This collection is composed of material related to athletics at South Dakota State University. Included are files regarding administration, the Athletics Committee, publications, the Women's Recreation Association, and files related to specific sports (e.g. baseball, men's and women's basketball, cross country, football, rodeo, soccer, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, volleyball, and wrestling).

The administrative material consists of material dealing with academic advising, development, compliance, equipment, facilities and operations, the Jackrabbit Sports Network, marketing and promotion, and the ticket office. Folders are composed of annual reports, programs, handbooks, brochures, photographs, mascot designs, newsletters, schedules. The series also contains banners, caps, t-shirts, and jerseys. The Athletics Committee consist of meeting minutes and budget files. Files regarding of the individual sports consist of media guides, clippings, record books, programs, brochures, fact books, and photographs. A large amount of cross country and track and field files are included and consist of results from meets and workouts and research. The publications series includes the Rabbit Report from 1978-2014 and The Bum from 1956 to 2017. These files are not complete as they are missing some issues.

Jay Dirksen was the Track and Field and Cross Country coach at South Dakota State University from 1969 to 1977. The collection consists mainly of Dirksen's files on S.D.S.U. athletes coached by him. The file include record sheets of training programs, correspondence, clippings, photographs, and other data related to the running career of each athlete. Also included are files related to Dirksen's research on cross country running.