Richard "Dutch" Erickson

The late Richard E. “Dutch” Erickson was a basketball coach and teacher at University of Sioux Falls for 16 years. Erickson, who served as head basketball coach and athletic director at USF, accumulated 112 wins in 11 seasons from 1969-80. When he left USF, he owned the school’s coaching record for wins by a men’s basketball coach. Erickson also started USF’s baseball program and served as head coach. He was head coach for men’s tennis and directed the team to the All-District title in 1967-68 and advanced to nationals. Erickson was named twice as the District 12 Men’s Tennis Coach of the Year (1967, 1968).

At USF, he directed the Cougars to the program’s first 20-win season as the 1969- 70 squad won the Tri-State Conference and second in the NAIA District 12. He also started the baseball program at USF. Erickson was 82 years old when he died in Yankton, S.D., on Oct. 31, 2015.

Born on the family farm in Vermillion, SD, Erickson was the youngest of 10 children to John E. and Anna Margaret (Hansen) Erickson. He attended Vermillion High School where he was active in football, track and baseball and was an All-State basketball player. Dutch enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1952 and served in Korea. In 1955, Erickson attended Hastings College on a football and basketball scholarship. On June 22, 1955, Erickson married Charlotte Ahlgrim. Erickson and Ahlgrim were homecoming king and queen in Vermillion High School in 1950. During Erickson’s time at Hastings College he was named Outstanding Lineman and “Who’s Who on Campus”. He graduated in 1958 with a degree in Education.

Dutch began his coaching career in Pender, Neb., where he spent five years serving as the head basketball coach, assistant football coach, acting principal and social studies teacher. In 1963, he received a Master of Education degree from the University of South Dakota. The family moved to South Sioux City, Neb., where he was the head basketball coach and guidance counselor for two years. In 1965, Erickson began a 16-year coaching and teaching career at USF. In 1980, he stepped away from coaching and teaching to take on a role as area representative for Great American Insurance. Later, he moved into a role as the senior vice president of the International Crop & Hail Division in Overland Park, Kansas. In late 1993, he retired from Great American and moved to Yankton. Erickson also officiated football and basketball games, and it was common to see him helping at local track events as well. He and wife Charlotte had sons Ronald and Richard II (Rich).