He was Stanford's starting quarterback under Bill Walsh in 1978, and led Stanford to a 25–22 victory over Georgia in the 1978 Bluebonnet Bowl, where he was named the game's offensive most valuable player.
That season, Dils won the Sammy Baugh Trophy, awarded to the top passer in college football.
In his second year with the club, he made his first start filling in for an injured Tommy Kramer and led the Vikings to a win over the Washington Redskins, a game which proved crucial to Minnesota's playoff run that year.
Chris Berman bestowed one of his more labored nicknames—Steve "Love the One You're With" Dils—based on the player's vague similarity in name to Stephen Stills.
Dils is currently the managing director of the Canadian commercial real estate company Avison Young's Atlanta office.