They achieved their first national championship win in school history on January 8, 2023, defeating North Dakota State 45-21.

The Jackrabbits finished the season with a perfect 15–0 record under first-year head coach Jimmy Rogers, who previously served as defensive coordinator and was a captain of the 2009 SDSU team himself.

[5][6] The Jackrabbits were an NCAA Division II program in the North Central Conference until moving to the Football Championship Subdivision in 2004.

In March 2004, SDSU initially began their Division I FCS era by being a charter member of the now-defunct Great West Football Conference (along with North Dakota State, Southern Utah, Cal Poly, UC Davis, Northern Colorado) and stayed there until 2007 when they were accepted into the Missouri Valley Football Conference and began league play in the 2008 season.

South Dakota State University has invested in their football program's facilities recently as they have some of the finest amenities and facilities at the FCS level including the largest video/scoreboard in the FCS (2015) a new 19,340-seat stadium (2016), and a large state-of-the-art student-athlete center in the north end zone (2010).

Connected to the student-athlete center is one of the largest indoor practice facilities in NCAA Division I (completed in 2014).

[7] On January 7, 2024, the Jackrabbits successfully defended their National Title when they defeated the Montana Grizzlies football team 23-3.

Their victory capped a 15-0 undefeated regular season for first-year coach Jimmy Rogers, including an 8-0 Missouri Valley Conference record.

In that span the Jackrabbits have won two national titles, one runner-up finish and have appeared in the semifinals seven times.

The broadcast range of the Jackrabbit Sports Network covers eight states (South Dakota, Minnesota, North Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, and Wyoming), and consists of the following stations: The Missouri Valley Football Conference and ESPN have signed a six-year media rights agreement, effective from the 2024 season.