Happy Hour with John Gaskins

Everything matters in constructing a college football juggernaut.
 
Recruiting, talent, coaching, culture. It all matters and it all adds up. And, oh, yeah... money matters, in case you haven't noticed. The higher the level, the more NIL matters.
 
But how much does scheduling — who you play, when you play, and where you play them in a season — matter? SDSU coach Dan Jackson gave the Happy Hour host a thoughtful response to that question, plus these queries: What constitutes an ideal schedule for success at the FCS level, and how he feels the 2026 slate suits his squad?
 
The Happy Hour host goes through both the Jackrabbits and Coyotes schedules. Whose is more favorable to yield the best record and higher potential for a Missouri Valley championship and high playoff seed?
 
As far as those other things go — recruiting, talent, coaching, culture — Augustana's Jerry Olszweski has inarguably mastered that mix in his first 12 seasons. The Vikings are building on seven consecutive winning seasons, won back-to-back NSIC titles in 2023 and '24, and won their first nine games before finishing 9-2 last season.
 
How have they done it? What is in place in '26 to keep the Vikings rolling? It starts at the top and "Coach OJ" walks us through it. 
 
This includes a glimpse into the new faces on the coaching staff and elevations of two long-tenured defensive assistants to co-defensive coordinator roles to replace Mark Sipple, who took the DC job at FCS Drake. Then, there's the quarterback battle between two talented and now proven gunslingers in Gunnar Hensley and Rich Lucergo, Jr.
 
But a bulk of the discussion lies in the things Olszewski does to keep and raise the bar — decisions like having two co-coordinators instead of one, why he acts as a true "CEO" style head coach instead of calling plays and leading the offense or defense, his approach to recruiting (how much more time is spent on transfer targets than a few years ago?), and how Augie deals with whatever twists come in Div. II with NIL and transfer temptations from Div. I schools for his best performers.
 
Plus, get inside the headset. How does an 18-year head coach make the biggest decisions — punt or go for it, kick a field goal or go for it, go for the tie or for the win — during the heat of a pressure-packed game?
 
As always, OJ leaves the listener feeling better about life and football when the conversation is over, whether that listener is an Augie fan or not.

Recruiting, talent, coaching, culture — Augustana's Jerry Olszweski has inarguably mastered that mix in his first 12 seasons. The Vikings are building on seven consecutive winning seasons, won back-to-back NSIC titles in 2023 and '24, and won their first nine games before finishing 9-2 last season.
 
How have they done it? What is in place in '26 to keep the Vikings rolling? It starts at the top and "Coach OJ" walks us through it. 
 
This includes a glimpse into the new faces on the coaching staff and elevations of two long-tenured defensive assistants to co-defensive coordinator roles to replace Mark Sipple, who took the DC job at FCS Drake. Then, there's the quarterback battle between two talented and now proven gunslingers in Gunnar Hensley and Rich Lucergo, Jr.
 
But a bulk of the discussion lies in the things Olszewski does to keep and raise the bar — decisions like having two co-coordinators instead of one, why he acts as a true "CEO" style head coach instead of calling plays and leading the offense or defense, his approach to recruiting (how much more time is spent on transfer targets than a few years ago?), and how Augie deals with whatever twists come in Div. II with NIL and transfer temptations from Div. I schools for his best performers.
 
Plus, get inside the headset. How does an 18-year head coach make the biggest decisions — punt or go for it, kick a field goal or go for it, go for the tie or for the win — during the heat of a pressure-packed game?
 
As always, OJ leaves the listener feeling better about life and football when the conversation is over, whether that listener is an Augie fan or not.

Everything matters in constructing a college football juggernaut.
 
Recruiting, talent, coaching, culture. It all matters and it all adds up. And, oh, yeah... money matters, in case you haven't noticed. The higher the level, the more NIL matters.
 
But how much does scheduling — who you play, when you play, and where you play them in a season — matter? SDSU coach Dan Jackson gave the Happy Hour host a thoughtful response to that question, plus these queries: What constitutes an ideal schedule for success at the FCS level, and how he feels the 2026 slate suits his squad?
 
The Happy Hour host goes through both the Jackrabbits and Coyotes schedules. Whose is more favorable to yield the best record and higher potential for a Missouri Valley championship and high playoff seed?

Tuesday is another big day for our team at Sioux Falls Live as we gear up to host a debate between the 5 candidates for Sioux Falls mayor. Happy Hour hosted Patrick Lalley, Sioux Falls Live's editor, to get a sneak peek at how the debate will take place.
 
Joe Batcheller, Christine Erickson, Greg Jamison, Jamie Smith, and David Zokaites will take part in a chat centered around public safety. It all gets underway at 6:00 pm, and live streams will be available on both Siouxfallslive.com and The Dakota Scout.
 
Lalley talked about why public safety is such an important conversation that needs to be had, and how he expects each candidate to make themselves stand out from the others.

John returns from his vacation in Palm Springs tomorrow, so today we take you back to last December and our exciting chat with USD's Chris Strevler. That conversation went like this:
 
 
The swashbuckling, clutch playmaking. The larger-than-life personality. The fur coat with bare skin underneath in the sub-zero temperatures in the Winnipeg Blue Bombers' CFL title parade.
 
There is only one Chris Streveler, and the South Dakota Coyotes enjoyed the spoils of Strevy in the program's first winning season in Div. I, first FCS Playoffs appearance and first D1 postseason win during his record-smashing senior season of 2017.
 
The Chicagoland native's two-year USD career ended in a blaze of glory as he threw for 520 yards and five touchdown passes — adding 52 rushing yards and a running score — in a wild comeback that fell short in a 1,300-yard, shootout-for-the-ages 54-42 loss at Sam Houston State in the Round of 16.
 
Streveler has vivid memories of that game and others from his indelible USD career in a 45-minute interview with Happy Hour host John Gaskins. He also regales with stories of his recruitment to Vermillion from the University of Minnesota, where he had switched to play wide receiver after losing battles to be the Gophers' starter.
 
What were his first impressions of program builder Bob Nielson and the DakotaDome? And what are his impressions of the program — particularly current quarterback Aidan Bouman — eight years later under Travis Johansen, with a surging squad that has reached the quarterfinals for the third consecutive season?
 
And then, there was that victory parade in Winnipeg that made Streveler an even bigger legend both in Canada and South Dakota. What led to his hypothermic fashion choice? And what marching order did he and teammates ignore (well, miss) to ensure an epic celebration?
 
You'll get the full Strevy, and you'll like it. Even if you're not a Coyote fan. Well... Jackrabbit fans may not love his memories of a 31-28 loss to SDSU that senior season.