SDDOT ‘Blizzard Bracket’ pits snow plow against snow plow in tournament format - Mitchell Republic 03/26/2024

PIERRE — Even if your favorite team has been eliminated from the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, you can still cheer on your favorite South Dakota Department of Transportation snow plow as it vies for supremacy in the 2024 Blizzard Bracket.

The tongue-in-cheek tournament pits 32 SDDOT snow plows against each other in a single-elimination tournament bracket, with the public voting on each matchup to decide which cleverly named plow advances to the next round. The 2024 tournament, which kicked off March 17, is at the Snowy Sixteen stage.

The bracket is a way to get out department messaging about winter travel safety as the last throes of winter 2023-24 begin to fade away.

“We wanted to get our winter messaging out, particularly on our road conditions and safe driving practices, so we were looking for a fun way to engage them on our social media and trying to get them to our sites where they can hopefully have a little fun,” said Craig Smith, director of operations for the South Dakota Department of Transportation.

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