Don Larson, USTFCCCA Coaches Hall of Fame Class of 2021

North Dakota State and South Dakota State might be athletic rivals, but both institutions shaped Don Larson into who he is today — and that is a member of the USTFCCCA Coaches Hall of Fame Class of 2021.

Larson started his collegiate foray as an athlete at South Dakota State. Over a five-year period with the Jackrabbits, Larson earned All-America honors in the 400-meter hurdles twice (1972, 1975) and won seven total conference titles in various events like the 440 yards, 600 yards, the 400-meter hurdles, and the relays.

After graduating from SDSU in 1976 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education and then earning a master’s degree in the same area of expertise from Minnesota State-Moorhead, Larson began his coaching career at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota.

Just a few years later in 1979, Larson returned to the Dakotas – but this time, it wouldn’t be back to Brookings. Instead, Larson took the head coaching job 180 miles away at SDSU’s rival institution: North Dakota State. And it is in Fargo, where Larson spent the next 41 years molding the Bison into a perennial force until his well-deserved retirement following the 2019-20 academic year.

NDSU’s success didn’t just span decades under Larson. It transcended divisions.

For the first 25 years of Larson’s tenure, the Bison left their mark as NCAA Division II members in the North Central Conference. NDSU won 36 conference titles as a team between 1979 and 2004, including 35 in track & field alone. That one cross country title came in 1982 and it was the first link in a chain that resulted in capturing the vaunted Triple Crown.

Triumphs at the national level were just as commonplace for the Bison. Curt Bacon gave Larson his first individual champ in 1980 when he won the steeplechase crown and before all was said and done, his athletes added 10 more to that total at the NCAA DII level. Larson’s athletes also dotted the podium during those years, too, compiling 206 All-America honors with 193 of those coming in track & field alone. NDSU’s best finishes, as a team, were third outdoors in 2004 and fourth indoors in 1989.

Success continued after the Bison made the full transition to the Summit League in NCAA DI.

NDSU won 18 more conference titles between 2007 and 2020, including the 2020 indoor crown to send Larson out as a winner. The Bison dominated the proceedings, too, sweeping the top-4 spots in the 800, the top-6 spots in the shot put and the top-3 spots in the weight throw as Larson was named the conference’s Coach of the Year for the 17th time.

Payton Otterdahl gave NDSU its first individual champion at the NCAA DI level in any sport in 2019 when he won the shot put at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Otterdahl also set the collegiate indoor record in the event earlier that year. He wasn’t done, though, as he’d double back to win the weight throw the very next day. Otterdahl was just the second man in NCAA DI history to accomplish that feat in meet history.

It’s safe to say Larson made coaching the Bison a family affair; his wife Desire’e was an assistant coach for 20 years in charge of the program’s high jumpers and coached those athletes to 12 All-America efforts. Don and Desire’e have two children, Kelsey and Kira.