University of Sioux Falls Alumni

09/04/2026

💜🖤 It’s College Colors Day! 🖤💜

Today, September 4, we want to see how YOU wear your USF colors! Whether you’re on campus, at work, cheering from home, or somewhere in between, show us your USF spirit. 🐾

📸 Post a photo of yourself in your USF gear
🏷️ Tag of Sioux Falls or comment on this post with your photo.

That’s it! You’ll be entered into a drawing for a $50 USF Cougar Central gift certificate. 🎉

Alumni and friends of USF — we want to see you!

One winner will be selected at random from qualifying entries.

08/31/2026

💜 YOU ASKED. WE LISTENED.

We've heard from alumni time and time again that one of the best parts of coming back to USF is simply connecting with the people who have been part of their Cougar story.

So, we're trying something NEW for Cougar Days: Campus Connections.

📸 No throwback photo for this one...yet. This is a brand-new event, so you'll have to help us create the memories (and the photos!) this year.

Join us for a chance to reconnect with former and current faculty and staff, catch up with fellow alumni, and meet other friends of USF.

No big agenda—just good conversation, familiar faces and new connections. Whether you graduated five years ago or fifty, taught or worked at USF, are currently part of the USF community, or simply consider yourself a friend of the University, come back, say hello and stay awhile. 💜

📅 Friday, Sept. 25 | 2:30–3:30 p.m.
📍 Norman B. Mears Library

🔗 See the full Cougar Days schedule & register:
https://webapps.usiouxfalls.edu/cougardays/online/general

08/29/2026

🏆 Some Cougar memories are worth reliving!

We're excited to welcome home the 1996 and 2006 NAIA National Champion football teams this Homecoming Weekend!

The USF Athletics Department is hosting a special celebration:

🗓️ Friday, September 25 | 6–8 p.m.
📍 GreatShots | Sioux Falls

The celebration continues Saturday, September 26, when both championship teams will be recognized during halftime of the Homecoming football game. 🏈

Know a former champion? Tag them and help us spread the word!

🔗 Registration & event details: https://usfcougars.com/sb_output.aspx?form=15

🐾 We can't wait to see these Cougars back home!

08/27/2026

🏆 Celebrating the very best of the USF family! 💜

During Cougar Days, USF will proudly honor seven exceptional alumni with the University’s highest alumni honors—the 2026 Alumni Achievement Awards.

Congratulations to this year's honorees:

⭐ Alumni Pacesetter Award
• Carolina Garcia '18
• Emmie Uitts '21

🎵 Lois Harchanko Distinguished Music Award
• LeAnn Olson '93

⛪ Dr. Firman A. Early Distinguished Ministry Award
• Rev. Daniel E. McDowell '81
• Matt Runion '95

🎓 Dr. A.O. Larsen Distinguished Alumni Award
• Dr. Linda Haugan '75, M.Ed. '93
• Jon Thum '03

Swipe through the photos to learn more about each honoree and the incredible impact they're making in their professions, communities and beyond.

We are incredibly proud to celebrate these seven members of the USF family! 👏💜

Join us in honoring them at the Alumni Achievement Awards Celebration & Dinner on Friday, September 25, during Cougar Days.

🔗Learn more and register: https://webapps.usiouxfalls.edu/cougardays/online/general

08/25/2026

🎶 Once a Cougar, always a Cougar!

We loved welcoming Micah Reierson '19 and Elizabeth Enalls '19 back to campus to lead worship during today's opening chapel!

Micah serves as the associate pastor at The Point is to Serve, while Elizabeth serves as a worship leader at Embrace Church. It was especially meaningful to have these two alumni return to share their gifts with the next generation of Cougars.

Thanks for helping us begin a new academic year with music, worship and community, Micah and Elizabeth!

💜

08/21/2026

📦 Move-In Day is almost here! 💜

📸 Dig out your Move-In Day photos and share them in the comments! We'd love to see what Move-In Day looked like when you became a Cougar.

TOMORROW, the newest members of the USF family—the Class of 2030—will arrive on campus and begin a new chapter of their Cougar story.

And here's something fun to think about: 50 years ago, the Class of 1980 was doing the exact same thing. A lot has changed since then, but we're guessing some things haven't!

As we get ready to welcome the Class of 2030, we'd love to take this trip down memory lane with our alumni.

And while you're at it, tell us:

💬 What do you remember most about your first day at USF?
💬 Who was your roommate? Tag them!
💬 What's one piece of advice you'd give the Class of 2030?

Class of 1980—we'd especially love to see what you have! 😉

Let's fill the comments with decades of Cougar memories and help welcome the Class of 2030 to the USF family! 🐾💜

08/19/2026

👏 Congratulations to four USF alumni selected for Leadership Sioux Falls Class 41!

We're proud to see these members of the USF family recognized among additional community leaders selected for Leadership Sioux Falls, a signature program of the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce.

💜 Moses Idris '20
💜 Hillary McQuade '13
💜 Monica Rilling '02
💜 Cory Van Maanen '09

We're grateful to see USF alumni continuing to lead, serve, and make an impact throughout the Sioux Falls community. We can't wait to see all that this next chapter of leadership brings!

Congratulations, Moses, Hillary, Monica, and Cory! 👏

📸 Photos courtesy of the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce.

08/17/2026

🎬 From USF to the big screen!

We're so proud to celebrate the many USF alumni bringing their talent and creativity to a new local film project!

Fresh Slate Productions, a Sioux Falls-based independent film company, adapted "Finding Godot," a play by USF alum Hope Dunkle '25, into a four-part miniseries, which premiered at the Dells Theatre last week. We're excited to see so many members of the USF family involved in bringing the story to life!

🎥 Produced by Fresh Slate Productions:
• Matthew Sterud '24
• Josh Werre '23

🎭 Based on the Play By:
• Hope Dunkle '25

⭐ Starring:
• Dr. Brenda Paulsen '79
• Tyler Hill '22
• Josh Werre '23
• MK Sterud '24
• Abigael Olson '26

We're also excited to see members of the next generation of USF alumni involved in the project, with current students Ryan Presler and Bethany Dunkle joining their fellow Cougars on screen.

From writing and producing to acting on screen, these Cougars are using their creativity and talents to bring new stories to audiences throughout South Dakota.

🔗 Did you miss it? Don't worry!
You can catch all four parts of the miniseries on the Fresh Slate Productions YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/

🔗 Hope Dunkle's original play, "Finding Godot," will return to the stage with The Mighty Corson Art Players in October. Check it out here for more information: https://mightycorson.com/boxoffice #/productions-view

🔗 Read more about the project from KELOLAND: https://www.keloland.com/news/local-news/sioux-falls-film-series-hits-the-big-screen/

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A locally filmed and produced project is hitting the big screen this week. A group of Sioux Falls creatives has been working for the past year on a miniseries based…

08/06/2026

💜 What a fantastic evening in Des Moines!

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our COO Crew gathering yesterday!

It was wonderful to see alumni spanning multiple decades come together to reconnect, share stories, and make new memories.

Whether it had been a few months or a few decades since your last visit with fellow Cougars, the conversations, laughter, and friendships were a wonderful reminder that the USF community reaches far beyond campus.

Thanks to everyone who made the evening so special. We can't wait to do it again! 🐾

📸 Enjoy a few snapshots from a great night together.

07/22/2026

Join us for one of the most special nights on the USF Athletics calendar.

Help us celebrate the University of Sioux Falls Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2026 as we recognize championship moments, unforgettable careers, and a legacy of excellence.

Seats are limited—register today!
🎟️ USFCougars.com/HallofFame

|