Augustana's all-time leading scorer when he graduated from the school in 2012, Schilling has his alma mater rolling in his second year as head coach. After growing pains of a 12-18 rookie campaign, the former Tom Billiter player and assistant coach has led the Vikings to a 12-7 record and 10-4 mark in the Northern Sun, good for third-best out of 16 teams. Augie has won four consecutive games, all on the road, and returns to the Elmen Center for home contests against Bemidji State on Friday night and Minnesota-Duluth on Saturday afternoon. In a 40-minute interview on the floor where he poured in hundreds of points, Schilling explains how his second squad is surging behind likely All-NSIC first team guard Tameron Ferguson, who is at or near the top of several offensive categories, including third in scoring (21.5 points). In-state recruits like Mitchell's Caden Hinker and Marcus Talley are also in the mix. All this while Schilling's wife is eight months pregnant, with a due date right around the regular season finale against arch-rival Sioux Falls and the NSIC Tournament in February.

Why not one more win for the winningest quarterback in the history of college football? It was "One Shrine-ing Moment" for former South Dakota State and Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski on Tuesday. Playing in the Cowboys' indoor training camp stadium in Frisco, Texas — the same town Gronowski led the Jackrabbits to the school's only national championships in football — Gronowski earned the all-star game's Offensive MVP honor. Playing for just over a quarter, the 2023 FCS Walter Payton Award winner led two scoring drives, threw a couple nifty downfield darts, eluded multiple backfield defenders on an 18-yard first down scramble on 3rd-and-7, and threw down a vicious block for his running back on a touchdown. So, considering this was an event created to show off college players' talents against other NFL Draft prospects, what did this do for Gronowski's draft stock? What are his chances of even being drafted? How much did his year at Iowa — unremarkable stats, several "winning" moments, 10 touchdowns, seven interceptions for a 10-4 team — help or hurt his stock? Happy Hour's host pours through reviews of NFL analysts and looks back to remarks on Gronowski's strengths and weaknesses made by Happy Hour guests like former Hawkeye and NFL quarterback Chuck Long, plus Sanford Sports Academy football director and Gronowski family friend Kurtiss Riggs.

Teeth-gnashing or no-teeth-gnashing about the Vikings letting Sam Darnold walk? NDSU's men and women currently kings and queens of the Summit League. Which Jackrabbit and Coyote teams besides the SDSU women appear primed for a big down-the-stretch surge before the tourney in Sioux Falls? And what do we think about the "split doubleheader" concept in Vermillion on Saturday — SDSU-USD women at 1 p.m., then NDSU-USD men at 5 p.m.... huh?

In the thick of the Summit League basketball regular season race, with a "State vs U" women's basketball showdown coming up on Saturday, and with a Super Bowl that includes the quarterback the Minnesota Vikings discarded coming up, there is no shortage of excellent local and regional sports topics for Sioux Falls Live's Matt Zimmer and John Gaskins to talk about. And don't worry, they do in the latest version of their weekly podcast "Nobody's Listening Anyway" on Happy Hour. But sometimes when you get together at a sports bar — in this case the Gateway Lounge — to talk about sports, you start by going down a rabbit hole full of nostalgia. Behold, a couple of Gen X dudes in the mid-forties strolling down memory lane back to the days of cable TV, newspapers, terrestrial radio, and how sports was easier to consume (and perhaps better consumed that way). The chat stems from Zim's column about the perils and evils of the streaming era we live in. For Zim, it is a chance to vent and wax poetic about our society. For John, a chance to finally weave the 1980's late night cable movie Sorority Babes and the Slimeball Bowl-o-rama into the show. But again, don't worry, you'll hear the two eventually carry on about: * Teeth-gnashing or no-teeth-gnashing about the Vikings letting Sam Darnold walk * North Dakota State's men and women currently kings and queens of the Summit League * Which Jackrabbit and Coyote teams besides the SDSU women appear primed for a big down-the-stretch surge before the tourney in Sioux Falls * The "split doubleheader" concept in Vermillion on Saturday — SDSU-USD women at 1 p.m., then NDSU-USD men at 5 p.m.... huh?

Last week, the million dollar rejection South Dakota State offensive lineman Quinten Christensen gave at least one SEC school — instead, he chose to stay and play for the Jackrabbits in 2026 — was the big topic on Happy Hour. Imagine what the Wessington Springs cattle rancher was thinking as he watched Pierre native Grey Zabel help block Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl on Sunday. Zabel himself had whopper offers from Power Four schools two years ago before his senior season at North Dakota State. He chose to stay and won a national championship, plus All-America honors. Then, he crushed it against SEC and Big Ten defensive linemen at the Senior Bowl, impressed more scouts at the NFL combine, was drafted 18th in the first round, and started every game for the NFC champion. So, does Zabel provide an ideal guide for Christensen and other FCS studs to stay at that level instead of taking the big bucks in the big leagues? South Dakota's premier football analyst Kurtiss Riggs — 11-time indoor pro football championship coach, four-time national champion player and coach at USF (with Kalen DeBoer), and Sanford Sports Academy football director — answers that question and an hour's worth of more as Happy Hour's Monday afternoon quarterback. Other topics covered by both Riggs and Happy Hour's host: * Does Sam Darnold's dynamite NFC Championship Game performance prove the Minnesota Vikings made a mistake by letting him go? * Should the Broncos have kicked a field goal instead of "go for it" on fourth down early against the Patriots? * Is Matthew Stafford the NFL's MVP this season + worthy of the Pro Football Hall of Fame? * Who will win the Super Bowl? * What should we make of the Pittsburgh Steelers hiring Mike McCarthy as their head coach? * What should we make of the SDHSAA allowing 11AAA teams to play squads from Omaha as their "ninth game" outside of the eight games versus other 11AAA teams? If you've made it to this point in the article, congratulations! We can't send you off writing this line in italics — Nebraska's men's basketball team is ranked No. 5 in the nation after starting 20-0. Read that again. Soak it in. Ask yourself if this really is Planet Earth where you reside. And if it interests you, enjoy the end of the host's monologue, where he provides his own perspective after an eye-opening Huskers win in Minneapolis on Saturday in The Barn. Let's just say it was a Barn storm that illustrates why these Huskers are legit... and we have the video and audio from halftime and postgame to prove it.

Last week, the million dollar rejection South Dakota State offensive lineman Quinten Christensen gave at least one SEC school — instead, he chose to stay and play for the Jackrabbits in 2026 — was the big topic on Happy Hour. Imagine what the Wessington Springs cattle rancher was thinking as he watched Pierre native Grey Zabel help block Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl on Sunday. Zabel himself had whopper offers from Power Four schools two years ago before his senior season at North Dakota State. He chose to stay and won a national championship, plus All-America honors. Then, he crushed it against SEC and Big Ten defensive linemen at the Senior Bowl, impressed more scouts at the NFL combine, was drafted 18th in the first round, and started every game for the NFC champion. So, does Zabel provide an ideal guide for Christensen and other FCS studs to stay at that level instead of taking the big bucks in the big leagues? South Dakota's premier football analyst Kurtiss Riggs — 11-time indoor pro football championship coach, four-time national champion player and coach at USF (with Kalen DeBoer), and Sanford Sports Academy football director — answers that question and an hour's worth of more as Happy Hour's Monday afternoon quarterback. Other topics covered by both Riggs and Happy Hour's host: * Does Sam Darnold's dynamite NFC Championship Game performance prove the Minnesota Vikings made a mistake by letting him go? * Should the Broncos have kicked a field goal instead of "go for it" on fourth down early against the Patriots? * Is Matthew Stafford the NFL's MVP this season + worthy of the Pro Football Hall of Fame? * Who will win the Super Bowl? * What should we make of the Pittsburgh Steelers hiring Mike McCarthy as their head coach? * What should we make of the SDHSAA allowing 11AAA teams to play squads from Omaha as their "ninth game" outside of the eight games versus other 11AAA teams? If you've made it to this point in the article, congratulations! We can't send you off writing this line in italics — Nebraska's men's basketball team is ranked No. 5 in the nation after starting 20-0. Read that again. Soak it in. Ask yourself if this really is Planet Earth where you reside. And if it interests you, enjoy the end of the host's monologue, where he provides his own perspective after an eye-opening Huskers win in Minneapolis on Saturday in The Barn. Let's just say it was a Barn storm that illustrates why these Huskers are legit... and we have the video and audio from halftime and postgame to prove it.