USD A.D. Jon Schemmel on Vitzthum hire, football tragectory, FCS/FBS future, attendance and interest

Schemmel goes deep in walking through the 72 hours after Johansen broke Schemmel the news of his new job.   This included turning his basement into a head coaching search bunker, but it wasn't much of a search. Schemmel's account includes the emotional meetings with Johansen, Vitzthum, and both together before Johansen took off for New Jersey.    Both of the head coaches Schemmel has hired in the last 13 months are young up-and-comers (Johansen is in his early 40's and Vitzthum is 39) who have had offers from schools at higher levels for much higher salaries the last couple years.    Did Johansen's leaving after one season make Schemmel pause to hire another "rising star" and make him consider more of a "Bob Nielson type" — older and more likely to spend several seasons in Vermillion (Nielson spent nine before retiring)?   How much did the swift hiring of a USD assistant to replace Johansen have to do with the special 15-day transfer portal window that is now open for Coyotes players due to Johansen's departure?   And what about the football program, in general? Since arriving at USD in December 2023, the Madison native has aggressively worked to bring that operation's budget to as close to the top of the FCS as possible.    The Coyotes have reached the FCS quarterfinals three seasons in a row — the only team in the nation to do so. But they have yet to play in an FCS Championship game, and both Schemmel and Vitzthum were not shy to use the words "national championship" multiple times both in front of the masses and in their Happy Hour chats.   So, what goes into that? And how big is USD thinking for football? Schemmel has remarked that the $17.5 million North Dakota State paid to leave the FCS and join the Mountain West Conference in the FBS is a pill that USD would not be ready to swallow today.   Of course, to join the FBS, a program needs an invitation from a conference. Before their MWC invite, NDSU's administration spent a decade full of tireless research and plenty of resources just to determine if the program was ready to take the leap.  Is USD doing that digging, or planning for it? While Schemmel's current stance of USD's status is continuing to work to be an FCS national champion, what is his sense of what lies ahead for the future of the Coyotes and the three remaining FCS schools in the Dakotas — USD, North Dakota, and South Dakota State.   Oh, the Jackrabbits. Schemmel is not shy in talking about them, either — in the most respectful of ways. SDSU overtook NDSU as the premier program in the FCS when the Jacks won national titles in 2022 and 2023.  How much does SDSU's football and overall athletic success — championships and game attendance — have to do with how Schemmel and his department operates?    And what kind of efforts are Schemmel and staff making to close the gap in those areas with the only other Div. I program in the state?    We had questions. Schemmel has plenty of thoughtful answers. '   Enjoy.