Jack and Joyce Rentschler donate $300,000 to Sycamore Athletics and Bayh College of Education
Jack and Joyce Rentschler of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, donated $300,000 on Give to Blue Day to provide programmatic support for multiple Sycamore Athletic teams and for the Bayh College of Education.
Jack and Joyce are ISU alumni (1955 and 1954). After graduating, both went on to have successful careers in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, before purchasing Rentschler’s Standard Truck Plaza in 1973. Avid supporters of Sycamore Athletics, the couple donated $50,000 in 2018 to renovate ISU’s football practice field, now known as the Rentschler Practice Field, and $300,000 on 2022’s Give to Blue Day to support athletics, the Alumni Association, and the Bayh College of Education.
Embodying the essence of the Sycamore Spirit
Jack Rentschler, ’55, and Joyce Rentschler, ’54, were both active in Greek life as State students – Jack as a member of Lambda Chi Alpha and Joyce as a member of Chi Omega. The couple has seven children and resides in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Jack worked in sales and marketing at Standard Oil of Indiana in Indianapolis and was transferred to several places throughout Indiana and eventually to Cleveland. He was later transferred to Kansas City and two years later accepted a district manager position in Sioux Falls. In 1973, the Rentschlers purchased Rentschler’s Standard Truck Plaza, which they owned and operated for more than 20 years. The couple also invested in several small businesses near the truck stop.
Jack was the recipient of the first Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce Businessperson of the Year award and served as the organization’s president. He also received the 1989 Agribusiness Person of the Year and the Outstanding Achiever Award and was inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame in 1997.
Jack served on numerous state and national boards, including the Minnehaha County Commission, South Dakota Board of Regents, Federal Home Loan Bank Board of Des Moines and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. He also served for one term in South Dakota State Legislator, chairman of the National Truck Stop Association, president of the South Dakota State Chamber of Commerce, and for 10 years on the Board of Trustees for University of Sioux Falls. Joyce serves on the YWCA Board of Directors, Military Service Academy Placement Board (appointed by Sen. Larry Pressler), Meals on Wheels, Volunteer Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce, Senior Citizens Board of Directors, and volunteers at McKennan Gift Shop and as a religious education instructor.
Don Dudine's Vision for ISU's Student Philanthropy Group
Indiana State University Raises more than $1.35 Million on Give to Blue Day 2024
