Buckner, a Duluth, Minnesota, native, played both women’s hockey and softball during her time at Augsburg. She started officiating at the adult amateur level and has gained acclaim as an official on the collegiate, professional, and international levels post graduation. According to a , Buckner has officiated for every professional women’s hockey league, including the current Professional Women’s Hockey League, along with international tournaments.

Buckner is one of 10 linespersons and 22 total women’s hockey officials working at the Winter Olympics, which take place February 5-19. The women’s hockey events start with pool play from February 5-10, quarterfinals on February 13-14, semifinals on February 16, and finals on February 19. 

Read the to learn more about Sarah Buckner’s Olympic journey.

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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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An image of Augsburg’s campus and the Minneapolis skyline in 1967, stitched together from three frames of an aerial camera shot in a promotional film. (Archive photo)

Part of Augsburg’s campus—including Old Main, two residence halls, and the Norman and Evangeline Hagfors Center for Science, Business, and Religion—in 2018. (Photo by Courtney Perry)

Auggies shoot hoops in Old Main gymnasium, circa 1945. (Archive photo)

Augsburg women’s basketball plays against the College of Saint Benedict in Si Melby Hall, 2018. (Photo by Courtney Perry)

The Augsburg community poses in front of Old Main in 1931. (Archive photo)

The Class of 2023 gathers in front of Old Main in 2019. This fall, group photos are planned for the Class of 2024 and the Class of 2025. (Photo by Tom Roster)

The camera club in 1957 included [L to R] Jerry Matison ’59, Stan Quanbeck ’59, and James Nichols ’58. (Archive photo)

An Auggie wears virtual reality goggles in a new media class in 2019. (Courtesy photo)

Georg Sverdrup and Sven Oftedal, who each served as Augsburg’s president, speak at a gathering of students in the first Old Main building (which was demolished to build Science Hall and Sverdrup Hall), 1897. (Archive photo)

A procession in a chapel service January 24, 2020. (Photo by Courtney Perry)

Augsburg women’s track and field student-athletes prepare for a race in 1985. (Archive photo)

Augsburg women’s track and field student-athlete hits the track 2021. (Photo by Don Stoner)

Students work in a television studio, possibly in the basement of Memorial Hall, in 1976. (Archive photo)

Students at a video shoot in Foss Center in 2019. (Courtesy photo)

Students attend a Pan-Afrikan Student Union cookout in Murphy Square in 1998. (Archive photo)

Students attend a Multicultural Student Services event in the park to welcome students back to campus in 2019. (Photo by Courtney Perry)

The post Augsburg then and now appeared first on Augsburg Now.

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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One November afternoon, Natalie Jacobson, coordinator of Augsburg’s Campus Kitchen, opened an email from someone she didn’t recognize. It was short and to the point: First-year Auggie Sam Kristensen ’24 explained that he had collected 17 bags of canned and nonperishable food items from those who dared to enter his Halloween yard maze through a fog-lit skeleton shack and animatronic troll swamp. The business major said he was glad his ghoulish creativity could feed dozens of Augsburg students and residents in surrounding Minneapolis neighborhoods.

“The email made my week,” Jacobson said. “We’ve been consumed with coordinated relief efforts; Sam’s email was a great reminder that everyone and anyone can make a difference.”

Kristensen is one of hundreds in the Augsburg community who have come together in both planned and unplanned ways to support those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic, which to date has infected an estimated 28 million and killed more than 500,000 Americans. From staff and students sewing and donating face masks to medical personnel advancing policies and caring for patients, members of the Augsburg community are making a lasting impact on the front lines of disease prevention and support. These are a few of the many stories of Auggies combating the virus and its effects with compassion, faith, and ingenuity.

Serving up hope

Jacobson manages donations like Kristensen’s offering while working with a team of students and volunteers to facilitate integrated food access programs to address hunger on and near campus. According to the National Association of Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, more than 38% of students at four-year institutions are food insecure, and 15% are homeless.

Before the pandemic, Augsburg students accessed free food at the in the basement of Science Hall. Students could stop in five days a week to select a bag of fresh and non-perishable items, no questions asked. The Campus Kitchen also made outreach efforts to support community gardens and meals, rescue unsold produce at farmers markets, and educate the public about food as wellness.

When the pandemic hit, Campus Kitchen turned up the heat. The team moved its refrigerators, freezers, and shelves of food to a large conference room in Augsburg’s . Campus Cupboard transitioned to an online order form, with student workers, like finance major Yamile Hernandez ’22, delivering orders on campus or making contactless deliveries to students living in the Twin Cities. The cupboard serves between 25 and 75 students each week.

“It’s rewarding to know we’re helping others, especially in such hard times, and we’re using up food that would have gone to waste.”—Yamile Hernandez ’22

“Many people have found themselves without a job or having less work, which makes it difficult to keep up with expenses,” said Hernandez. “Having access to healthy, free food helps alleviate a bit of that stress.”

“We heard about an opportunity to apply for CARES Act grant funding on a Tuesday, and the application was due that Thursday. Campus Kitchen rallied together with the Health Commons, West Bank Community Development Corporation, and the People’s Center to pull an application together, and we received $22,000, which we spent in a week on nonperishable food items, personal and household cleaning products, as well as food storage equipment, including refrigerators and freezers. The grant will enable us to provide students and neighbors with access to healthy foods on a regular basis and at an increased capacity.”

In March, the Sabo Center launched the Neighborhood Food Initiative in partnership with M Health Fairview. The initiative brings together a variety of community partners to support collaborative approaches that increase access to healthy food in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood.

“Since the summer, we have distributed food weekly to the West Bank CDC and People’s Center,” Jacobson said. “Many households in Cedar-Riverside now see this service as a key piece of meeting their basic food needs.”

Drives of support 

Augsburg parking lots have been preferred drop-off locations for food and supply drives. In June and again in late September, Augsburg Women Engaged supported weeklong drives to support the Campus Cupboard and ShareShop, which provides students with free or for-rent bedding, games, clothing, kitchenware, appliances, and other home goods. The group collected 400 pounds of food and household supplies, plus $5,405 for the Campus Kitchen.

On June 1, Steve Peacock, community relations director at the Sabo Center, and a cadre of masked volunteers lined up in a parking lot near the edge of campus. The group collected donations from an estimated 550 cars that drove through during a two-hour drive to collect a number of items, mostly personal hygiene products and diapers, for the nearby.

“We were absolutely overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and donations,” Peacock said. “While we were out there, collecting items, we saw athletic teams lined up to collect supplies on the other side of the athletics complex. It’s a testament to the innovative, community-focused, and generous spirit of Augsburg.”

“Our mission to support students and be an anchor for the community seems relevant and central to our lives now more than ever.”—Steve Peacock

Augsburg has also encouraged donations to the Student Emergency Fund, which was established last March to support students with financial hardships and provide relief for basic needs, including food, rent, transportation, and medication.

In the wake of George Floyd’s death in May, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in the Longfellow neighborhood of Minneapolis has distributed food to hundreds of neighbors each week. This summer, Augsburg Pastor Justin Lind-Ayres showed up with more than 25 Auggie students, staff, and faculty, most of whom didn’t know each other, to serve food. “This was just one microcosm of the work Auggies have and continue to do across the Twin Cities,” Lind-Ayres said. “The student body inspires and teaches me what it means to be ‘informed citizens.’”

‘Auggies are resilient’

Lind-Ayres and the Campus Ministry team have worked to provide moments of hope and belonging throughout the year. They shared prayers on their blog once a day from March to May and now post prayers weekly as a way for Auggies to lift up concerns and hopes for people and situations. On Fridays, the team has hosted 8 minutes and 46 seconds in chapel and on Zoom for “Silence, Prayer, and Pastoral Presence” to remember George Floyd and others and to focus on the call for racial justice. The Muslim Student Association, under the direction of Fardosa Hassan ’12, has provided opportunities for safe, socially distanced Friday prayer.

In addition to leading reduced-capacity in-person worship in Hoversten Chapel, recorded worship, and virtual discussions, Lind-Ayres and University Pastor Babette Chatman ’06 serve on the COVID-19 Response Team. This diverse group of staff members gathers up to five times each week to review COVID-19 cases on campus, engage in contact tracing, provide support for students in quarantine or isolation, and figure out ways to keep the community safe.

“We spend a lot of time on the phone or texting with students offering words of encouragement, answering questions, and troubleshooting issues together as we manage the realities of COVID-19 on campus,” said Lind-Ayres.

Melissa Lee ’04, assistant athletic director and softball head coach, serves on the COVID-19 Task Force. Lee is one of several staff members responding to the helpline set up for Auggies to access the latest information and resources. In the spring, she and others were answering helpline phone calls and emails in shifts seven days a week. As traffic has decreased, phone calls go directly to voicemail. Team members respond to messages and emails as soon as possible.

To parents, students, faculty, and staff, Lee said, “Continue to be gritty. Continue to be safe. We can and will all get through this together. Auggies are resilient.”

Augsburg stories on COVID-19:

• What it takes to fight a pandemic, part 2: Research and health care
• Augsburg’s in-house epidemiologist guides Auggies through the COVID-19 pandemic

Top Image: Auggies gather and distribute food and donations through programs like Campus Kitchen and Campus Cupboard. (Photo by Courtney Perry)

The post What it takes to fight a pandemic: Community collaboration and mutual aid (Part 1) appeared first on Augsburg Now.

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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