The South Dakota Board of Regents is soliciting qualified professional food service management companies under Food Service Operations RFP SDBOR07142026 to operate dining services at South Dakota’s six public universities: Black Hills State University, Dakota State University, Northern State University, South Dakota State University, South Dakota Mines, and the University of South Dakota. Offerors may propose for one, multiple, or all campuses, but a separate campus-specific technical and financial offer is required for each campus and each selected campus will enter its own contract.
Proposals are due October 16, 2026 at 2:00 PM Central Time to Heather Forney, Vice President of Finance and Administration, South Dakota Board of Regents, 306 E. Capitol Avenue, Suite 200, Pierre, SD 57501. The RFP requires a signed electronic PDF proposal and permits submission by email or approved electronic media. The required transmittal form must serve as the proposal cover. Late, incomplete, or nonconforming submissions may be rejected.
Important eligibility gate: the RFP required attendance at the mandatory preproposal conference held August 31, 2026 at 1:00 PM Central Time via Zoom. The solicitation states that failure to attend eliminates a potential offeror from consideration. Accordingly, this opportunity remains open only to firms that satisfied that mandatory attendance requirement.
The anticipated contract structure is a five-year initial term with four optional one-year renewals, subject to performance, review, and funding. Contractor-funded capital investments, equipment, and improvements are amortized over the initial five-year term. The RFP requires at least five non-SDBOR client references, including at least one account started within the prior two years and at least one account ended within the prior two years. Point-of-contact questions and communications are directed to Jessica Preister, USD Assistant Vice President for Business Services and Auxiliary Financial Operations, at 605-658-3624 or Jessica.Preister@usd.edu.
Current official procurement materials include Amendment 1 and the Pre-Submission Tour Q&A. Amendment 1 corrects the South Dakota Mines three-year enrollment average and modifies certain dining-service hours. The Q&A also identifies existing unamortized campus investment amounts that may have to be incorporated into campus proposals. The public RFP does not state a total contract value or contract ceiling.
Atlas assessment: Atlas Opportunity Score 30/100. N9+ Fit Score 0/100. QC Healthcare Fit 0/100. Dr. Miltie direct-vendor fit 0/100. This is a legitimate South Dakota higher-education procurement, but it has no defensible healthcare, telehealth, remote physical examination, or Dr. Miltie commercial fit. No Atlas outreach or direct pursuit is recommended.