Q&A: Coyote AD Jon Schemmel's crafts new vision for South Dakota athletics

May 16—VERMILLION — New University of South Dakota athletic director Jon Schemmel has been tasked with keeping the Coyotes' athletic program moving forward during an era of evolving college athletics.

Between name, image and likeness restrictions that allow the sport to operate as more of a play for play module, a transfer portal used by some as annual free agency, and consolidated conferences, USD has its work cut out for it to keep up.

After five months on the job, Schemmel has identified the strengths and shortcomings of the Coyotes' program, and is formulating a plan to grow the program in funding and competitiveness.

The Mitchell Republic spoke with Schemmel to learn more about his vision and plans for the Coyotes.

Q: You returned to Division I athletics during a fluid time. Did the changing landscape in any way further your interest in the position?

A: Some of it's crazy and hectic and it makes your eyes roll at times. Having said that, the model was outdated. I believed it was outdated a long time ago. And I also believed that if there wasn't proactive change, then what happened was a little bit inevitable. So I think that us being here now is not surprising and on some levels it is more of a draw for me to come in and know that things are very fluid and inconsistent. I think I'm certainly somebody that will provide a lot of energy and juice to a quiet room. Having said that, I think when all hell breaks loose and things scatter, that's usually when I'd like to think I'm at my best and my calmest.

Q: The athletic department announced the launch of the "Pride of the Western Plain" NIL collective in March. Do you feel that the program is improving in the NIL department and in overall fundraising?

A: I think everything is a process. We're certainly not anywhere near where we need to be or where we want to be. I think I'm a very blunt, upfront person. So for me to sit there and tell a rainbow sherbet story, even when that's not the truth — even though a lot of great things are going on here — our ability to build and grow versus sustain success in the future, to be a better partner to campus and caring more of our load financially, is critically important. Not only for sustainability, but for any potential growth for the department.

Q: What's the formula for funding between facilities and scholarships versus NIL?

A: We still have a lot of work to do with traditional endowments and some facilities as well as trying to get an indoor (track) done. We need to have a good permanent home for softball at some point. We've got to give tennis a better home. And then once and for all we really do need to finish the (Dakota)Dome. Finishing the dome and the indoor (track) facility are probably the biggest things we need to chase.

The lifeblood of recruiting is still the same. You have to have facilities. It's about the student-athlete experience, and you have to have great coaches. And then what we're trying to balance that with is donors that can really give six-, seven-figure-type gifts, really trying to get them and talk to them about impact. If you can have an endowment or give $100,000 or more over five years, or $10 million or anything like that, those are the people we really need building the foundation, building facilities.

And then I think just empowering donors to choose and educate themselves on what the options are. Whether you're giving $100 a year or $50 a year, or up to $5,000 or $10,000 a year, is this about legacy for you? Or is this about impact? If it's about impact, those dollars might be more impactful in one of the annual funds so teams can travel better, eat better, whatever it is, or NIL. For us, it's about trying to put it out there for donors and then let them decide."

Q: Former women's basketball coach Kayla Karius left for Green Bay relatively late into the coaching carousel. Was it hectic to find her replacement in such a short window of time?

A: Kayla was great. She didn't make this decision lightly. She gave me a heads up that it was something that could be happening probably a week or so before it did, which I really appreciate because it did allow us to start preparing. It's an interesting position to be in because you're trying to hang on to a coach yet you're trying to get ready. And ultimately, we can't be her alma mater. And we can't be 50 miles away from both sets of grandparents. So certainly hectic, but I think we were prepared when it finally happened. And I think really going through the process, knowing that I had a search firm that I trusted — and they were worth every penny — in this case it was a good, clean process, very thorough, and we vetted very aggressively."

Q: How close do you think your football team is to being a contender for a national championship?

A: I think we're there. I think coach (Bob) Nielson and his staff deserve a lot of credit for that certainly. This group of seniors and the team have really built and bought into, 'We're going to stay here, we're going to build this.' And I think they're thinking not only about competing for a national championship next year, but trying to do it in a way that's sustainable.

"And you look at the schools that have done this the right way and built it for sustained success, they've had succession plans with staff, they've never really fallen backwards. Maybe others have caught them. But I don't look at North Dakota State and say they've fallen backward, it's just other people have caught them. And, they've set that mark for a long time. And now there's another school kind of setting that mark. And I think the goal for us is always to be the one that sets that mark."

Q: Where is the men's basketball program at right now and what are you hoping they can accomplish under Eric Peterson?

A: I believe and understand there were a lot of things that Eric had to deal with and fix when he got here. But then also, he had a near-death accident, basically, in the process and missed most of his first year as a coach. So that didn't help anything. But I believe in his vision and where we're going. And I think what we're seeing now is, at our level — and college basketball is the craziest of all the sports with NIL — you can go from where we were last year to the top of the league, and it doesn't need to take three or four years, because there's so much turnover. And Eric and his staff have batted 1.000 seemingly in recruiting this year. Everyone they've targeted they've gotten and I think that says a lot about him and what he's doing and the vision he's selling. It'll be exciting to see what they look like next year, because it will be a very different team for sure."