John "Stig" Stiegelmeier - Inducted 2025

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.