The Augustana Vikings are the athletic teams that represent

Augustana University Augustana University is a private Lutheran university in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The university identifies 1860 as the year of its founding, the same as its Rock Island, Illinois Swedish-heritage sister school, Augustana College. It derives ...

, located in

Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up ...

, in

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

intercollegiate sports. The Vikings compete as members of the

Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the western Midwestern United States. Nine of its ...

for all 14 varsity sports. The Vikings joined the NSIC from the

North Central Conference The North Central Conference (NCC), also known as North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, was a college athletic conference which operated in the north central United States. It participated in the NCAA's Division II. History The NCC ...

, which folded in 2008. In December 2018 Augustana announced its intentions to transition to NCAA Division I by 2030 at the latest. However, they had hoped to receive a bid to join a conference by 2020, according to Sioux Falls newspaper ''The Argus Leader''. Multiple regional media reports in 2018 indicated that Augustana's likeliest Division I destination was the Sioux Falls-based

Summit League The Summit League, or The Summit, is an NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletic conference with its membership mostly located in the Midwestern United States from Illinois on the East of the Mississippi River to the Dakotas and Nebraska on the W ...

. Many of the school's boosters are tied to

Sanford Health Sanford Health is a non-profit, integrated health care delivery system, with its headquarters in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with additional offices in Fargo and Bismarck, North Dakota, and Bemidji, Minnesota. History Sanford Health has its ...

, a hospital company also based in Sioux Falls that has long been a major sponsor of the Summit League. The conference moved its headquarters in 2018 to an office complex owned by Sanford. On May 22, 2020, the Summit League commissioner, Tom Douple, informed Augustana president

Stephanie Herseth Sandlin Stephanie Marie Herseth Sandlin (born December 3, 1970) is an American attorney, university administrator, and politician from the Democratic Party. She served in the United States House of Representatives for from 2004 until 2011. Sandlin was ...

that the conference would not be adding more new teams "at this time."

Varsity sports

List of teams

Men's sports * Baseball * Basketball * Cross Country * Football * Golf * Ice Hockey (starting 2023) * Tennis * Track & Field * Wrestling * Soccer (NIRSA) Women's sports * Basketball * Cross Country * Golf * Soccer * Softball * Swimming * Tennis * Track & Field * Volleyball

NCAA Division II National Championships

* 1991 – Softball * 2011 – Women's Cross Country * 2016 – Men's Basketball * 2018 – Baseball * 2019 – Softball

Football

On September 26, 2007, it was officially announced that Bob and Kari Hall were making a $7.1 million donation for an on-campus football stadium. The stadium is to bear the name

The Bob Jr ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

in honor of Kari Hall's parents. Construction began on November 12, 2007 with the official groundbreaking taking place on November 16, 2007. Augustana University recently completed the Hall Football Complex; complete with its own locker rooms, weight room, and football meeting rooms. The head football coach is Jerry Olszewski. Augustana players who have had significant NFL careers include

Les Josephson Lester Andrew Josephson (July 29, 1942 – January 1, 2020) was an American professional football running back in the National Football League for the Los Angeles Rams. He played college football at Augustana College. Early years Josephson's fo ...

(

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

–),

Bryan Schwartz Bryan Schwartz (born December 5, 1971 in St. Lawrence, South Dakota) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second round of the 1995 NFL Draft. He played colleg ...

(

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

–

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

Corbin Lacina Corbin James Lacina (born November 2, 1970) is a former American football offensive lineman and Midwest Emmy award-winning sports broadcaster who played eleven seasons in the National Football League, mainly for the Buffalo Bills and Minnesota ...

(

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

–

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

Kevin Kaesviharn Kevin Robert Kaesviharn (born August 29, 1976) is a former American football safety. He was signed by the Iowa Barnstormers as a street free agent in 1998. He played college football at Augustana. Kaesviharn was also a member of the San Franci ...

(

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

–

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

), and

C. J. Ham Cortez Thaddeus Ham Jr. (born July 22, 1993) is an American football fullback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He went undrafted in the 2016 NFL Draft. He played college football at Augustana. High school care ...

(

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

–present). The Vikings have appeared in the NCAA Division II Playoffs 6 times. Their combined record is 1–6.

Wrestling

In 1976–77, 2004–05, and 2009–10, the Augustana wrestling team finished second in the NCAA Division II Championship. The

Elmen Center The Elmen Center is the former basketball arena and hosts volleyball games for the Augustana University Vikings in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It is located on the Augustana campus. The Elmen Center seats approximately 4,000 fans. The building is als ...

serves as the home for both the volleyball team and the wrestling team.

Men's Basketball

In 2015–16 the men's basketball team coached by

Tom Billeter Tom Billeter (born February 12, 1961) is an American college basketball coach, currently the head coach at Augustana University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He previously has been the head coach at North Dakota State University, as well as holdin ...

finished the season 34–2 and won the NCAA Division II National Championship. On November 6, 2015 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in

Iowa City Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...

, the Vikings upset the

Iowa Hawkeyes The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 22 sports, 8 for men and 14 for women; a 15th women's sport will be added in 2023. The teams partici ...

of the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

76–74 in an exhibition game on a buzzer-beating right-handed jumper by Daniel Jansen. Led by Jansen, the

's Player of the Year, the Vikings were 21–1 in the Northern Sun, then won the NSIC tournament title and captured the Central Regional title with an 80–78 victory over Northwest Missouri State to qualify for the Elite Eight, which was played at

Dr Pepper Arena Comerica Center (previously Deja Blue Arena and Dr Pepper Arena) is a multi-purpose arena in Frisco, Texas. It is the home of the Texas Legends of the NBA G League and the Frisco Fighters of the Indoor Football League, as well as the executive o ...

Frisco, Texas Frisco is a city in Collin and Denton counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and about from both Dallas Love Field and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Its population was 200,509 at the 2 ...

. Augustana defeated

Lincoln Memorial The Lincoln Memorial is a U.S. national memorial built to honor the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is on the western end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., across from the Washington Monument, and is in the ...

90–81 in the championship game on March 26. Augustana's Arvid Kramer and

Brett Szabo Brett Leon Szabo (born in Postville, Iowa) is a retired American professional basketball player. Career Szabo graduated from Postville High School, where he had played basketball, baseball and golf, in 1986. He was inducted into Postville’s ...

both played in the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

. The Vikings have appeared in the NCAA Division II Tournament 15 times. Their combined record is 19–17. They were National Champions in 2016.

Women's Basketball

The 2012–13 women's basketball team played at

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight. The Vikings have appeared in the NCAA Division II Tournament 14 times. Their combined record is 12–14. The

Sanford Pentagon The Sanford Pentagon (colloquially known as The Pentagon) is an indoor arena located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Pentagon opened in September 2013 and has a seating capacity of 3,250 spectators. It hosts the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA G ...

and the

serve as the home court for the men's and women's basketball teams.

Baseball

The 2018 Augustana baseball team won the

College World Series, defeating Columbus State 3–2 in the final. They finished the year 52–9, a school record.

Ice Hockey

On October 5, 2021 Augustana University announced that it will add men's ice hockey starting in the fall of 2023. The team will compete at the NCAA Division I level in the CCHA. The announcement was made at the groundbreaking ceremony for

Midco Arena The Midco Arena in Sioux Falls, South Dakota is a planned 3,082-seat ice hockey arena on the campus of Augustana University. The arena broke ground on October 5, 2021. History Plans for Augustana University to begin playing varsity ice hockey be ...

which will serve as the team's home.

References

Augustana (SD) Football

NCAA Division II Football playoffs jonfmorse.com

2013 NCAA manual

NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament jonfmorse.com

Augustana (SD) Men's Basketball

NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament jonfmorse.com

Augustana (SD) Women's Basketball
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