A storied past, a bright future

Countless individual threads have formed a tapestry of 100 years of Augsburg Athletics.

1926: Olaf Hoff ’27 fires a pass to a cutting Luther Sletten ’29, the ensuing basket earning the Augsburg men’s basketball team a victory over St. Olaf.

1928: Five Hanson brothers (Joseph ’28, Louis ’28, Oscar ’30, Julius ’31, and Emil ’32) criss-cross on the ice, leading the Augsburg men’s hockey team to a big win.

1958: The Auggiettes run the fast break after securing a rebound, providing a glimpse into their legacy of women’s basketball throughout the 1950s, 1960s, and into the 1970s—long before the passage of Title IX.

1975: Marilyn Pearson Florian ’76 laces a double into the right field gap on the softball field. A three-sport athlete, Pearson Florian would go on to coach women’s volleyball and basketball, as well as serving for nearly two decades as the women’s athletic director at Augsburg.

1987: Melanie Herrera ’88 spins and unleashes the shot put in a striking arc across the track and field pitch.

2005: Men’s wrestling national champions Marcus LeVesseur ’07, Mark Matzek ’05, Matt Shankey ’05, and Joe Moon ’05 stand in the White House Oval Office, conversing with U.S. President George W. Bush.

2019: Emma Kraft ’22 pumps her fist as a 12-foot putt curls into the cup on the eighth green of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Women’s Golf Championships.

The official recognition of a century’s worth of Augsburg Athletics gives the university community a collective opportunity to celebrate the generations of Auggies who have built a lasting legacy.

“Student-athletes are so grateful for their Augsburg experience,” says Athletic Director Jeff Swenson ’79. “We carry the torch for those who carried it before us. That’s what 100 years of athletics at Augsburg is all about.”

A well-run athletic program teaches student-athletes many important life lessons, such as the values of hard work, determination, goals, and teamwork. Augsburg has a long tradition of dedicated athletic directors and a long list of committed coaches who have made this happen over the last 100 years.

Dan Anderson ’65, men’s basketball

Humble beginnings, purposeful growth

The origins of Augsburg Athletics trace back to 1924, when the university joined the Minnesota Conference of Colleges, the precursor to the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Well before then—back to 1907, at least—Augsburg students competed in sports like basketball, baseball, and gymnastics against other colleges, high schools, and club teams.

Following a successful student-led push to join the MCC, Augsburg’s early athletics ambitions were shaped and driven forward in large part by J.S. “Si” Melby, the school’s first athletic director and a founding father of athletics at Augsburg.

Writing in the 1925–26 yearbook about his hopes for a continued growth in Augsburg Athletics, Melby says, “An education has been and is still looked upon as a preparation for a life calling. A broader and truer conception is to view an education as a preparation for life—nay, as a part of life itself. The best preparation for life is living, and so school life should approximate real life. Athletics has claimed its rightful place in this day and age.”

In his view of athletics’ role as part of a student’s full life at Augsburg, Melby set forth a vision of student-athletes that Auggies would come to embody for the next century.

The Augsburg experience as a student-athlete taught me who I want to be as a leader and teammate in life. I surrounded myself with people who had a similar goal in mind, and those people are some of my closest friends to this day. The ability to bring people alongside you on this journey of life was instilled at me as a college athlete, and I am forever grateful for the experience.

Alex Hildebrandt ’10, men’s soccer

Excellence inside and outside the lines

From those beginning years, Augsburg student-athletes and teams have excelled in competition.

The 1928 men’s hockey team won Augsburg’s first (unofficial) national championship and was invited to represent the United States at the Olympics in Switzerland, although the U.S. Olympic Committee ultimately decided not to participate in men’s hockey. That winning tradition has continued across teams through the decades, including this past year when the men’s wrestling team won its 15th national team title, adding to Augsburg’s dizzying total of 18 team national championships, 73 individual national championships, and 89 MIAC team championships.

“We’ve had so many incredible student-athletes and teams over the years,” Swenson says. “There are years and stretches when our men’s athletes have led the charge, and years and stretches when our women’s athletes have led the charge, but they’ve always represented our university well.”

Swenson has a unique perspective on the history and legacy of Augsburg Athletics. Ever since arriving as a student in 1975, he has remained at the university in some capacity. Throughout that time, Swenson has seen the values of faith, family, and academics emphasized ahead of athletic pursuits, represented each year by the outstanding collective scholarship level of student-athletes, including an average 3.17 GPA among student-athletes in 2023–24.

“It’s one thing to talk about a value system and setting our priorities like that,” Swenson adds. “At Augsburg, we live it.”

We always knew that this wasn’t just about hockey. It was about having a great college experience: being students, growing as young women, and having fun. We were a team—a family—within a great community and with the best people.

Sydney Rydel ’24, women’s hockey

Honoring all Auggie athletes

Augsburg’s yearlong celebration of a century of athletics will be highlighted by the 100th Anniversary Tailgate Party on Saturday, October 12, and will conclude in May 2025 with the annual Auggie Awards.

It’s all part of the ongoing opportunity to reflect on and celebrate what a century of Augsburg Athletics has meant to its thousands of student-athletes and many more university community members.

“It’s always important to remember and appreciate your history and the student-athletes who have come before you and worn the Augsburg ‘A’. It’s always significant,” says Sports Information Director Don Stoner.

“There were student-athletes throughout all 100 years who made the same kinds of sacrifices and were learning the same values our student-athletes are now: being a solid student; pursuing a career and what you want to do in your future life; and being an athlete, a team member, and a part of this wonderful tradition.”

Celebrating a full century of athletics at Augsburg is a tremendous milestone. Athletics has been a source of pride for the university community, producing leaders in the classroom and other areas on campus. Athletics enriches the entire community on Riverside Avenue.

Mark Matzek ’05, men’s wrestling athlete and coach