Family of the Year

Brian and Denise Aamlid family

Attracted by sports and grounded by academics, the Aamlid family’s connection with South Dakota State stretches back for more than half a century.

With a total of 27 relatives as Jackrabbit alumni, dating back as far as six decades and as recently as 2015, Brian and Denise Aamlid of Sioux Falls and extended and nuclear families were recognized as the SDSU Family of the Year at the Feb. 13 women’s basketball game as well as at a luncheon before the game.

Selection is made by Staters for State, the student arm of the South Dakota State University Alumni Association.
Aamlid, a 1981 chemistry graduate, is an orthopedic surgeon with Sanford Health. Denise (Petersen) Aamlid is a 1981 graduate in health, physical education and recreation.

They have five children, three of whom are SDSU graduates. In addition, Brian’s parents, Robert (1960, economics) and Sandra (1960, home economics) are South Dakota State graduates.

Their children who earned degrees at State were Seri ’05, Nik ’09 and Anne ’15.

Also, three spouses of Aamlid children are State graduates.

The Jackrabbit family tree for Brian Aamlid also includes four aunts and uncles and two sisters. Denise Aamlid’s SDSU genealogy includes a sister, a brother and a sister-in-law.

‘Where our family went’

The branches grow from there, so it’s no wonder that when Brian Aamlid graduated from Bridgewater High School that his next move was to Brookings.

“I was born in Brookings in their (Robert and Sandra Aamlid’s) last year of college. Later on we would venture up to Brookings on Hobo Day.

“Dad and I would go to Holiday Basketball Tournament in Sioux Falls to see Dave Thomas and Lee Colburn and listen to games on the radio,” he said.

A standout in football and basketball at Bridgewater, Aamlid attracted several scholarship offers. He narrowed the choice to Augustana and SDSU. “I think it was just a gut feeling that SDSU was the place to be. It’s where our family went,” Aamlid said, noting the influence of his parents, aunts and uncles.

Denise’s parents weren’t State grads, but a brother, sister and sister-in-law preceded her enrollment at South Dakota State.

“Is there any other place? It was just kind of the place to go,” she said.

Memories formed through athletics

At State, the Dell Rapids native was a track sprinter, played drum for a year in The Pride of the Dakotas and in her sophomore year began to date her future husband. They were engaged in their senior year.

Brian played football and basketball his freshman year and focused solely on basketball, books and Denise his final three years.

“My good memories are around sports and some of the opportunities sports provided,” like traveling to Hawaii for four basketball games his freshman year. “In those years, we would play big schools in the preseason. One year we played at Missouri. That was a great experience,” he said.

In the summer after his sophomore year, assistant basketball coach Jim Thorson assembled a team of South Dakota college players to spend three weeks playing games in Australia and New Zealand. Thorson’s 6-foot-6 power forward was among the players selected.

SDSU teammate Dave Waldowski roomed with Aamlid all four years and was the best man in his wedding.

The Aamlid children had similar positive experiences in athletics. Their oldest child, Seri, played volleyball while Nik and Anne had injury-shortened careers in football and basketball.

SDSU athletes also married into the Aamlid family. Nik and Eric married women’s basketball players—Stacie Oistad ’09, and Leah Dietel ’14, respectively. Anne married football player Ethan Sawyer ’15.

Value of scholarship not forgotten

Nik said, “For me growing up, my dad used to take my brother and I to SDSU games all the time. (Record-setting running back) Josh Ronek was my hero and in basketball, it was Tom Rops. When the (football scholarship) offer came from SDSU, that was an easy one for me.”

Brian Aamlid said, “I had a scholarship. My education was paid for. I know what kind of work went into providing me a scholarship. I’m in a position where I can do that. It’s been an important thing for us to do and a rewarding thing for us to do. We like supporting Jackrabbits athletics. That’s been a good family event for us.”

The Aamlids fund two scholarships: the Brian and Denise Aamlid Scholarship in Support of the Jackrabbit Guarantee and the Brian and Denise Aamlid Scholarship for Academic & Athletic Excellence in Athletics.

Brian Aamlid also has served on the SDSU Foundation Council of Trustees since 2008. Denise is a former member of the SDSU Alumni Council. They have been members of the Sylvan Circle giving society since 2008 and members of the College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Club giving society since 2006.

The Aamlids hosted an event for other Sioux Falls physicians to encourage support for the construction of the Avera Health & Science Center at SDSU and made a significant commitment in support of the It Starts with STATE fundraising campaign.

‘Academic preparation … excellent’

As a student, Brian said much of his time was spent in the gym and in the library.

“The folks up at SDSU try to set a pretty high bar. The expectations of athletes are high. The expectations of students are high. If you want to put the work in to achieve excellence, there are people to help you do that. I would say my preparation for medical school at the University of Minnesota was as good as anybody’s.

“I had classmates from Ivy League schools, Pac 10 schools, the private schools in Minnesota. My academic preparation was excellent.”

The Aamlids were pleased to have most of their family with them for the Family of the Year event.

“When we can be together at a game, it’s always the best of times for us,” Denise Aamlid said.

It will be a few years before the next Aamlid is at State, but Brian and Denise are grooming their five young grandchildren. “It’s good to see them wearing Jackrabbits apparel. They look good in it,” he said.

Dave Graves