Sweet 16 of '25 - John Stiegelmeier (Jan. 2) and Bob Nielson (Nov. 6)

They started building the FCS powerhouses their programs would become almost 20 years apart and finished two years apart.   They both retired and turned their thrones over to their young, upstart defensive coordinators.   In each case, they said there was a part of them that wanted to keep coaching, but another part that was ready to finally smell some roses while younger men navigated the sausage grinder of recruiting and developing rosters in the wild west transfer portal frontier.   John Stiegelmeier and Bob Nielson: Elder statesmen and living legends from South Dakota's two Division I football programs, both with plenty to reflect and regale.   This brand new sports talk show called Happy Hour, launched in late 2024, was made for engaging, deep-diving conversations full of stories and opinions from difference makers like "Stig" and Bob.   Introducing the Happy Hour "Sweet 16 of 2025" — Sixteen of the best, most compelling conversations from this past year. Eight shows — two chats per day — to keep us company heading into 2026.   Every event needs a strong lead-off hitter. Since this series of "best of" interviews is debuting on Christmas Eve, we figured what better way to step into the box than with "Stig" and Bob?   Merry Christmas!   Stiegelmeier took over the reigns at South Dakota State in 1997 when the Jackrabbits were a middling Division II operation overshadowed by the two North Central Conference powerhouses in North Dakota. Within a decade, he had ushered SDSU into Div. I, fueled by a renewed commitment to resources from school administrators and the highest-rolling in-state boosters imaginable. In 2016, at the end of his second decade at the helm, "Stig" led the Jacks to their first Missouri Valley Football Conference title and first Top 10 finish in the final FCS poll.    That same season, Nielson took over a USD program still going through the same FCS growing pains Stig and SDSU had endured a decade prior. The gap in talent between the Jacks and Yotes was a gaping chasm and USD needed a new architect to narrow it.   Nielson — seasoned in the program-building craft — came over from conference opponent Western Illinois, lured by a pledge from USD president Jim Abbott to spike resources and become nationally competitive. By Nielson's second season, the Yotes had reached their first FCS playoffs and scored their first Div. I postseason victory.   The gap slowly narrowed. Stigelmeier and Nielson had several nail-biting battles — including a pair of thrilling USD wins in the DakotaDome in 2019 and '21 — until the former hung it up after capturing SDSU's first national championship in 2022.    Nielson's squad was 3-8 that year, but he swiftly led a comeback charge that led to back-to-back double digit win totals and FCS quarterfinal appearances. After bowing out in the 2024 semifinals in Montana, Nielson shocked some by announcing his retirement a few weeks later in January.   Both patriarchs had plenty to talk about when they joined Happy Hour in 2025. Stiegelmeier was a guest several times, but the discussion we chose for this "Sweet 16" episode comes from January, when he reacted to the turbulence SDSU experienced following the departure of Jimmy Rogers, his heir apparent, to Washington State.   Rogers had taken all of his SDSU assistants, 15 Jacks players and several recruits with him to the FBS program on The Palouse. Most fans were up in arms. A former "Stig" player and assistant named Dan Jackson — best of friends with Rogers while on staff together from 2012-19 — was hired to calm the waters and reboot what "Stig" had built, partly with fellow former Jacks assistants.   Stig had mixed emotions about all of it and provided a soothing voice of reason fans needed to hear. It remains Happy Hour's most-downloaded segment.   Nielson joined the show nine months later during the week of the "State vs U" game. Now living just down the road near Sioux City, Nielson looked back on his nine seasons in Vermillion and articulated his observations of the first season under Johansen. He also couldn't help but beam and chuckle about the wildest game of his USD tenure — the last-second hail mary to stun Stig and the Jacks in 2021.   Enjoy all the stories and words and wisdom from South Dakota's two living D1 legends.