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Hall of Famers inducted; Lute Olson returns for 75th anniversary By Don Stoner
Augsburg College honored its best and brightest of athletic alumni in a special way during the annual Athletic Hall of Fame banquet Oct. 7. As part of the 75th anniversary of intercollegiate athletics year-long celebration, the College invited back all living Hall of Fame members for a "grand entrance" during the banquet, held before a near-capacity crowd in the Christensen Center Commons. More than 100 Hall of Famers returned to attend the event, and each received a grand introduction from campus pastor (and football/men's basketball public-address announcer) Rev. Dave Wold. Lute Olson '56, perhaps Augsburg's most famous athletic alum, was the featured speaker at the Hall of Fame event. Olson, a two-time National Coach of the Year and current men's basketball coach at the University of Arizona, spoke of his years at Augsburg, where he was a three-sport athlete, and how the values learned here have guided him through his life. The Hall of Fame banquet was the end of a whirlwind two days for Olson, who returned to the campus to observe the 75th anniversary celebration. He spoke to numerous student and alumni groups, in addition to speaking before a large crowd at the daily chapel service.
After graduating from Augsburg and later earning his master's degree in physical education at the University of Minnesota, he entered the coaching profession. He was named head coach at Augsburg in the 1982-83 season and coached the Auggies for six years, compiling a 100-56 record (1982-88) and earning two MIAC championships (1984, 1985). Boots moved to coach at the University of South Dakota in 1988, and has a 227-94 record in 10 seasons there, the most wins of any USD men's basketball coach. Boots has led the Coyotes to four NCAA Division II national tournament appearances, advancing to the Elite Eight in 1993 and 1994. Korum also made Augsburg history by becoming the first Auggie female athlete to earn a varsity letter in a men's sport, when she competed for the men's golf squad her junior year. She also set a national record (according to Golf Digest magazine) by recording the then-longest double-eagle by a woman, on the 445-yard 12th hole at Keller Golf Club during a golf meet in 1980. After graduating, she served two seasons as an assistant softball coach at Augsburg. She served as a golf pro for nine years and currently works for the city of St. Paul as supervisor of municipal athletics. She has also served on the board for the St. Paul Johnson High School Alumni Committee. After graduating from Augsburg, he served one year as an assistant coach, then succeeded John Grygelko as head coach for the Auggie wrestling team in 1980-81. Swenson is considered one of the best wrestling coaches in the nation, having compiled a 223-30 dual-meet record during his tenure. Swenson's teams have earned 16 MIAC team titles in his 17 seasons (1980-84, 1986-present), including the last 13 in a row. The Auggies have won five NCAA Division III national titles in the 1990s (1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998) and have finished second in the nation four times (1990, 1992, 1996, 1999). Swenson has coached 19 individual national champions, 96 All-Americans and 102 MIAC champions. In addition, he has coached 47 athletes who have earned National Wrestling Coaches Association Scholar All-America honors, three GTE Academic All-Americans; and in the two years the NWCA has awarded Division III academic national championships, Augsburg has finished second (1997-98) and first (1998-99), with team GPAs of 3.37 and 3.48, respectively. |
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| Copyright 2007.
Augsburg College all rights reserved. |
This year, Augsburg honored three former student-athletes with induction
into the Athletic Hall of Fame, bringing the total to 164 former Auggie
athletes in the honor roll. The three new members of the Athletic Hall
of Fame are: