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 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

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Three Augsburg students walked into the office of Joyce Anderson Pfaff ’65��in the fall of 1972. “When are volleyball tryouts?” they asked the health and physical education instructor. Pfaff didn’t have the heart to tell them there was no women’s team. “Two o’clock on Tuesday,” she responded, “But only if you can recruit enough women to support a team.” To her surprise, more than a dozen women—enough for a varsity and junior varsity—showed up.

“And that’s how I became Augsburg’s first women’s volleyball coach,” said Pfaff, who had never coached the game but “was enthusiastic and a great organizer,” she added.

“The women had played in high school, and they were very good. It didn’t matter that I didn’t know much about the sport. I lined up competitions and organized a practice schedule,” said Pfaff, Augsburg’s first women’s athletic director. “They wore their physical education uniforms until we sold enough concessions at men’s games to buy fabric that one of the teammates, Marilyn Pearson Florian ’76, sewed into uniforms.”

The team ranked third in the state that year, and “I realized they needed a real coach,” said Pfaff, who paid Mary Timm $500 a year to guide the team in 1973. Timm was able to accept that wage because she had a full-time job as a day care supervisor. Timm used vacation time to travel with the team, which earned a perfect 8-0 record at home that year.

This year marks 50 years since Augsburg volleyball’s storied start, and 50 years since the passage of Title IX, the landmark federal civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or education program that receives funding from the federal government.

First class of all-female Hall of Famers

To honor decades of female Auggies who broke barriers, the university will induct its first class of all-female student-athletes into the Hall of Fame during Homecoming Weekend, October 6–7. Pfaff will receive the Legend of Augsburg Athletics Award before joining other trailblazing Auggies at the dedication of the renovated women’s locker room in Si Melby Hall. The locker room will be named in honor of Augsburg Hall of Famer Patricia Piepenburg ’69, a member of the fabled “Auggiettes” women’s basketball team, which dominated local teams from the 1950s to early ’70s.

“It’s about time,” Pfaff said, unapologetically. Female student-athletes like Pipenburg, Pfaff said, climbed over and busted down walls. “It’s time for us to dedicate some walls to them.”

Pfaff’s husband interjected from the other room: “Tell her about going to court.”

Pfaff called to mind yet another milestone in her storied career: “The volleyball team got second in state, but the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women said we couldn’t go to regionals because we hadn’t paid national dues yet. So, we took AIAW to court in 1975. I was called in to testify and thought I should have a title. I called President (Oscar A.) Anderson, and he agreed I could say I was the women’s athletic director, which was nice, since I had been doing the job for three years. I joke that I had to go to court to get my title.”

A powerhouse for progress

The title stuck, and Pfaff stuck around, too, until 1988. During and since her tenure, Augsburg Athletics has evolved as a leading supporter of women’s sports. In 1995, Augsburg added the first varsity women’s hockey team in the Midwest, and was among the first to add women’s lacrosse in 2014. Women’s wrestling—another first in the Midwest—followed in 2019. In 2020, the Minnesota Coalition of Women in Athletic Leadership awarded Augsburg with a Breaking Barriers Award, and the MIAC celebrated Augsburg for employing the most female coaches in the conference.

Athletic Director Jeff Swenson ’79 said the university supports more women’s teams (12) than men’s (10), and the athletic department works hard to create an equitable, forward-thinking, and inclusive culture. The women’s locker room remodel, he added, is a fitting upgrade during this momentous year.

“The women’s locker room was constructed in 1979 in what was formerly a dirt-floor batting cage known as ‘the pit.’ Prior to that time, the women’s teams used the men’s visiting team locker room, which was often a scheduling nightmare,” he said. “The renovation includes much-needed improvements to the shower and restroom facilities, and each of Augsburg’s women’s teams will have their own year-round team room, so our female student-athletes will finally have a place to call home.”

Junior Samaiya Buchanan ’24 is among Augsburg’s more than 170 female student-athletes who cannot wait to set foot in the newly renovated space. A commuter student, Buchanan said she plans to hang out in the locker rooms between classes and basketball practices to study or bond with teammates. Upgrading women’s spaces to rival those of men’s facilities, the 5’4” guard said, speaks to how much the university values their hard work, dedication, and success.

“The renovation, particularly during this Title IX milestone, reminds our generation to keep setting the bar high and to not let society separate us or treat us unequally because we are women,” said Buchanan, a business marketing and management major. “We need to keep exposing the differences between men’s and women’s sports and keep performing and perfecting our skills to show that we are just as dedicated and capable.”

‘It’s about heart’

But when Buchanan and others look back on their own experiences in sports and the stories of those who came before them, they don’t dwell on facilities. “Being a female student-athlete is about heart,” Buchanan said. “It’s tough to balance your grades as you work to be a positive, hardworking, and thriving athlete and maintain your mental health and friendships—all while often having to prove yourself a bit more than your male peers. Having heart keeps you motivated to keep thriving and pushing yourself to stay in it no matter what, not only for yourself but for your program, your team, and those around you.”

Pfaff is thrilled to see the same indomitable spirit in today’s female student-athletes as in generations past. Part of her calling now is keeping the memories and stories of those teams and players alive—like the first women to enter track and field events, and Augsburg’s first softball players, who ran bases on a field made using a parent’s tractor. People like golfer Kathy Korum ’81, who became the first female student-athlete to play and letter on a men’s varsity team.

Or Phyllis Acker ’61, who would wake up before dawn to sneak into the handball courts. “Sure enough, the men would come along and start banging on the door to kick us out because their handball tournament was more urgent than ours,” she explained. “We just ignored them until we were all done playing, and then we’d sneak out.”

Or Jane Helmke ’81, who brought female student-athletes across sports to form the Augsburg Women’s Athletic Club in 1974. Helmke, a journalism student, also wrote and published a newsletter to update alumni and friends about women’s athletics at Augsburg.

In the August 1984 edition, Helmke provided updates about the first tennis courts and an ode to LaVonne Johnson Peterson ’50, or “Ma Pete” to most. Peterson earned a bachelor’s degree from Augsburg before beginning her 30-year teaching career and 18-year basketball coaching stint at Augsburg. Helmke wrote that Peterson, who coached basketball for 18 years, personally paid officials’ wages and bought players charm bracelets with charms for each year of play, in lieu of the letters female student-athletes were unable to earn until 1989.

‘We’ve come a long way’

None of the student-athletes in this year’s Hall of Fame were yet born in 1982, when Pfaff joined other area women’s athletic directors in penning a request to join the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). “Conference leaders never invited us, but nobody protested the letter, so we considered it official,” she added.

“We’ve come a long way,” said Melissa Lee ’04, Augsburg’s head softball coach and associate athletic director. Lee joined the coaching staff in 2004, after competing in every inning of every game during her four-year career; she has spent more years at Augsburg than in her childhood home and hometown. “The 50th anniversary is not about the current day or the end result; it is about the journey through the past, the present, and the future. It is about the battles, trials, and triumphs of the process, which is why we will celebrate this fall together and every day.”

Lee said the student-athletes are why she shows up each day. “They fight, advocate for, support, cheer, and challenge each other, every team, and our whole department. This induction means so much to me, and I am so humbled by the honor,” she said. “Our female student-athletes recognize our strong history of leadership and step up when new opportunities emerge on the horizon. I have no doubt they will continue to lead and create change.”

Auggies inspire the next generation

Alaska native Melynda (Kleewein) Belde ’05��is teaching the next generation of athletes as the middle grades’ physical education and wellness teacher at St. Paul Academy and Summit School in St. Paul. Belde said she was tremendously grateful for Augsburg’s progressive outlook and familial support. Her teammates were her best friends. She met her husband, Steve Belde ’05, on the ice at the Ed Saugestad Rink. “Going to Augsburg was the best decision of my life,” she said.

“I was the first person in my family to go to college, and I am thankful my teammates and coaches welcomed me with open arms and allowed me to spend weekends and holidays with their families, since I was away from home,” said Belde, who played hockey and softball for four years and soccer for two. “I get to go to work every day to a job I love—teaching game play, teamwork, and attitude to the next generation.”

Annie Annunziato ’04 said she has been thrilled to watch female athletic teams continue to break barriers and become more popular with fans. Growing up in New York, she and her sister were the only girls she knew who played hockey and mostly played with boy’s teams. Today, there are several girls’ teams in the area.

“It’s still a fight, though—see the U.S. women’s soccer battle for equal pay as an example. And hockey continues to be a sport that is rarely accessed by people who come from communities with lower socioeconomic status and communities of color, which is incredibly problematic.”

Grateful for trailblazers

Angela (Bergeson) Lawrence��’06, who ran cross country and track, recalls first hearing about Katherine Switzer, the first woman to enter and run the Boston Marathon in 1967. She disguised herself as a man at the start of the race, and when officials realized she was a woman, they tried to remove her from the field. But male racers formed a circle around Switzer to protect her.

Bergeson, who has since run the Boston Marathon herself, said, “being allowed to run was never something that I had to think about, and I am grateful for it.” That gratefulness, Bergeson said, is what she took away as her greatest lesson from Augsburg: “Everyone around me was so grateful and always encouraging and empowering, lifting up other’s strengths as we set lofty goals and worked extremely hard, as individuals and as a team, to achieve something greater than we initially thought possible.”

That drive, grit, and gratefulness is what led many of these female student-athletes to inspire and achieve in competition and in life. It’s a mindset, Pfaff said, that Augsburg will continue to fuel in generations of athletes to come, sure to move the needle even closer to equality.

Meet the 2022 Augsburg Athletic Hall of Fame Class

Annie Annunziato ’04 (Hockey) played two seasons of hockey at Augsburg. She was named an AHCA All-American from the West Region in 2003–04, among many honors. Her combined college career stats (104 games): 62 goals with 91 assists for 153 points.

Tonnisha (Bell) Russell ’06 (Track and Field) was the 2006 co-Senior Athlete of the Year. One of the most decorated track and field athletes in school history, Russell continues to hold the following records: indoor 55-meter dash (7.08 seconds), indoor long jump (5.50m/18-feet-0.5), and outdoor 200-meter dash (24.38 seconds).

Angela (Bergeson) Lawrence��’06 (Cross Country/Track and Field) earned All-MIAC honors in cross country and is part of six track and field records: the outdoor 800-meter run, outdoor 3,200-meter relay, outdoor distance medley relay, outdoor 3,520-yard relay, indoor distance medley relay, and the indoor 1,500-meter run.

Melynda (Kleewein) Belde ’05��(Hockey/Softball/Soccer) was named All-MIAC defender in 2002–03, 2003–04, and 2004–05, with an All-MIAC Honorable Mention in 2001–02. In softball, she played four seasons as an outfielder and catcher. She also played soccer in 2002, with one goal and one assist in nine games.

Melissa Lee ’04 (Softball/Basketball) was an Honor Athlete and All-MIAC in 2004. Considered one of the top third basemen in program history, she started all 141 of her career games. The two-season basketball player has served as a health and physical education instructor and athletic department administrator at Augsburg since 2004 (softball assistant coach from 2004 to 2016 and head coach since 2017).

Millie Suk ’06 (Soccer) was a Senior Honor Athlete in 2006 and an All-MIAC athlete all four years of her career. She played in 67 career games, setting school records for total points (93, now fourth in school history) and goals (38, now third), among others.

Legend of Augsburg Athletics Award

Joyce��Anderson Pfaff ’65 was inducted into the Augsburg Athletic Hall of Fame in 1991 and received the Augsburg Distinguished Alumni Award in 2009. She began her 43-year teaching career in health and physical education at Augsburg in 1966, during which time she became Augsburg’s first women’s intercollegiate athletic director in 1972, serving until 1988. She was Augsburg’s first volleyball and gymnastics coach, and led the establishment of basketball, softball, tennis, track and field, cross country, and soccer as women’s varsity intercollegiate sports.

about these and other members of Augsburg’s Hall of Fame.

Top image: Joyce Anderson Pfaff ’65 and the 2022-23 Augsburg volleyball team hold up their hands showing ’50’ to denote the 50 years since the passage of Title IX.

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Minneapolis native Jack Osberg ’62 played football from the time he was a kid in the alleys and parks of Minneapolis until his college years, and he entered Augsburg’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 1979. He taught high school biology for 30 years and coached high school and college football for 60. About 22 of those years were at Augsburg, where he compiled a school-record 62 victories and, in 1997, led the team to its first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship since 1928. At 81, he continues to assist Augsburg’s defensive line and personally connect with students.

Everyone who knows former Augsburg football coach Jack Osberg has a story:

“This giant offensive lineman got a concussion during practice, and I was doing the evaluation,” said Missy Strauch, Augsburg head athletic trainer and athletics health care administrator. “Jack waited because he wanted to drive the student home, and when I left the building, the two were sitting on the steps. The young man was sobbing. Jack sat there, listening. Come to find out the student was the sole caregiver for his mother, who was dealing with Alzheimer’s. Jack and his wife, Nina, checked on the student every day, and they are still in touch. That’s Jack. He coached these students to become better players, but he guided them—by example—to become even better people.”

“Jack is a lifelong friend, and someone anyone—no matter their age—looks up to because he works so hard and cares so deeply about everyone, whether you are the starting quarterback or the third string,” said Jim Roback ’63, who met Osberg on the first day of classes at Augsburg in 1958. “I’ve played and coached with him, and there isn’t a more genuine, collaborative person who can pull out the best in anyone. You never worked for Jack, you worked with him.”

“He was a father figure to us,” said Augsburg Football Head Coach Derrin Lamker ’97. “I’ll never forget when I was quarterback, and we were getting ready for our championship game. I walked into Jack’s office, and he and Nina were reviewing a list of our parents’ names. I was like, ‘Coach, what are you doing? We’re getting ready to play the game of our lives.’ He said, ‘You worry about the game; we want to be able to greet [the student-athletes’] parents by name.’ Well, we won the championship, and they greeted each parent by name.”

“I’ve been taking notes from Jack since my first day of zoology class when he was a biology teacher at Wayzata High School,” said former Augsburg Women’s Hockey Head Coach Jill Pohtilla. “I recall overhearing him with a recruit. He told the young man, ‘Augsburg is not built with bricks and mortar; it’s built with people,’ and that’s how Jack lived—recognizing that people drive success. So whether it’s athletics or life, you surround yourself with people who make you better.”

“We had just won the [MIAC] championship in 1997. Nearly everyone had left, but four of us were cleaning up the locker room,” said Ted Schultz ’98, the student activities director for Minnetonka Public Schools in Minnesota. “Jack walked in with an old boom box. He pulled out a cassette tape from his back pocket and popped it in. ‘We Are the Champions’ by Queen played out. Jack said, ‘I’ve been waiting to do that my entire life,’ and we all just sat and listened.”

“Jack regularly drove 40 minutes to watch my son’s high school football games. My son, Kyle, was 125 pounds, but he played with heart, like I did, and Jack loves that,” said Michael Weidner ’83, a former defensive end. “Think about that. My college football coach cares enough about me and my family to show that kind of support, and consider the thousands of people he’s coached or taught and showed the same devotion and support.”

“When I heard an 81-year-old was coming to work with our defensive line, a part of me thought, ‘What can this guy teach us? How will we relate?’” said Shaquille Young ’23, a third-year social work major. “Well, I learned you can’t let stereotypes get in the way of learning something new. Coach Osberg is one of the greatest people I have met in my life. He knows football like he invented it, and he makes everyone feel welcome and supported.”

The first quarter

Osberg was born in 1940, when football players wore leather helmets. Football was everything to Osberg and his friends, who passed and blocked in the alleys of Minneapolis. In fifth grade, he entered club sports and church group leagues, which were 15 minutes from Augsburg’s campus. Osberg worshiped with Auggie professors and coaches, so when it came time to attend college, there was no other choice.

“I was the first to go to college in my family,” Osberg said. “My father was a hardworking man, but he disliked his job working in basements as a lithographer. He wanted us to lead a better life, and I saw my future in those professors and coaches. I knew Augsburg was the place to improve my spiritual, athletic, and academic self.”

The graduate of Minneapolis’ Washburn High School became a standout football player at Augsburg from 1958 to 1961, earning induction into the college’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 1979. A nose guard/offensive guard, Osberg was named All-MIAC twice and selected as MVP, team captain, and Lutheran All-American. He also played baseball his freshman year and wrestled for three years.

Osberg didn’t live on campus—he couldn’t afford it. Commuting, Osberg formed a bond with other students from hardworking city families who put themselves through school sorting mail at the post office or loading shotgun shells onto railcars. The gang of about 12, mostly student-athletes, called themselves “The Syndicate” because they would “sometimes skip required chapel [services] to shoot the bull at Smiley’s Pub,” Osberg said.

Since graduation in 1962, the crew has gathered each year for a fall picnic and holiday party. Jim Roback ’63 is one of the core Syndicate members who played football, baseball (as captain), and track at Augsburg. He also coached with Osberg, serving as Augsburg’s defensive coordinator from 1995 to 2001 and 2006 to 2007, with a 2002 season stint as offensive coordinator.

“I taught and coached for 46 years, and I thought that was a long time. Jack just keeps on going,” said Roback, who taught and coached football, basketball, baseball, track, and women’s tennis in the Anoka-Hennepin School District for 34 years. “Jack worked every minute of the day, and when he wasn’t working, he was having lunch with a group of students in his office or helping them through this or that.”

Another Syndicate member—also a teacher—coached alongside Roback and Osberg. Ron Scott ’62 met Jack during college registration and joined him on the offensive line as a three-year, letter-winning center and blocker. From 1997 to 2002, Scott served as an assistant football coach at Augsburg.

“Jack is not a boss; he is a leader, and he motivates people by example—never yelling, but showing and guiding. Whether you were playing or working for him, you didn’t want to disappoint him,” said Scott, who retired in 1997 after 36 years coaching football and working as a teacher or administrator for the Anoka-Hennepin School District. “Jack never gave up on those Auggies. Whether winning or losing, his attitude never changed.”

The second quarter

Osberg loves football, but he is adamant the sport does not define him. He is equally passionate about teaching. “I’m not sure if I was meant to coach and teach or teach and coach,” he added. “I loved coaching full-time at Augsburg, but the high school science classroom always tugged at me. I love the living world, and there is something about teaching kids at that age and really digging into science with them.”

He loved the challenge of figuring out ways to engage all students in biology, developing activities for all learning styles and covering a range of topics to motivate students beyond grades.

“Teaching helps you appreciate the impact you—as a single human being—can have on a person, and I was OK never knowing my impact because students move on, and you may never reconnect with them. But I’ve had enough students, some of them doctors or scientists, who have reached out to tell me how my classes and outlook helped them find their passionate purpose.”

Osberg began his teaching (and coaching) career immediately after graduation from Augsburg. He served as a biology teacher and assistant football coach at Minneapolis’ Roosevelt High School from 1962 to 1970, taking one year off in 1968 to serve as a graduate assistant on��Bob Devaney’s��staff at Nebraska University. “That’s where I really learned my x’s and o’s in football,” Osberg said, “but it is where I also learned that I wasn’t made for a large program. I needed a more personal experience with players. For me, coaching is about more than the game.”

In 1971, Osberg was named head coach at Wayzata High School in Plymouth, Minnesota, where he served for six seasons. It was in the teacher’s lounge at Wayzata where he overheard a fellow teacher, Nina, talking with the school counselor about alcoholism’s effect on relationships. Alcohol dissolved Osberg’s first marriage, which had left him raising three kids under the age of 5, so he joined the conversation, which eventually developed into a larger support group. Osberg grew close to Nina, who guided Wayzata’s alternative education program for 28 years. In November 1976, the two married and blended their family of six children.

“She is a 4-foot-7-inch spark plug,” Osberg said of Nina. “She dealt with difficult kids all day, then came home to manage our family, then she’d help me with recruitment and other administrative duties. She was a mother to many Augsburg players who needed guidance, and she was a friend to so many of their parents.”

Osberg recalls asking Nina to join him on a recruiting trip after school because she would “always seal the deal,” he said. Osberg realized on the drive that Tomah, Wisconsin, was a bit farther than he thought. The couple drove three hours through a snowstorm to stand on an unheated concrete floor and watch the recruit play hockey. They thawed over snacks and coffee at the recruit’s home. “We didn’t get home until 3 a.m., and it was a school night, but she never complained, and that athlete came to Augsburg,” said Osberg, who taught high school while serving part-time as an assistant football coach at Augsburg from 1977 to 1984. “We were a great team.”

The third quarter

Nina continued to be “his everything” as Osberg transitioned to become Augsburg’s head football coach in 1991. The previous coach had been there five years and won four out of 50 games. “There weren’t many kids in the program, and they knew how to lose and blame someone else,” Osberg said. “It was difficult for them to look within, to find the gumption and confidence to believe they could turn the program around.”

Jack had that energy and belief, and then some. He recruited hard, even recruiting his own son, James “Jamie” Osberg ’95, who was set to play for Gustavus Adolphus College.

“That first year, Concordia was our last game, and they beat us 62-nothing. The next year, they were our last game, and they beat us 58-nothing. The next year, it was 28-nothing. Those kids’ senior year, we played Concordia our first game of the season, and we beat them 10 to seven. We did it. What a triumph.”

“Jack was not afraid to speak about faith and the larger picture of why we come together as a football team, and not many coaches lead with that during a recruitment visit. He was genuine and made the program feel like a family, which it was and continues to be,” said Ted Schultz. “If you break down any transformational coaching, it’s about relationships. Being able to connect with the players and make an impact and build a relationship beyond the field is what separates a good coach from a great one.”

Bob Schultz, the fifth-grade teacher at Kimberly Lane Elementary in the Wayzata School District, said he continues to reflect on Osberg, whether in his parenting, teaching, or coaching. Having been a teacher for 24 years and a high school football coach for 20, he knows both the challenges and the triumphs of the profession.

“Jack approached every day with purpose and energy,” said Bob, who earned conference honors as a linebacker for Augsburg. “He taught me to value every kid, no matter how well they played on the field. And he taught me to be vulnerable, as we saw him balance parenting and football.”

The Schultzes were part of the storied 1997 MIAC championship team along with current Augsburg Football Head Coach Derrin Lamker ’97.��The relationship between Lamker and Osberg sounds like a ping-pong match: Osberg coached Lamker in the ’90s, then Lamker worked for Osberg as an assistant coach at Augsburg from 1999 to 2002. When Lamker was football head coach at Osseo High School, Osberg came out of retirement to coach the Osseo line for eight years. In Fall 2020, Lamker recruited Osberg to help guide Augsburg’s defensive line.

“It was so humbling and exciting when Jack came to work for me at Osseo. I’d ask him for advice, and he would give it, but he was never overbearing,” said Lamker, who led Osseo to three conference championships in 11 years. “I was equally thrilled when he agreed to help coach Auggies in 2021. You might think ‘kids these days’ wouldn’t listen to an old guy, but they do. They soak up his energy and knowledge. He has this inspiringly subtle way of uniting coaches and players from different life experiences and backgrounds together for a common purpose.”

The fourth quarter

Auggie defensive lineman Shaquille Young ’23 said “old” doesn’t apply to Coach Osberg.

“He’s exciting to watch on the football field, running back and forth alongside the players, pushing us around, and the few times he yells, he never curses. One of the players knocked him over in practice, but he got right up and cracked a joke about the time his hip popped out of place.

“He has so much knowledge to offer our young minds,” Young said. “He’s one of the greatest individuals I have met in my life, with his ability to make everyone feel welcomed and valued. He brings his best every day, and if he can do it, so can we. He speaks, and we listen.”

But it’s not only what he says, Young said. Each day of practice, Osberg sets up a folding chair on the field for his wife, Nina, 77, who has Alzheimer’s disease. He is her sole caregiver. Lamker said the players and coaches see his devotion to her and are reminded of the fragility of life and the importance of relationships.

“It’s unbelievable how dedicated Jack is to Nina, watching her 24/7 during the COVID-19 pandemic. He’s living out the marriage vows—for better or worse,” Lamker said. “During games, she sits on the bench with players who are injured or not playing. They talk with and cheer alongside her. It’s really neat to see their connection to and love for her as well.”

Augsburg Athletic Director Jeff Swenson ’79 said the Jack-Nina bond is one for the record books, and he would know. Swenson worked alongside the powerhouse couple for more than 45 years: first as a student-athlete when he backed Auggie’s defensive line, as an assistant football coach for 10 years, as a colleague, and finally as a boss, when Swenson transitioned into administration in 2001. The shift in roles never altered their relationship, Swenson said. Jack’s ability to treat everyone with respect, honor, and dignity—regardless of roles—is the greatest lesson Swenson adopted from his coach.

“Jack is a living representation of Augsburg’s mission. He pushes everyone around him to give their best to meaningful pursuits, to be informed about the world and to make a difference where and when you can. He pushes people to lead with faith and value all people and what they bring to the table,” Swenson said. “When you meet someone like that, you want to keep them in your lives.”

Former Auggie defensive end Michael Weidner ’83 also kept in touch with the Osbergs after graduation. They’d talk on the phone or meet for lunch; Jack and Nina came to Weidner’s kid’s games. By Summer 2020, Weidner recognized Jack needed a break from 24-7 caregiving. Weidner emailed former players and friends, asking them to visit with Jack and Nina—outside and distanced—some evening that summer.

“Jack was hurting and struggling during the beginning of the pandemic, when nobody was socializing,” said Weidner, who is a lawyer based in Eagan, Minnesota. “Jack would do anything for one of his players. He’s been there for all of us, through good times and bad, so people came out of the woodwork. A bunch of us rotated going to his house in the evenings to talk about anything for an hour or two.”

Osberg said the chats saved him. “With everything in my life, I’ve been able to hustle to change the program or win the game, I’ve been able to work hard to achieve success or a positive outcome. But this is a game we can’t win. It’s incurable. It’s deadly. I’m getting to the point where I can’t care for her anymore, and it’s killing me. She is my everything,” said Osberg, who received the Legacy of Augsburg Athletic Award during the 2020–21 Augsburg Athletic Hall of Fame Ceremony. “Those chats meant the world to me. To get out and coach or to talk with friends and former players about anything other than this disease was and is a gift.”

But Osberg does not accept defeat. He quickly shifts to the positive, referencing their strong and active circle of friends and family, including 12 grandchildren and six kids—three of whom graduated from Augsburg: Peter Osberg ’93, Jamie Osberg ’95, and Anne “Annie” (Osberg) Moore ’01.

“We all have to play the hand we are dealt,” Osberg said. “I am glad I focused so much of my life on relationships because now, when I need people most, they are there. I’ve been a part of Augsburg all my life, and Nina is an honorary Auggie. It’s reassuring to know that even though she may forget Augsburg, the people who make up that great institution won’t forget her, and they won’t forget us. It’s family.”

Top image: Jack Osberg ’62 (Photo by Courtney Perry)

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In 2016, first-year student Olivia House ’20 kneeled during the national anthem before one of her first Auggie soccer matches. She was alone—the only Black person on the team, and the only person kneeling on either side of the field. For four years, House continued to kneel as a respectful gesture to highlight pervasive racial injustice. Fans and opposing players ridiculed her, she was the first on the bus after away games, and teammates unintentionally bruised her with microaggressions: “You’d look so pretty if you straightened your hair.” “So-and-so acts way Blacker than you.” “I always forget you’re Black.”

“Even though I was vocal and open about what I stood for, my teammates didn’t see even half of who I was. I left so much of my identity at the door because there would be too many questions, too many things I’d have to explain about my identity and community,” said House, a designer and art director for a creative agency in Chicago. “Having to code switch from diverse classrooms and social advocacy groups to being the lone Black person on the team was exhausting.”

Augsburg is among the most diverse private colleges in the Midwest—with students of color making up the majority of the last four incoming undergraduate first-year classes. On campus, House said she found her vocation: “to demonstrate the power of design to communicate stories and create a platform for voices who haven’t been heard.” And yet, her experience demonstrated more work is needed, even at the most equity-minded of institutions, and particularly in athletics, where 71% of student-athletes are white, according to a 2020 Augsburg internal survey.

“Me simply stepping onto a soccer field as the only Black player is political in and of itself, without me saying a single word,” she said. “Had I ‘just played the game’ and ‘kept politics off the field,’ I would have perpetuated the myth that athletes’ sole purpose is to entertain. You can’t ask us to put all of our lives on display except for our thoughts and opinions. It doesn’t work like that.”

Since House’s first year, the women’s soccer team has welcomed other student-athletes of color, and multiple soccer players and coaches have begun kneeling during the national anthem as matters of diversity and justice have remained prominent in conversations both on campus and across the United States.

Augsburg Women’s Soccer Head Coach Michael Navarre watched House address a crowd on the quad in September 2020 as a speaker at Augsburg Bold, a series of presentations for students to hear about important topics for the broader community. After House detailed a summer of racial justice protests and rubber bullets, of murals and oral history projects, Navarre commended House as the spark that ignited the team and inspired other student-athletes to take a stand.

“At the time, we felt as though we were supporting Olivia and our other players of color, but it wasn’t until the killing of George Floyd—just a few miles from Augsburg—that we truly began the difficult work that needed to be done,” said Navarre, who has led the women’s soccer team for 23 seasons. “That self-reflection and education illuminated how much more we could have been for Olivia and others, and how much more we are now because of her. Our team is driven to be leaders for social justice advocacy and action.”

‘An age of athletic activism’

Days after the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, Navarre asked the women’s soccer players to connect virtually each week to discuss topics and resources shared on what has become an 11-page document of articles, podcasts, self-assessments, and videos to spur awareness, community engagement, and education.

Midfielder designed a Black Lives Matter patch, and the team collaborated to design a warm-up shirt that read “Auggies against injustice.” The team supported several fundraisers and donation drives in honor of Floyd and Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old biracial Black man who was fatally shot by police during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. led a collection of personal items and clothing for neighbors who frequent Augsburg’s Health Commons locations, which are nursing-led drop-in centers that offer resources and support.

, women’s soccer volunteer assistant coach and human resources assistant, said the team took to social media as a way to educate and advocate for others. “Instagram, in particular, was a way for our players and our program to demonstrate our alliance to diversity, equity, and inclusion,” Greathouse said. “For example, we have student-athletes personally impacted by the unrest in Myanmar and Colombia, and we wanted our shirts, statements, and discussions to address issues of injustice around the globe.

“I have learned more in the last two years about my own privilege than I have in my lifetime. It’s not enough for individuals to view diversity merely as racial diversity. We are doing ourselves and our students a disservice if we do not first educate ourselves about intersectionality,” Greathouse said, referring to the study of intersecting identities and dimensions of social relationships.

Across the Athletics Department, teams created T-shirts, facilitated discussions, visited memorials, and engaged in community activism. Augsburg Athletics partnered with Augsburg Day Student Government to hold a town hall featuring the voices of student-athletes of color and other members of the Augsburg community. , the university’s first director of athletic diversity and inclusion, facilitated this and other discussions and opportunities for community engagement.

“When I arrived in 2019, I knew my position was an important one, but little did I know just how vital it would be to help our student-athletes, coaches, and staff process, learn, grow, and begin to heal—together,” said Dixon, who also serves as assistant coach for the men’s and women’s track and field teams. “We are in an age of athletic activism, and Augsburg is invested in this work to bring awareness and take a stand. We empower our students, coaches, and staff to have difficult conversations and use their status as leaders to advance causes that matter.”

‘We can’t wait for the tide to shift’

To focus the department’s efforts and conversations, formed a Diversity and Inclusion Task Force in Fall 2020. The group of coaches and staff works closely with university administration and student-athlete advisory groups. Major initiatives include rewording of the national anthem introduction, offering training sessions, and developing a self-reported race survey of Augsburg student-athletes that revealed 71% of student-athletes are white, 12% are Black, 8% are Latinx, 5% are multiracial, and 4% are Asian. Results from a similar survey of coaches and staff are pending.

“We didn’t need surveys to point out that we lack diversity in athletics, but we wanted to get a self-reported baseline to assess how our students perceive themselves and the department,” Dixon said. “This work is personal to me as a Black father the same age as George Floyd when he died. Athletics has always been a battleground for people to advance causes. We reach audiences who might not be exposed to these issues otherwise, both in the locker room and in the stands.”

Dixon said that, although it’s difficult to turn inward and recognize gaps, Auggies are eager to learn and adopt best practices in recruiting and building inclusive team cultures. “We celebrate diversity efforts at the national and international levels of these sports, but we can’t wait for the tide to shift. We are striving to be more present in diverse neighborhoods and partner with programs that introduce these sports to people with a range of backgrounds.”

In Fall 2020, the women’s hockey team gathered at George Floyd Square, where 38th Street and Chicago Avenue intersect in Minneapolis. The 24 student-athletes, coaches, and staff walked around in silence as they took in the flowers, pictures, and artwork that , women’s hockey head coach, described as “a mix of pain, sorrow, and inspiration.”

“Our players were shocked at the long lists of African Americans killed by police, going back 20 years. We huddled and listened to each other, and the athletes’ perspectives were so powerful,” McAteer said.

The team also gathered on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in January. Alongside McAteer, Assistant Coach shared information she learned during a diversity, equity, and inclusion training.

“We recognized we are two white women, and it was not easy or comfortable, but that is the reason why we should be doing this,” McAteer said. “We need to make these types of discussions more natural and ongoing. Avoiding talk and action because it’s not natural or easy is a big part of the problem. We’re not trying to lecture or convince but share information we’ve learned in a meaningful way.”

McAteer said players have begun kneeling for the national anthem, sharing information on social media, and educating family members and friends. The team routinely partners with the DinoMights, an organization that mentors Minneapolis youth through hockey.

Women’s hockey forward said this year changed her. “I’ve learned that I need to make my voice heard in the community because making change takes every single one of us,” she added. “I’ve learned what it means to be ‘not racist’ versus ‘anti-racist.’ Staying silent only hurts marginalized groups even more, so it’s important to have these tough conversations and speak out against racial injustice.”

Women’s lacrosse has been equally engaged. Teammates wore rainbow jerseys in support of a transgender player, who helped lead a discussion about transgender issues and terms. Augsburg Women’s Lacrosse Head Coach Kathryn Knippenberg said the team is working to be more than performative allies. “If one of my athletes feels called to protest but doesn’t have a ride, I will pick them up or find them a ride. If they want to kneel or don’t want to kneel, they know they have my support,” she said.

“Yes, we are here to win, but we are also here to equip student-athletes with valuable life skills, to prepare them for conversations and experiences they are facing and will continue to face.”

—Kathryn Knippenberg

“We want them to live out Augsburg’s mission to be informed citizens, thoughtful stewards, critical thinkers, and responsible leaders who are engaged in meaningful, transformative work.”

Allowing vs. actively supporting

All Augsburg teams agreed to adopt new wording to introduce the national anthem before each contest: “Augsburg University Athletics would like to recognize that the American experience has not been the same for everyone under the flag. As we continue the fight for equality and justice for all, we now invite you to respectfully express yourself for the playing of our national anthem.”

“It’s not easy getting an entire department and body of student-athletes to agree on wording, but it was an important initiative of our Diversity and Inclusion Task Force,” Dixon said. “By having these words in front of the national anthem, we are acknowledging that we—as a university—actively support people in how they want to express themselves. There’s a difference between this statement and simply ‘allowing’ people to kneel or whatever.”

Coaches and staff are expected to complete the Augsburg Diversity and Inclusion certificate program, which requires 18 credits of specified training and encourages additional training for advanced standing each year. In 2020, coaches and staff completed the NCAA Division III’s LGBTQ OneTeam Program, which stresses the importance of LGBTQ inclusion in college athletics and provides an overview of common LGBTQ terms, definitions, and concepts. The peer-driven educational program, which Dixon facilitated, also shares best practices to ensure all individuals may participate in an athletics climate of respect and inclusion, regardless of gender expression, gender identity, or sexual orientation.

“Social justice issues are incredibly important to us in the Athletics Department, and when our student-athletes are actively engaged in educating themselves about the current and historical context of what is happening and they are attempting to use their platform as student-athletes to create awareness and positive change, I feel incredibly proud of them,” said Kelly Anderson Diercks, who served as associate athletic director and director of compliance until July 2021. “Our student-athletes bring many identities and intersectionalities to Augsburg and their respective teams. To be the best we can be, we need to be able to show up fully as our true selves. This means we need to have spaces to talk about all those identities and intersectionalities and how the events facing our world play out differently for us all.”

Recognition of these different identities and experiences led to Dixon’s position; Augsburg hired him as part of a 2019 NCAA Ethnic Minorities and Women’s Internship Grant, which the university also received in 2012. In 2014 and 2021, the department received the NCAA Strategic Alliance Matching Grant, which also supports the hiring and mentorship of ethnic minorities and women in athletic leadership positions.

Alicia Schuelke ’20 MAE, former assistant coach for men’s track and field, said students are thrilled with Dixon’s enthusiasm and vision for the role.

“In a world where, many times, the odds are stacked against us, leaders of color provide hope and strength,” said Schuelke, a physical education teacher at Columbia Academy Middle School in Columbia Heights, Minnesota. “I came to Augsburg for the MAE program, but I was pleasantly surprised to find how diverse the campus is, and it is my absolute favorite part of my learning experience.

“If we can move the needle toward a more diverse group of leaders that better represent our country’s demographics, then students of color will begin to understand that the sky’s the limit in terms of their own hopes, dreams, and aspirations.”

House said she is encouraged by the department’s work to advance equity and inclusion. She appreciates the university’s willingness to be vulnerable and invite her and other people of color to share their experiences during this raw, unsettling time. But like any athlete knows, one must dedicate lots of hours and effort to see results.

Augsburg Athletics is putting in the work.

Top image: (Photo by Warren Ryan)

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Prioritizing mental health

Augsburg Athletics had already begun addressing the mental health of student-athletes before the pandemic. In the summer of 2019, all coaches and staff took an eight-hour course in mental health first aid, which can provide support for student-athletes and coaches until they can speak with mental health professionals.

Mark Wick, men’s hockey assistant coach, has recently taken on new, temporary duties at Augsburg as he sets up a mental health advocacy program for Augsburg Athletics. “We need to know how to deal with what is happening now, but in five to 10 years, people still will be dealing with losing jobs or loved ones,” Wick said. “Hopefully it won’t be as bad as it is now, but how we use this time can help prepare us for growth.”

September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month and Assistant Hockey Coach will hold a golf tournament to raise awareness, as this subject is very personal to him. “It’s OK to reach out and ask for help,” Wick told .

— Augsburg University (@AugsburgU)

Fostering the Auggie Experience

Enrico reported that in past years, student-athletes met with the entire team staff on a weekly basis, but this year they are meeting with a different coach each week. This allows them to be more open and build better relationships with their coaches. As in past years, coaches touch base with students about their lives outside of their sport so that, for instance, if they are struggling with classes, the coach can suggest resources for help. This year coaches��are also making a point of paying attention to upcoming events so that they can suggest activities that might help student-athletes better connect with their fellow students.

It’s been a tough year for everyone, and that has been particularly true for first-year students who were unable to participate in many traditional activities at the end of their senior year in high school and now have begun their college experience under difficult conditions. For that reason, Enrico said, coaches have made a point of connecting third- and fourth-year students with first-year and other new students.

Check out some photos from a recent Augsburg women’s basketball practice!
— Augsburg Athletics (@AugsburgAuggies)

Different teams have different approaches to these connections. In volleyball, coaches have suggested podcasts that each student can discuss with a different teammate each week. “We want them to get outside of volleyball, so the podcasts might be on topics such as banking or racial diversity,” Enrico said.

Fostering these connections—between teammates, between each student-athlete and coach, and between student-athletes and the wider Augsburg community—is, perhaps, one of the most important things coaches can do for their student-athletes this year. All of them help these students feel a sense of community. In Enrico’s words, “the Auggie experience is community.”

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Top image: The COVID-19 pandemic has required temporary closures and reopenings of workout spaces, including Augsburg’s weight room, with students’ health in mind. (Photo by Courtney Perry)

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“I already feel bad for my future children,” joked Bel Snyder ’23. “They are going to have to hear the story of Minnesota’s only collegiate women’s wrestling team over and over again.”

Snyder is one of 10 women wrestlers who made history at Augsburg during the 2019–20 academic year—a quarter century after the university founded the NCAA’s first women’s hockey team in the Midwest, followed by Minnesota’s first varsity women’s lacrosse team in 2014. That pioneering spirit drew Snyder to Augsburg, which received a Breaking Barriers Award in February at Minnesota’s National Girls and Women in Sports Day event at the Minnesota History Center.

“I have never felt such close bonds or such support,” added Snyder, who’s an elementary education transfer student. “I am going to bleed maroon and gray for the rest of my life.”

Green but Great

It’s a young team with seven first-year and three transfer students who had never wrestled for an all- woman team until now. The roster includes some of the nation’s top competitors, including Emily Shilson ’23, who’s considered the top woman recruit in the country by some wrestling news outlets. The 19-year-old finance student qualified to wrestle for a spot in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games (which have been rescheduled for 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic).

How did a budding team recruit such champions? Meet Women’s Wrestling Head Coach Max Mejia, a former Harvard wrestler who became a women’s and skills coach for Arizona’s Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club, which produced 55 Olympic medalists in both men’s and women’s wrestling.

“In wrestling, you can control your destiny more than other sports. It’s not about height or speed. Champions have mental toughness, diligence for detail, and a hunger to win,” he said. “My goal is to produce the best women leaders in the world. When they graduate, I want them to understand how these traits convert to success in the real world. And I want the employers to gobble them up because they recognize what comes from that level of leadership, dedication, and grit,” he said.

Mejia focuses on process, knowing results will follow. He seeks to understand each athletes’ hopes and motivations so he can help them play to their strengths for both athletics and career success.��Mejia empowers each wrestler to set her own goals: “I know I have the discipline to do anything I put my mind to, and I’ll have a great mindset while doing it,” said kinesiology major Savannah Vold ’22.

“He doesn’t see us as we are but as we could be,” said Vayle-rae Baker ’23, who ranks at the top of her weight class. “Then he pushes us through self-doubt or��whatever is holding us back. I take more risks, and I’m seeing the rewards.”

Those strengths are showing. With an overall record of 4-2, Auggie Women’s Wrestling ranked among the top��10 programs in the NCAA as the team headed into the inaugural Cliff Keen National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships in early March. Augsburg finished in ninth place as a team, while Shilson claimed the national title to close out her inaugural collegiate season.

NCAA Names Women’s Wrestling an ‘Emerging’ Sport

In January, NCAA Division II and Division III voted to add women’s wrestling to its list of Emerging Sports for Women; in June, Division I voted in agreement. The next milestone��for the wrestling community will be��to reach at least 40 NCAA-affiliated varsity women’s wrestling teams, which is required to achieve official NCAA Championship status. At present, about 35 NCAA schools support women’s wrestling teams.

Augsburg Athletic Director Jeff Swenson ’79 is optimistic. “We have no doubt women’s wrestling will build on our reputation as a ‘wrestling school,’ with our men’s team having secured its 13th national title in 2019.

“In 1995, Augsburg made history with the region’s first women’s ice hockey team, and now you’re unique if you don’t offer women’s hockey. Then in 2014, Augsburg started the NCAA’s first varsity women’s lacrosse team in Minnesota, and now, here we are with women’s wrestling,” he said. “Augsburg continues to be a pioneer for women’s athletics, and we’re invested in the success of women’s wrestling.”

Men’s Wrestling Co-Head Coach Jim Moulsoff is thrilled that Augsburg is creating opportunities for women to wrestle at the collegiate level. Girls’ wrestling is the fastest growing high school sport, according to the U.S. Wrestling Foundation, yet Minnesota and Wisconsin are among the 30 states that haven’t made girls’ wrestling an official sport.”

“For the past 18 years, I have helped out at junior freestyle summer trainings, and it’s been amazing to see the growth of women’s wrestling from no girls in attendance to hundreds each year,” said Moulsoff, the 2015 and 2019 National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III National Coach of the Year.

Team of ‘Firsts’ Mentors Young Girls

Members of the women’s wrestling team also are driven to share their knowledge and pave the way for the next generation of women wrestlers. Every one of the student-athletes has lived a first—the first girl on a high school’s wrestling team, the first match��a competitor forfeited because he “didn’t want to wrestle a girl,” the first time she saw women’s wrestling at the Olympics (in 2004). They embrace the strength gained from those moments, but it is time for more women to have opportunities to wrestle.

Nine years ago, Minnesota USA Wrestling began hosting open gyms at Augsburg every Sunday, and��four girls attended the first session. Earlier this year, about 60 girls showed up every week, even with weekend tournaments pulling some away. Baker said she and her teammates consistently volunteered to coach and mentor the girls, who ranged from 6 to 18 years old.

“I started wrestling when I was 9, and I was the only girl on that team and the only girl on my middle and high school teams,” Baker said. “I look forward to coaching and connecting with the girls each week. My teammates and I want to show them they can do this, and show them there will be teams for them when they go to college.”

Chad Shilson ’93, women’s wrestling director and coach for Minnesota USA Wrestling, said lifelong friendships seem to emerge at every practice, as girls experience wrestling with those who are similar in strength, weight, flexibility, size, and goals. “They get to be the iron that sharpens other iron,” he said.

The result: some of the top women wrestlers in the country, if not the world, have come out of the open gyms—“hungry for the sport and everything it has to offer,” added Shilson, the father of top-ranked Augsburg wrestler, Emily Shilson.

Coach Mejia hopes to collaborate with USA Wrestling and other organizations to offer even more camps and open gyms (when it’s safe and appropriate for public health regarding the coronavirus) for the estimated 300 girls who are wrestling at some level in the state. When they graduate from high school, Mejia said, “I want them to have no doubt that Augsburg is the place to be.”

‘We Keep Playing. … We Persist’

Word has gotten out. Alumni and friends of the university are tweeting their praises and sharing news coverage of the historic team. Children’s book author and public speaker, Shelly Boyum-Breen ’97, said the university’s investment in women’s wrestling is also an investment in girls and women in general.

“I was fortunate to be at Augsburg when women’s hockey started, and I saw lives changing before my eyes. I��know firsthand the impact that��continues to make on those��women’s lives,” said Boyum-��Breen, who taught physical��education and coached��women’s basketball at Augsburg. “When we invest in women and our diverse communities, we invest in what’s possible. We have to show it in action through media coverage. Kids��need to hear these stories—boys and girls.

“Look at the decision-makers, the percentages of coaches,��the funding gaps, and the near media blackout of women’s professional and collegiate sports. And yet, we keep playing. And people keep watching. Because of the support that��exists, we persist,” said Boyum-Breen, who also established grants to pay sports fees and equipment costs that functioned as barriers to participation for some Minnesota girls.

Augsburg women’s hockey coaches know better than most the kind of��investment and persistent leadership required to create and sustain a vibrant women’s athletics program.

“To be a leader—it’s scary,” said founding Women’s Hockey Head Coach Jill Pohtilla. “I’ve seen Augsburg, time and time again, make bold moves based on what makes sense and what is right,” said Pohtilla, who was inducted into the Women’s Hockey Association of Minnesota Hall of Fame in 2006.

The women’s wrestling program has made an immediate impact in the Athletics Department and has increased expectations for success, said Michelle McAteer, Augsburg’s women’s hockey head coach.

“Coach Mejia was able to bring in a large and talented class for the inaugural season, and it’s clear how skilled, determined, and committed these women are,” she said. “They are representing Augsburg and our Athletics Department with great pride, and growing the profile of their sport at the same time.

“They are making history, living history,” McAteer added. “It’s a special team doing very special things.”

A Brief History of Women’s Athletics at Augsburg

1922

Women’s basketball team assembles. Beginning in 1950, they earn a record of 125-5 over 15 seasons.

1972

Title IX mandates equal opportunities in education, allowing women to participate on high school and college athletic teams. Augsburg basketball, gymnastics, tennis, and volleyball record their official inaugural varsity seasons in the Title IX era.

1974

Softball is added as a varsity sport.

1975

Women’s track and field is added as a varsity sport.

1985

Women’s soccer becomes a varsity sport.

1991

Women’s cross country program begins.

1995

Augsburg establishes the first varsity women’s hockey team in the Upper Midwest.

2003

Swimming and diving program begins.

2014

Augsburg establishes the first varsity women’s lacrosse team in Minnesota.

2019

Augsburg launches the only varsity intercollegiate women’s wrestling team in Minnesota.

The post How to Build a Women’s Wrestling Program from Scratch appeared first on Augsburg Now.

It could have been worse. Their parents could have made them��hold hands (or even smile). But after each game during last year’s Auggie football season, the parents of the team’s four sets of siblings lined the eight players up for a Kodak moment

“We loved the tradition, but there was a bit of that ‘Come on, mom’ feeling, especially when they made us take a photo before our last game,” said wide receiver Nick Heenie ’19, whose not-so-little brother, Frank Heenie ’23, protects the Auggie line. “We were all so in the zone that we look mean, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. It was such a special year and an honor to play with brothers.”

Rounding up the octet was easy, especially after home games, when those same parents—led by the Heenie family—prepared meals for 80 players and their families. Head Football Coach Frank Haege said the team traditionally shares food and fellowship after one home game each year, but the siblings’ parents united the Auggie football family in an unforgettable way during the 2018 season.

“It was such a joy to coach four sets of siblings last year”—Head Football Coach Frank Haege

“It was such a joy to coach four sets of siblings last year, particularly since I have twin boys, and I played football with my brother,” said Haege, whose 9-year-old son, AJ, spends so much time with the team that he maintains an Auggie locker. “Our team always feels like family, but we were especially close last fall. It reinforced that Augsburg is where students learn to be part of something bigger than themselves.”

Coaching four sets of siblings at one time was unprecedented for Augsburg Athletics, but siblings are not uncommon. Haege estimates he has coached eight sets of siblings during his 15-year tenure. In addition to football, siblings have competed on several teams recently: The Wilson twins dominated the wrestling mat, the Everett sisters commanded the lacrosse field, and the O’Conner brothers scored big on the ice.

Relatives on the roster

The list of sibling alumni who have played together at Augsburg could ll a football roster, not to mention the generations of families with Auggie pride running through their veins. An example: Athletic Director Jeff Swenson ’79 wrestled and coached for 25 years at Augsburg. His sister, Marie (Swenson) Hechsel ’90, played volleyball. Her son, Matt Hechsel ’15, wrestled, and her daughter, Stephanie Hechsel ’19, played volleyball.

Augsburg women’s ice hockey’s Megan Johnson ’19 also is playing out a family legacy. Her grandfather, Bob “Badger” Johnson, attended Augsburg for a year before transferring to the University of Wisconsin—Madison, where he secured seven NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Championships. Her father, Mark Johnson, was a member of the fabled “Miracle on Ice” 1980 U.S. Olympic team and coach of the 2010 U.S. Olympic women’s silver- medal hockey squad.

Megan’s brother, Chris Johnson ’10, ’14 MAL, slapped the puck around for Augsburg and later served as men’s ice hockey assistant coach for seven seasons. It was during that time Megan picked Augsburg over the University of Wisconsin, where her grandfather, father, and two other siblings played. Although the colors of their jerseys differed, every member of the Johnson family has donned No. 10.

Women’s Ice Hockey Head Coach said that although Megan no longer has a sibling at Augsburg, members of the team are like family. Third- and fourth- year student-athletes have begun to mentor newcomers, calling each other big and little sisters, respectively.

“These mentor relationships are lasting, and it’s an intentional effort players established to support each other on and off the ice,” McAteer said. “As a two-time team captain, Megan has been integral in helping us foster that sense of togetherness.”

Family legacies are part of the game

To Haege and others, the influx of legacy families and sibling teammates is no coincidence. Augsburg draws families, he said, because the campus feels like a family and students know they will gain a solid education and passionate sense of vocation. Older siblings often make recruiting easy, Haege said, by “talking up the program naturally,” as they share their good experiences with siblings.

Mustafa Adam ’18 said having his younger brother, Shihab Adam ’22, on the football roster was “a dream come true.” But he doesn’t have one brother on the team. “I have 80,” said Mustafa, a two-time team captain and nominee for Mayo Clinic’s 2018 Comeback Player of the Year Award, which honors college football players who have returned to the field of play after overcoming major life challenges.

Mustafa sat out his first year at Augsburg when the cancer he beat in high school returned just prior to signing on at Augsburg. He played the entire 2016 and 2017 seasons, but the disease returned at the conclusion of his second season, in which he finished second in tackles (93) in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

He underwent chemotherapy and had to have his right ear amputated to prevent the cancer from spreading. In Fall 2018, he returned to the eld and played in all 10 games.

“I know it pained Shihab and all my teammates to see me go through this disease, but having a little brother only further motivated me to keep my head up and stand strong throughout this whole process,” said the linebacker from Wisconsin. “Envisioning the football field was truly the driving force behind my will to fight. I was willing to persevere through anything to accomplish my dream to play college ball, and my willingness to fight inspired many of my teammates to look inside themselves to find their ‘why.’ Going through this—together—has created lifelong bonds and friendships.”

“Augsburg—even beyond the field—is a tight-knit community, where everyone looks out for one another. Teachers care about your education and are always willing to provide you with extra academic support. At Augsburg, they truly care about you as an individual, and they will do whatever they can to ensure that you succeed inside and outside of the classroom.”
— Linebacker Mustafa Adam ’18, a three-time cancer survivor who studied business and economics and plans to go to medical school

Siblings and teammates keep each other on track

Nick Heenie ’19 said growing close to dozens of teammates from different states, cultures, and life experiences has broadened players’ worldview. The football team’s inclusive culture, Nick said, has inspired him to explore and appreciate Augsburg’s setting in one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the Twin Cities.

The Heenies room with brothers linebacker Xavier Hanson ’23 and defensive lineman Christopher Hanson ’19. “So our moms always know where to get ahold of us,” Frank added. Wrestling twins Aaron Wilson ’21 and Alex Wilson ’20 also share a residence, not to mention a major—biology. The two are rarely apart.

“I started wrestling in kindergarten. Alex started a year later, and we both dreamed about wrestling at Augsburg as kids,” said Aaron, whose proudest moment was being ranked nationally alongside his brother. “We knew it would make us the best versions of ourselves on and off the mat. Augsburg’s small class sizes have allowed me to make meaningful relationships with my professors and pursue research of my own.”

Lacrosse player Delaney Everett ’18 is equally ambitious, with plans to own an accounting rm. Having sister, Demey Everett ’20, by her side has pushed the mid elder to achieve in competition and in the classroom. Head Lacrosse Coach Kathryn Knippenberg has had a front row seat to the dynamic duo’s inspiring support.

“The two are in sync on the field, and their intuitive play challenges the rest of the team to follow suit,” said Knippenberg, who is in her sixth season at Augsburg. “Their majors are different—biology and accounting—but Augsburg’s impressive academic programs were able to support both their interests. Not many schools in the area offer lacrosse along with such diverse academic options.”

Here’s to quadruplets in 2021’

The Kordah brothers are a few years beyond graduation, and these stories of campus life and sibling bonds call up fond memories for the former Augsburg soccer players. Lekpea Kordah ’15 is raising two kids while working as a high school administrator and as a certified tax professional. Barinedum Kordah ’17 works in health care administration in the Twin Cities.

Adulthood keeps them from kicking the ball around together, but they do find time to talk about the “good old days as Auggies,” while they watch professional soccer, Barinedum said. Campus, he added, became home to them after their nine-member family migrated from Nigeria.

“I learned some of my greatest lessons at Augsburg. On the field, my brother taught me to never give up and to work with intensity,” said Barinedum, a defender who majored in exercise science and minored in psychology. “Coach taught us to consider details, which was tough because I wanted to just get out there and play. That study of each opponent and the game itself helped us outsmart our opponents and waste less energy than if we were always trying to beat them athletically.”

Haege knows the Kordah brothers, as most coaches and players do. That’s how it works at Augsburg, he said. Players— siblings or not—don’t only support their team, they are among the loudest fans at all Auggie contests.

Whether that sense of support stems from family connections or not, Haege doesn’t make that call. He does, however, predict the trend will continue. “Here’s to looking at quadruplets in 2021,” he joked.

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Swenson was a national wrestling champion as a student and joined the Augsburg coaching staff upon graduation. He then spent 25 seasons as one of the most successful amateur wrestling coaches in the U.S. As athletic director since 2001, he has led the athletics program through a period of unprecedented growth and improvement.

Now, Swenson is playing another key role at Augsburg as Sesquicentennial Steering Committee co-chair, shaping the anniversary festivities planned for the 2019-20 academic year. In a recent interview, Swenson shared his perspectives on the University’s 150th anniversary as well as the importance of academics and civic engagement for student-athletes and why he’s proud to be an Auggie.

Despite all of the achievements for Augsburg and Swenson, he feels the best is still ahead. “I’ve never been more excited about Augsburg than I am today.”

You are a co-chair of the sesquicentennial committee. What do you hope this milestone anniversary will do for Augsburg?

It’s a great time to celebrate our rich history: 150 years, wow! That’s really something special. I’m hoping the sesquicentennial allows us to celebrate the past but also to look toward the next 150 years of Augsburg University. It’ll be a great time to bring people together: faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends of the institution. Selfishly, I’m looking forward to celebrating athletics’ place in the school’s history. In the past two decades, we were the first university in the state to start a women’s hockey team and a women’s lacrosse team. Last year, we made the playoffs in eight out of 10 sports—the most ever in school history.

Augsburg athletes are intentionally called student-athletes. How do you support academic achievement?

They’re students first. Every one of our athletes gets a day off of training and games. Professors do understand the demands of students involved in athletics, and they work with the students to help them succeed. Ultimately, our goal is that all students graduate in four years. We want to recruit prospective students and tell them and their families that our students graduate in four years with high achievement in their courses. Our student-athletes’ cumulative GPA averages 3.23, and we’re proud of that.

I understand there is increased collaboration between student-athletes and other student groups. What’s behind that, and what do you hope will develop from this partnership?

It’s very intentional, and it’s one of my goals, along with President . Our 2017–18 student body president BK (Bashiru Kormah) ’19 really pushed for it. BK is on the Augsburg men’s soccer team, and he organized a gathering at the president’s house of student-athletes and members of other student groups to talk about experiences and collaborative opportunities. Fostering an even more unified campus culture is hugely beneficial, and I think we’re doing that. We’re very involved with living out the University’s mission in the daily life of athletics.

Augsburg is called as an institution to serve our neighbor. What’s the role of community service in athletics?

Community service can have a major lifelong positive impact on student-athletes. I will always remember one of my community service opportunities as an Augsburg student. I held a boy who had a severe cognitive disability. I bounced him on my knee, and my objective was to get him to smile. To this day, I remember that experience as much or more than any of the football games or wrestling matches I was in. The Augsburg athletics experience is really well-rounded. All of our student-athletes and coaches participate in at least one community service activity each year. Jane Becker, our head volleyball coach, is our director of athletic community service and engagement. Because of her efforts, we do many more community service activities than in the past. In the 2016–17 academic year our athletes finished with 4,652 community engagement hours and participated in the largest food drive on campus, collecting 410 pounds of food. We are on track to reach or exceed that amount for 2017–18.

As Augsburg prepares to commemorate 150 years, what stands out for you?

All the relationships stand out for me—from the time I was a student-athlete here and then throughout my career. I’ve seen 10 buildings constructed on campus, worked for four presidents, and held nine job titles, but it would all come down to the relationships more than anything else, including relationships with my coaches, students, faculty colleagues, and my teachers.

How has Augsburg evolved as the University approaches the sesquicentennial and what makes you proud to be an Auggie?

I love that Augsburg is student-centered. We’re at the forefront of society’s changes. We’re inclusive. We’re accepting. We’re innovative in our work. I think the focus in those areas has enabled us to stay ahead of our competition and is why students continue to choose Augsburg.

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Student-athletes file past tables,��stacking breadsticks on mounds of��pasta, but this crew isn’t carb-loading��for the next matchup. The nearly 550��students from Augsburg’s 19 sports teams��are preparing to tackle Auggie Compass—a��series of workshops and team-building��exercises designed to inspire personal and��professional success. After piloting the��program in 2014-15, Augsburg Athletics��recruited this year’s lineup of on- and��off-campus partners to engage each class��in issues relevant to each stage of their��undergraduate lives.

Associate Athletic Director Kelly��Anderson Diercks said the biannual��series starts a conversation with student-athletes,��then builds upon those��themes each year as Auggies develop��the confidence, expertise, and support��networks they need to navigate known and��unknown challenges during college and��after graduation. For instance, first-year��students discussed study skills, time��management, and wellness, while seniors��learned about financial planning, living��their values, and networking techniques.

“When I moved into my first house,��I didn’t know furnaces had filters, and��that’s just one example of the many things��I should’ve known—but didn’t—before��graduation,” said Anderson Diercks, who��spearheaded the program. “We developed��Auggie Compass from the best aspects of��similar programs and from conversations��with our coaches, student-athletes, and��alumni. Our students seem more aware��of campus and community resources and��better prepared to excel in the real world.”

Panel of alumni shares lessons��from ‘professional lumps’

Among the spring event’s most popular��sessions was a student-athlete alumni panel,��“Not Where They Thought They’d Be,”��which—as the title suggests—invited alumni��to share lessons from their not-so-straight-or-smooth��paths to personal and professional��fulfillment. Mike Gallagher ’12 was among��the four panelists asked “not to sugar coat”��their transitions to the workforce.

“My first paid job out of college lasted��21 months before I was laid off with 25��percent of the company’s workforce,��and that’s just one example of the��professional lumps we shared,” said��Gallagher, an academic advisor at��Walden University and the on-air host/producer of Gopher Sports Update and��MIAC Weekly. “Our stories reinforced��that new graduates likely will have��to do things they don’t enjoy as they��work toward goals. But we encouraged��them to channel the persistence and��dedication they gained as athletes��toward new challenges and to say ‘yes’��to any opportunity to better themselves��or gain new skills.”

Gallagher, also a freelance sports��broadcaster and emcee, talked openly��about his path, which is a fairly common��one: going to college with hopes of��playing professional baseball, then��realizing he wasn’t any better than his��teammates. Then, struggling to find��balance within the fun, demanding��routine of workouts, competitions,��classes, and life until he walked across��the commencement stage and into a��9-to-5 job without the sport, the people,��and the routine he’d always known. “It��is, indeed, a huge wakeup call,” he said.

Women’s golfer Wendy Anderson ’17��was among the seniors who rotated��through the panel discussion. The double��major in music business and accounting��said she valued sessions about financial��planning and interviews, but the alumni��panel resonated with her the most.

“I’m a type-A, perfectionist planner.��Hearing their stories reassured��me that I may not end up where I��thought I might, but because of these��types of sessions and my Augsburg��experience, I’ll survive and hopefully��have a fulfilling career,” she said. “I’m��glad I attended sessions about fiscal��responsibility, but workshops that��encouraged us to consider our values��and worth and to step outside our��comfort zones were the most rewarding.��Guidance from Auggie Compass��sessions paired with the entirety of our��experiences prepares us to achieve.”

Athletic Director Jeff Swenson ’79 is��glad to hear student-athletes position��Auggie Compass within the greater��framework of their Augsburg education��and athletic experience. The lessons��and skills are interconnected, he said,��strengthening one another.

“Our athletes learn to win and lose��with class, to embrace leadership, and��to play their role—whatever that may��be—to achieve a shared goal,” said��Swenson, who has been a member��of the Augsburg community for more��than 30 years as a student, coach,��and administrator. “These are all great��lessons for life after sports, and Auggie��Compass builds upon what teams and��coaches are already instilling. At our��core, we are about community and��supporting these fine student-athletes��on their journey. Auggie Compass��prepares them to carry that legacy out��to the world.”

Building skills to navigate a��complex environment

Mike Matson ’07 knows all about��Augsburg’s core principles. They guided��him through his time as one of the��College’s top linebackers, then through��seminary, and now in his role as an��assistant director of leadership gifts at��the College. Matson said Augsburg’s��commitment to diversity, inclusion, and��community outfits students with empathy��and poise to respectfully engage in��meaningful conversations and authentic��relationships. He talked with juniors��about how to lead difficult conversations.

“We live in a complicated world��with complex people and issues, and��those who are able to have difficult��conversations in a respectful manner��advance progress and understanding,”��said Matson, who also serves in the��Navy Reserves and as chaplain for��the Minneapolis Police Department.��“Instead of talking at the students,��we challenged them to work through��case studies. I can’t say I was all that��surprised at how well they handled��themselves, but I was impressed��with how willing they were to share��vulnerabilities, speak about biases,��and view situations through alternate��perspectives. It was amazing to watch��‘community’ happen.”

Unified tournament puts��principles to practice

Student-athletes didn’t only talk about��ideals, they practiced them. Juniors��headed to the Si Melby gymnasium to��compete alongside 40 Special Olympics��athletes in basketball and bean bag��toss competitions. Jennifer Jacobs, who��organized the volunteer effort, said the��tournament underscored Augsburg’s��commitment to service and inclusion.

“We added [the unified competition]��because civic engagement is one of the��college’s co-curricular learning outcomes,”��said Jacobs, then-assistant athletic director��and assistant volleyball coach. “We decided��to collaborate with Special Olympics��because of an NCAA Division III partnership��with the organization and because our��ongoing involvement with the area chapter��continually inspires our students.”

Student-athlete Cody Pirkl ’18 had never��interacted with Special Olympics athletes��before the Auggie Compass event this��spring. Initially, the baseball player had��not been excited about the obligation on��what otherwise would have been a free��night. But as he said goodbye to Special��Olympics teammates, the social work major��said it felt like parting with dear friends.

“We, as college athletes, become so��focused on our own goals and everyday��lives that we forget how rewarding it��is to give back to others,” Pirkl said.��“Our involvement with Special Olympics��shines Augsburg’s positive light on our��broader community, but it also gives us��meaningful perspective. Watching the��Special Olympics athletes’ pure love of��the game reminded me how lucky I am��and how much I love to play.”

Pirkl said he and his teammates took��a lot away from the mix of formats and��engaging activities. That active structure��was intentional, Anderson Diercks��explained, as presenters played to��student-athletes’ competitive nature.

“For years, we had brought wonderful,��inspiring speakers to campus once��or twice a year to talk with students��about hot topics or enduring life-after-college��lessons,” Anderson Diercks said.��“Although these experts offered great��perspective and information, the format��was a challenge, and we were never��able to cover as many of the topics as��we would have liked. The new Auggie��Compass format allows us to engage each��class in specific topics to prepare them for��the next year and beyond. We can more��easily adjust based on student feedback,��and it’s a nice way to highlight our alumni��and campus experts as well as celebrate��community partnerships and resources.”

Celebrating mindfulness and��meditation

One such resource is Jermaine Nelson, a��meditation and mindfulness coach and��yoga instructor. The former athlete urged��students to seek mind-body connections��as they strive to be more present. He also��reminded them to give themselves grace��during transitions and various phases of life.

“It’s so easy for student-athletes to��continue to eat and sleep how they did��in college without the same level of��activity, and then they look up one day��and realize they are out of shape and out��of sync,” Nelson said. “It’s important��to anticipate, on the field and in life, so��that you avoid injury and prepare for the��next phase of your life.”

Nelson wasn’t expecting to, but looking��out at the dozens of student-athletes��reminded him of his nephew, and��Nelson got personal. His nephew was a��promising college recruit, with plans to��play in the NBA, but he broke down from��all the pressure.

“I wish he would have had a program like��this when he was in school,” Nelson said.��“Imagine all the heartache and recovery he��would have avoided had he been offered the��tools to cope and achieve without grinding��himself into the ground. I worked with��him, and he’s on a good path now, but it��took a while. If Auggies can practice these��techniques now, they’ll succeed.”

Nelson’s talk reinforced some of the themes presented by��Augsburg’s Center for Wellness and Counseling.

For example, counselor Jon Vaughan-Fier and Beth Carlson, the��center’s assistant director, co-facilitated “Becoming Resilient��to Stress,” which challenged student-athletes to assess what��drains them and to identify ways to recharge. In addition to��discussing the importance of sleep, nutrition, and meaningful��relationships—among other topics—students engaged in yoga,��mindful breathing, and relaxation strategies.

During the Compass program’s pilot year, the entire CWC��staff also presented on a range of topics related to wellbeing,��including body image, depression, healthy choices, and stress��management, which Vaughan-Fier said is critically important for��today’s overly busy student-athletes.

“To emphasize the connection to sports and improved��performance, we showed testimonials from Seattle Seahawks��quarterback Russel Wilson about his ‘one play at a time’ mindset��and New York Knicks President Phil Jackson’s philosophy of��‘one breath, one mind,’” Vaughan-Fier said. “We hope these��tools help student-athletes as they strive to incorporate self-care��practices into daily life.”

According to a 2015 health survey, the top stressors among��Augsburg students are: a death or serious illness of someone��close, conflicts with roommates, parental conflict, and the end of��a personal relationship. Director of the counseling center, Nancy��Guilbeault, said the opportunity to interact with student-athletes��about these and other topics is a proactive way to introduce the��center’s role and resources.

“Mental health and GPA are linked, and they affect your��performance,” she said. “We want to make sure these student-athletes��are working on their physical, mental, and spiritual��health and wellbeing. These sessions provide an overview and��tips, but we also encourage them to follow up with one-on-one��or group support.”

Financial stressors, professional��communications among top concerns

A key barrier to wellness, Guilbeault said, is stress related to��finances—a worry that plagues many students, particularly student-athletes��who might not have the time to hold a job or internship.��To build upon the counseling center’s session, Auggie Compass��introduced a practical question-and-answer session with Tommy��Redae ’09 MBA, a treasury management sales consultant and vice��president of Middle Market Banking for Wells Fargo in Minneapolis.

“Talking with upper-class students, I focused on the importance��of budgeting and managing credit for a healthy financial future,”��Redae said. “I shared several of the many online tools and apps to��help them stick to a budget and monitor credit for suspicious or��fraudulent activities.”

Also in the category of practical and purposeful guidance, Auggie��Compass enlisted faculty mentors Carol Enke and Shana Watters to��offer best practices for professional communications. The pair broke��student-athletes into groups to review and assess emails students��sent professors, many of them lacking clarity, starting with an��informal “hey,” or displaying accusatory language.

“Research shows that people read emails more negatively than��intended, and therefore, communicating effectively in this medium��reduces ambiguity and negative perceptions,” Watters said. “The��students did a great job of improving the emails, and we hope��they will apply the guidance we shared to communicate with��professionals now and in the future.”

Program reinforces Augsburg’s mission,��commitment to students

The blend of practical knowledge and conceptual, creative��exploration reflects Augsburg’s care for and commitment to��student-athletes, and it supports community-building across teams��and among coaches, said Swenson. This year, the program added��a track for coaches that focused on situational leadership, social��media training, and a DiSC® behavioral assessment inventory.

“We’re not offering Auggie Compass to check off the ‘personal��development box,’” Swenson said. “The program was developed��by former collegiate players, thinking about what they wished��they would have known, so that our student-athletes can have��more tools to reach for as they strive for success.”

The creation and evolution of Auggie Compass embodies some��of the innovation, self-reflection, and grit the program aims��to instill. Anderson Diercks said organizers continue to have��conversations with student-athletes, alumni, and experts to align��sessions with players’ needs and to reflect the latest trends and��topics. As a former athlete turned furnace-filter-changing adult,��she knows greatness doesn’t come from perfection but from the��drive to keep playing until you get it right.

Top image [L to R]: At an Auggie Compass event, panelists Mike Gallagher ’12, Katie Jacobson ’11, and Dan Brandt ’11 spoke to students about the journey from college to their careers.

Photos by��Courtney Perry and Don Stoner.��

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