Head Coach Brad Erickson

The longest tenured coach in South Dakota State University history, Brad Erickson is in his 41st season as the head coach of the Jackrabbit men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs.

Since being named head swimming coach in 1976, Erickson has coached the SDSU men to a North Central Conference championship in 1979 and the Jackrabbit women to an NCC title in 1981. In the 2000-01 season he was named the NCC Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year after leading SDSU to a fourth-place finish at the conference meet.

Erickson has overseen a successful transition to Division I competition, which began during the 2004-05 season. He has helped lead the Jackrabbit women’s squad to a second-place finish at the Summit League Championships in five of the last six seasons, while the Jackrabbit men have earned a pair of runner-up finishes. At the 2011 Summit League Championships, Erickson was named women’s coach of the year after SDSU placed second. Erickson added Summit League Men’s Coach of the Year honors to his list of accomplishments in 2012 after leading the Jackrabbit men to a second-place finish at the Summit League Championships in Rochester, Mich.

During his career, Erickson has coached swimmers and divers who have gone on to win more than 60 individual conference titles and 10 relay championships. Four of his swimmers have earned All-America recognition.

In the fall of 2002, Erickson was honored with SDSU’s Ralph Ginn Award for Coaching Excellence, which honors an SDSU alumnus in the field of education and coaching.

Erickson’s teams also have performed well in the classroom, regularly receiving recognition as Scholar All-America Teams from the College Swimming Coaches Association of America for having a team grade-point average of 3.0 or higher during a semester.

A 1974 graduate of South Dakota State, Erickson became the first Jackrabbit swimmer to compete at the NCAA Division II Championships, as a junior. The Arlington, South Dakota, native won three North Central Conference titles, winning the 200-yard breaststroke twice and the 100-yard breaststroke once.

Widely respected in the coaching community, Erickson has continued to represent SDSU at NCAA swimming championships during his career, serving as a meet official and judge at the Division I women’s and men’s championships from 1984-2010. He also has served as the NCAA Division II Championships coordinator since 1997. In addition, Erickson served on the NCAA?Women’s Swimming Committee from its inception in 1981 until 1987, including one year as the Division II Subcommittee Chair. He was appointed to the NCAA?Division I Men’s and Women’s Swimming Committee in 2013.

Erickson also served as an assistant football coach at SDSU from 1976-1990, mentoring the Jackrabbits’ receivers. He later filled the role of intramural director for a number of years before focusing on coaching full-time upon South Dakota State’s entry into Division I.