Dennis Eastman was born December 23, 1960 in Crow Agency, Montana. He was enrolled in the Crow Tribe of Montana and was a descendent of the Chippewa Cree Tribe of Rocky Boy, MT. He attended high school in Wahpeton, North Dakota (ND) where he participated in football, basketball, track, and baseball, and was the ND High School Athlete of the Year in 1979. He played basketball and football at NDSCS in Wahpeton, and football at Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM).

Eastman had a remarkable quarterback career at MSUM in the early 1980’s. He was a two year starter, piloted the Dragons to an undefeated regular season in 1981 and a number one spot on the final NAIA I regular season polls. He led the Dragons to consecutive conference titles and post-season playoff trips; he was named to the All-Conference and All-NAIA District 13 teams in 1981 and voted the Most Valuable Player in the NIC as a senior. In 1993, he was inducted into both schools’ Athletic Halls of Fame.

After graduating from MSUM, Dennis received his teaching certificate from Mayville State University. In 1990, Dennis and his family moved to Brainerd, Minnesota where he began his teaching and coaching career at Central Lakes College. He held a number of roles in his 26 years at CLC, including men’s football coach, women’s basketball coach, women’s softball coach and Athletic Director.

In his 17 seasons as the Raiders women’s basketball coach his teams had two trips to the Region 13 national tournament, won the NJCAA Division III National Championship in 1996, and qualified for nine state tournaments. He received the Region XIII Coach of the Year in 1996. His Raider women’s softball teams went to national tournaments in 2000 and 2001, finishing seventh both times. Eastman was passionate about coaching and teaching, and worked to instill values that would help his students and athletes be successful later in life. Eastman passed away on April 8, 2017 and is deeply missed by all that knew him.