1971 South Dakota Coyotes football team

1971 South Dakota Coyotes football
Conference	North Central Conference
Record	3–7 (3–3 NCC)
Head coach	Joe Salem (6th season)
Home stadium	Inman Field

1971 North Central Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
North Dakota $	5	–	1	–	0			6	–	3	–	1
North Dakota State	4	–	2	–	0			7	–	2	–	0
Northern Iowa	4	–	2	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
Morningside	3	–	3	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
South Dakota	3	–	3	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
South Dakota State	2	–	4	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
Augustana (SD)	0	–	6	–	0			1	–	8	–	1
$ – Conference champion

The 1971 South Dakota Coyotes football team was an American football team that represented the University of South Dakota in the North Central Conference (NCC) during the 1971 NCAA College Division football season. In its sixth season under head coach Joe Salem, the team compiled a 3–7 record (3–3 against NCC opponents), tied for fourth place out of seven teams in the NCC, and was outscored by a total of 191 to 172. The team played its home games at Inman Field in Vermillion, South Dakota.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 4	at Montana*	Memorial Stadium Great Falls, MT	L 7–14	8,000
September 11	at Wyoming*	War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY	L 28–42	20,899
September 18	Idaho State*	Inman Field Vermillion, SD	L 6–10	9,700
September 25	at No. 1 North Dakota State	Dacotah Field Fargo, ND	L 15–16	11,000
October 2	at Northern Iowa	O. R. Latham Stadium Cedar Falls, IA	L 0–8	5,300
October 9	Morningside	Inman Field Vermillion, SD	L 35–6 (forfeit)	10,700
October 16	at South Dakota State	Coughlin–Alumni Stadium Brookings, SD (rivalry)	W 37–18	10,000
October 23	at Drake*	Drake Stadium Des Moines, IA	L 7–49	6,800
October 30	Augustana (SD)	Inman Field Vermillion, SD	W 8–7	800
November 6	North Dakota	Inman Field Vermillion, SD (Sitting Bull Trophy)	W 29–21	1,200
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game