She is recognized for her black and white portraiture, use of natural light and infrared photography, and images of sacred architecture.
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19. Cheris Kramarae
1938-. (aged 88)
university teacher
linguist
Cheris Kramarae is a scholar in the area of women's studies and communication, with her research primarily focusing on gender, language and communication, technology, and education. She is mostly known for her contributions to muted group theory, as well as A Feminist Dictionary, in which she was a co-author.
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20. James Pollock
1943-. (aged 83)
artist
James Pollock is an American artist living in Pierre, South Dakota. Pollock has been characterized as a painter whose work is a bridge between the abstract and the concrete. His style varies widely, sometimes drawing on the abstract styles reminiscent of artists of the early 20th-century Bauhaus school, characterized by strong lines and bold colors, sometimes resembling ancient cave paintings,...
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21. Richard F. Kneip
1933-1987 (aged 54)
diplomat
politician
Richard Francis Kneip was an American diplomat and politician who served as the 25th governor of South Dakota from 1971 until 1978 and the 6th United States Ambassador to the Republic of Singapore. He was a member of the Democratic Party and the first Catholic Governor of South Dakota, he is the most recent Governor of South Dakota elected from...
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22. Stephen Censky
1961-. (aged 65)
Stephen Lee Censky is an American businessman and former government official. He served as the United States Deputy Secretary of Agriculture from 2017 through 2020. In November 2020, he became the CEO of the American Soybean Association. He was also CEO of the ASA for 21 years prior to his tenure as U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture.
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23. Mike Huether
1962-. (aged 64)
politician
Mike Huether is an American philanthropist and politician from South Dakota. He served as Mayor of Sioux Falls from 2010 to 2018.
24. Caleb Thielbar
1987-. (aged 39)
baseball player
Caleb John Thielbar is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Minnesota Twins. He made his MLB debut with the Twins in 2013.
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25. William E. DePuy
1919-1992 (aged 73)
military personnel
William Eugene DePuy was a United States Army general and the first commander of the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command. He is widely regarded as one of the principal architects of the restructuring of United States Army doctrine after the American withdrawal from Vietnam.
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26. Harvey Dunn
1884-1952 (aged 68)
painter
Harvey Thomas Dunn NA, also known as J. Harvey Dunn, was an American painter and teacher. During World War I, Dunn was an artist-correspondent with the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe. Most of Dunn's war sketches are housed at the Smithsonian Institution in the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. He is best known for his prairie-intimate masterpiece,...
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27. Ben Reifel
1906-1990 (aged 84)
politician
Benjamin Reifel, also known as Lone Feather (Lakota: Wíyaka Waŋžíla), was a Sicangu Lakota public administrator and politician. He had a career with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, retiring as area administrator. He ran for the US Congress from the East River region of South Dakota and was elected as the first Lakota to serve in the House of Representatives....
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28. Baylor Scheierman
2000-. (aged 26)
basketball player
Baylor Arthur Scheierman is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the South Dakota State Jackrabbits and the Creighton Bluejays.
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29. Leo K. Thorsness
1932-2017 (aged 85)
politician
military officer
Leo Keith Thorsness was a colonel in the United States Air Force who received the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Vietnam War. He was awarded the medal for an air engagement on April 19, 1967. He was shot down two weeks later and spent almost six years in captivity in North Vietnam as a prisoner of war....
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30. Todd Bouman
1972-. (aged 54)
American football player
Todd Matthew Bouman is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 1997 after playing college football for the St. Cloud State Huskies. Bouman was also a member of the New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers, Jacksonville Jaguars, St....
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31. Gene Amdahl
1922-2015 (aged 93)
physicist
entrepreneur
computer scientist
engineer
businessperson
Gene Myron Amdahl was an American computer architect and high-tech entrepreneur, chiefly known for his work on mainframe computers at IBM and later his own companies, especially Amdahl Corporation. He formulated Amdahl's law, which states a fundamental limitation of parallel computing.
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32. Mike Rounds
1954-. (aged 72)
real-estate agent
politician
Marion Michael Rounds is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior United States senator from South Dakota since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 31st governor of South Dakota from 2003 to 2011.
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33. Zach Zenner
1991-. (aged 35)
American football player
Zachary Zenner is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the South Dakota State Jackrabbits. He signed as an undrafted free agent with the Detroit Lions in 2015. Zenner also played for the New Orleans Saints, Arizona Cardinals, and Miami Dolphins.
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34. Nate Wolters
1991-. (aged 35)
basketball player
Nate Wolters is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for South Dakota State University and was an All-American for the Jackrabbits in 2013. He was selected by the Washington Wizards with the 38th overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft.
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35. Theodore Schultz
1902-1998 (aged 96)
researcher
economist
educator
Theodore William Schultz was an American agricultural economist and chairman of the University of Chicago Department of Economics. Schultz rose to national prominence after winning the 1979 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
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36. Dale Moss
1988-. (aged 38)
basketball player
American football player
Dale Moss is an American former football wide receiver and reality television personality. He played college football for the South Dakota State Jackrabbits. While not an NFL star, Moss was a member of the offseason and practice squad rosters for the National Football League (NFL)'s Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Chicago Bears, and Carolina Panthers, he played professionally for...
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37. Tom Daschle
1947-. (aged 79)
politician
military officer
Thomas Andrew Daschle is an American politician and lobbyist who represented South Dakota in the United States Senate from 1987 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he led the Senate Democratic Caucus during the final ten years of his tenure, during which time he served as Senate Majority Leader and Minority Leader.
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38. Dallas Goedert
1995-. (aged 31)
American football player
gridiron football player
Dallas Christopher Goedert is an American professional football tight end for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, and was selected by the Eagles in the second round of the 2018 NFL draft.
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39. Blake Treinen
1988-. (aged 38)
baseball player
Blake Michael Treinen is an American professional baseball relief pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Washington Nationals and Oakland Athletics.
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40. Adam Vinatieri
1972-. (aged 54)
American football player
Adam Matthew Vinatieri is an American former professional football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 24 seasons with the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts. Vinatieri attended South Dakota State University (SDSU) from 1991 to 1994. Vinatieri is the NFL's all-time leading scorer at 2,673 points, in addition to holding the NFL records for field goals...
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41. Lowdon Heller
1924-2016 (aged 92)
politician
Lowdon B. Heller was an American politician in the state of South Dakota. He was a member of the South Dakota House of Representatives from 1957 to 1960. He was an alumnus of the University of South Dakota and South Dakota State University, and was later a businessman, teacher and farmer. He died aged 92 in 2016.
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42. Gordon Mydland
1922-2022 (aged 100)
politician
judge
Gordon James Mydland was an American attorney and politician who served as the Attorney General of South Dakota. He was also a state senator, and a circuit court judge.
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43. Hannah Caroline Aase
1883-1980 (aged 97)
botanist
botanical collector
scientific collector
Hannah Caroline Aase was an American botanist and cytologist.
44. Frank E. Denholm
1923-2016 (aged 93)
university teacher
lawyer
politician
Franklin Edvard Denholm was a member of the United States House of Representatives from South Dakota.
45. Sigurd Anderson
1904-1990 (aged 86)
lawyer
judge
politician
Sigurd Anderson was the 19th governor of South Dakota. Anderson, a Republican from Webster, South Dakota, served in that office from 1951 to 1955.
46. Kristi Noem
1971-. (aged 55)
husbandry worker
beauty pageant contestant
writer
civil servant
politician
Kristi Lynn Arnold Noem is an American politician who is the 8th United States secretary of homeland security. A member of the Republican Party, she served as the 33rd governor of South Dakota from 2019 to 2025 and represented South Dakota's at-large congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2011 to 2019.
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47. Austin Mardon
1962-. (aged 64)
children's writer
writer
astronomer
Dr. Austin Albert Mardon, Ph.D. CM KCSS FRSC FRCGS is an associate adjunct professor at the University of Alberta's John Dossetor Health Ethics Centre and assistant adjunct professor at the University of Lethbridge, Department of Neuroscience. Mardon is married to lawyer and activist Catherine Mardon with whom he has co-authored several books.
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48. Kang-i Sun Chang
1944-. (aged 82)
literary theorist
sinologist
university teacher
Kang-i Sun Chang is a Taiwanese-American sinologist who is a scholar of classical Chinese literature. She is the inaugural Malcolm G. Chace Professor at Yale University, where she was previously the chair of the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures.
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