Right on Track: Bargmann Endows First Athletic Coach’s Position

Brent Bargmann knows philanthropic giving is a marathon, not a sprint.

A 1987 alum from Chester, South Dakota, Brent’s track record of giving reflects the primary reasons he chose South Dakota State University as a student-athlete more than 35 years ago. He’s funded a scholarship endowment for students studying engineering, inspired by the major that shaped his career.

With the academic aspect covered, Brent turned his attention to athletics, with the lead gift to endow the Bargmann Head Coach for Track and Field/Cross Country. It’s the first endowed position within SDSU Athletics.

Growing up, he harbored an interest in science and math, a passion that stuck with Brent through high school.

Brent’s older brother, Brad, attended SDSU and was on the track team as a hurdler. Once Brent arrived, he ran full tilt toward Jackrabbit Athletics and an electrical engineering major.

During Brent’s junior year, a standout student-athlete, Rod DeHaven, joined the track team. The two became fast friends and quickly integrated into each other’s orbits on all fronts. They lived together, had similar hobbies, and shared a die-hard love of running.

Rod has been the head track and cross country coach since 2011. He is the first holder of the endowed Bargmann position.

Their lifelong friendship spurred one of Brent’s most beloved memories as a Jackrabbit. Brent and Rod ran on the same distance medley relay at the 1985 Drake Relays and led the team to a championship.

“That’s a big event, the premier running event in the upper Midwest,” Brent explained. “At Drake, you’re up against schools from all over the nation, and it’s a real marquee event open to both high school and collegiate athletes. Not many get the chance to stand up on that podium.”

After graduation, Brent began a career with Seagate Technology in Aberdeen, a company focused on hard disk drive engineering and manufacturing. That led to a move overseas to the Asia Pacific region for 20 years, where he eventually served as Vice President of Operations and General Manager of the Thailand branch.

While Brent was abroad, Rod became fully immersed in SDSU Athletics as head coach of the track and field/cross country program. When Brent returned to Sioux Falls in 2014 and pivoted to a co-ownership position of EarthBend, the two reconnected over their love of all things Jackrabbit.

“I can remember when my wife and I relocated back to the U.S. and the first time we came back to SDSU – it was hard to recognize that you were even on the same campus,” Brent recalled. “This place has been active and aggressive in understanding what the needs of the university are and delivering on the promise to facilitate a great education here.”

Brent was particularly thrilled to see the new Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex, a place where student-athletes could properly train and allow SDSU to host indoor meets. He saw how that translated into steady success and knew how influential coaches were to the program. He maintained close contact with his coach, Scott Underwood, since graduation.

“The sport is a bit more individualistic, in that the coach isn’t out there with a whistle or following you,” Brent explained. “But the coach is instrumental in getting you to the point where you’re ready to do those things on your own. You can see how the coach operates, how he motivates, how he gets student-athletes to do things they might otherwise not have been able to do.”

While physically removed from campus for years, Brent prioritized the university when it came to philanthropic giving. Having established an endowment in engineering, Brent considered options to elevate athletics.

“Just like anything, there’s an evolution of how this all works. The student-athlete here is a student first and foremost. The academic piece is always a given, and I gave to the academic side first before the athletic side."

He saw an opportunity to rally other program alums to make it happen. Brent offered up additional matching funds to leverage the final dollars needed for the $1 million endowment. His challenge gift was matched in a matter of weeks.

“To have the match met so quickly, that’s the exclamation point that says that, collectively, the experience we all had here was a very impactful and powerful time in our lives,” Brent said. “It says that others are dedicated to ensuring the success of the program and that the athlete/coach experience will be maintained.”

In response to the perpetual funding initiated by his old friend and teammate, Rod said:

Brent wasn’t motivated to be a trailblazer by sparking the first endowed coaching position. In fact, when he began talks with the SDSU Foundation about his philanthropic options, he wasn’t aware that an endowment of that nature hadn’t been done before.

“It’s great, and I’m proud that Rod can stand up in front of his athletes and say we’re the first one on campus. That’s a very powerful thing for the program, but it’s not about being first. It wouldn’t have made a difference to me if I were the last,” Brent explained.

Similar to the championship relay he and Rod ran together in 1985, Brent has kept a steady pace of giving back to SDSU, moving forward and looking to what’s next. While Brent has led the initial leg of the program’s journey, his generosity already inspired other runners to join.

“Here’s what I hope to get out of this: that there will be far more than one person who feels compelled to give in the future. It’s about expanding that network of positive experiences that inspire giving so that the student-athletes who benefit today are the givers of the future.”