Passing of Bob Young leaves hole in Brandon community

Although he made his mark as the head football coach at the University of Sioux Falls, Bob Young had a huge impact on the city of Brandon.

That’s why his passing last week not only shook the USF and football family in general, it also stung for Brandon as well.

As coach at USF from 1983-2004, Young is the winningest coach in school history with a record of 172-69-3. But it was after his coaching career where he had an impact on Brandon. In 2021, he was honored with the Brandon Community Foundation’s ‘Spirit of Brandon’ award for his work in establishing and growing the annual Brandon Area Prayer Breakfast.

That event has grown tremendously over the past several years and is now held in the high school commons and adjacent Performing Arts Center to accommodate the crowd days before the start of another school year.

He also brought college football to Brandon in the 1990s. USF played their home games at the Brandon Valley football complex due to the overuse at Howard Wood Field in Sioux Falls.

Making the trek to Brandon on Saturday was obviously an excursion for the Cougars, but an even bigger hurdle was their practice facility on campus in central Sioux Falls. Young led daily practices on a 40-yard field nestled between buildings in the heart of campus.

He led the Cougars to a NAIA national championship in 1996, an astonishing feat considering their limited facilities at the time.

“It’s a huge loss. Just the presence he was in my life, and so many people he had an impact on,” said Brian Hansen, who played one season for Young at USF before a 15-year NFL career. “It’s bittersweet because he’s going to be missed, but this is the day he lived for. Everything he was about was preparing for this day when he would enter into eternity and be with his Lord and Savior.”

His Christian faith was well-documented. In 2006, he joined the Fellowship of Christian Athletes to connect with high school coaches.

It was at the FCA when he reconnected with Hansen, who is the state director of the FCA.

“(Evangelist) Billy Graham once said: ‘A coach will have a greater impact in one year than most people will in a lifetime,’” Hansen said. “That certainly was true for me. The year I had with him was the catalyst for the change and transformation that was needed in my life. I’ll be forever grateful for that year.”

Young clearly had a personal impact on his players, and he went to great lengths to find them. Throughout his career, Young recruited heavily in the state of Wyoming.

The University of Wyoming is the only four-year university in the state. For those talented football players who were looking for a four-year degree but didn’t quite have the chops to play DI football at Wyoming, Young and the Cougars came calling.

“He tapped into us and really made a great impression,” said Worland, Wyo., native John Kunz, who played for Young from 1987-1990. “Over the years when I’d see him, he’d always remember me. I mean, me, specifically. There were some players that were really good. I was mediocre, but he always remembered my name, what position I played.”

One of Young’s proudest accomplishments is that several of his players went on to become coaches at every level.

“To see the quality of men they are today with their families and with their teams, it is so rewarding,” Young said two weeks ago on the Calling All Sports radio show on KWSN.

One of those is Aaron Beavers, who played for Young from 1985-88 and was part of the first unbeaten team in school history in 1988. Beavers went on to be an assistant under Young at USF for three seasons before leading Gregory to a 9-man state championship and Sioux Falls Lincoln to three 11-man state titles.

Beavers came to Sioux Falls from Hemet, Calif., where he was recruited by Young. Beavers’ brother-in-law was USF defensive coordinator Brad Pole. After Beavers’ freshman year, Pole left USF for Augustana. Beavers nearly went back to California.

“There is no doubt that I stayed in Sioux Falls because of Coach,” Beavers said. “I was a typical freshman, away from home. I think Bob knew I was thinking about going back, and we just had a lot of great talks. He’s a huge part why I stayed here.”

With all of the success on the football field, Hansen said Young realized his true calling for coaching wasn’t necessarily the scoreboard, but that it was his avenue for ministry.

“He had a firm grasp on that calling,” Hansen said. “He lived it out as well, or better than, anyone I’ve ever known. His true passion was to pursue the Lord and to make him known and to share the hope we have in Christ. That was in every fabric of his being.”

Thankfully for Brandon, he made his presence known here.