Lute Olson to speak at Augsburg athletic 75th Anniversary/Hall of Fame dinner Thursday
Check out Augsburg's 75th Anniversary of Athletics web page!
NOTE TO SPORTS EDITORS/PRODUCERS: There will be ample opportunities for media to interview Lute Olson during his visit to the Augsburg campus on Wednesday (10/6) afternoon/evening and Thursday (10/7) morning and afternoon. For a complete itinerary and to schedule an interview, contact Don Stoner at (612) 330-1677.
MINNEAPOLIS (9/30/99) -- University of Arizona men's basketball coach Lute Olson, a 1956 graduate of Augsburg College, will be the guest speaker at the college's 75th Anniversary of Athletics/Athletic Hall of Fame celebration dinner on Thursday, Oct. 7. Olson's speech is the keynote event of Augsburg's year-long celebration of the 75th anniversary of its intercollegiate athletics program. Social time will begin at 5:30 p.m., with a dinner and program to follow at 6:45 p.m. The event will be held at the Christensen Center on the Augsburg campus. For ticket information, contact Irene Steenson at (612) 330-1245. Olson, a native of Mayville, N.D., was a three-sport athlete at Augsburg College, playing football and basketball all four years and baseball his senior year. After graduating from Augsburg in 1956, Olson moved into the coaching ranks, eventually coaching from 1974-83 at the University of Iowa and since 1983 at the University of Arizona. His 587-212 career record puts him among the top 25 coaches in terms of wins in college basketball history, and he has earned National Coach of the Year honors twice in his career. His Arizona Wildcats won the NCAA Division I national title in 1996-97. Olson has been a supporter of Augsburg, among his many charitable causes, throughout his career, and has spoken at his alma mater several times. Olson will be in Minneapolis on Wednesday and Thursday, speaking to various student and alumni groups at Augsburg before his keynote address at the Thursday evening dinner. The Augsburg Athletic Hall of Fame will induct three former student-athletes and coaches on Thursday as well. They are: -- Jeff Swenson (Augsburg '79), who earned a national championship as a wrestler in 1979 and has since earned five NCAA Division III national championships and 13 MIAC championships as coach of the Augsburg wrestling team; -- Kathy Korum (Augsburg '81), who was a standout softball and volleyball player at Augsburg, in addition to being one of the first Auggie female athletes to earn a varsity letter in a men's sport (men's golf); -- David Boots (Augsburg '79), who played basketball at Augsburg in 1978-79 and earned a 100-56 record and MIAC titles in 1984 and 85 as coach of the Auggie men's basketball team (1982-88). He is now the men's basketball coach at the University of South Dakota.
