Augsburg retires Devean George's jersey
by Don Stoner

Devean George ’99 returned to Augsburg for ceremonies in February to formally retire his Augsburg No. 40 basketball jersey. George, a small forward with the three-time NBA world champion Los Angeles Lakers, was honored in public ceremonies—once for students, faculty, and staff and also during Augsburg's men's basketball game against Hamline.

"I want to thank the school for doing this for me. This is real special for me and I will always remember it," said George. "I want to thank my family, my teammates, and friends, for being there for me. My success is because of them. I've had good people around me."

George's family, friends, and former teammates and coaches were a prominent part of the celebration events. George is the only player from an NCAA Division III institution currently in the NBA. His No. 40 joined the No. 50 jersey of Dan Anderson ’65 as the only two numbers retired by any Augsburg sports team.

During the weekend, Augsburg also unveiled a banner to honor Lute Olson ’56, men's basketball coach at the University of Arizona, who was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in September.

Auggies place second at NCAA nationals
by Don Stoner

Even though Augsburg's wrestling team accomplished nearly all the goals they set for the NCAA Division III wrestling national championships, they ended up with a second-place trophy, breaking their three-year string of national titles.

Augsburg nearly finished with more team points (84.5) than its 2001-02 championship performance (87). They finished with six All-Americans and one individual national champion, matching last year's total. And it took a record-setting performance by Wartburg (Iowa), with 166.5 points and 10 All-Americans, to break Augsburg's stranglehold on the national championship.
The Auggies continued their dominance in small-college wrestling, however, with the runner-up finish. They have finished either first or second nationally 12 times in the last 13 years, winning eight titles, and have finished in the top 20 every year since 1971.

The Auggies were paced by Marcus LeVesseur, who became only the second wrestler in school history to go through an individual season unbeaten. He finished 44-0 to win the 157-pound individual national championship.

With six All-Americans, it marked the 15th straight year that Augsburg has had at least five wrestling All-Americans.

—Don Stoner is sports information coordinator.