Augustana University Vikings Women's Basketball
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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 deri ...
, located in
Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls ( ) is the List of cities in South Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the List of United States cities by population, 117th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha Coun ...
, in
NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the 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 environment ...
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 Upper Midwest of the United States. Nine of ...
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.


Project 2030

In December 2018, as part of a plan called "Project 2030", Augustana announced its intentions to transition to
NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...
by 2030 at the latest, with hopes to receive a bid to join a Division I conference by 2020. 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 Minnesota in the east, to the Dakotas, Nebraska and Colorado to the West, and Mis ...
. Many of the school's boosters are tied to
Sanford Health Sanford Health is a nonprofit, integrated health care delivery system headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with additional offices in Fargo and Bismarck, North Dakota, and Bemidji, Minnesota. History Sanford Health has its roots in ...
, a hospital company also based in Sioux Falls that has long been a major sponsor of the Summit League. Additionally, 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 represented in the United States House of Representatives from 2004 until 2011. Sandlin wa ...
that the conference would not be adding the Vikings. Despite the snub from the Summit League, Augustana launched a Division I men's ice hockey program in 2023, marking their first Division I sport. As of 2024, plans for a transition to Division I in sports outside hockey have effectively ended. Summit League commissioner Josh Fenton stated in an interview that they have not had discussions about adding Augustana anymore, partially due to the school's pivot towards Division I hockey, a sport the Summit League does not sponsor. Additionally, the university stated they are no longer actively pursuing any Division I all-sports conferences, instead opting to focus on their Division I hockey program.


Varsity sports


National championships


NCAA

*
1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...
– Softball * 2011 – Women's Cross Country * 2016 – Men's Basketball * 2018 – Baseball * 2019 – Softball


Individual programs


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 Kirkeby-Over Stadium 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 The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...
careers include Les Josephson (
Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...
–), Bryan Schwartz (
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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...
1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...
1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
),
Corbin Lacina Corbin James Lacina (born November 2, 1970) is an American former professional football offensive lineman and Midwest Emmy award-winning sports broadcaster who played eleven seasons in the National Football League (NFL), mainly for the Buffalo B ...
(
1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...
2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...
),
Kevin Kaesviharn Kevin Robert Kaesviharn (born August 29, 1976) is a former American football Safety (American football position), safety. He was signed by the New York Dragons, Iowa Barnstormers as a street free agent in 1998. He played college football at Augus ...
(
2001 The year's most prominent event was 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. The United States led a Participan ...
2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
), and C. J. Ham (
Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...
–present). The Vikings have appeared in the NCAA Division II Playoffs 8 times. Their combined record is 2–8.


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 al ...
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 at Emporia State University in Emporia, Kansas. He previously has been the head coach at Augustana University (SD), North Dakota State University, as well as holding a ...
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 is the largest city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. At the time of the 2020 census the population was 74,828, making it the state's fifth-most populous city. The Iowa City metropolitan area, which enc ...
, the Vikings upset the
Iowa Hawkeyes The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 20 sports, 7 for men and 13 for women; The teams participate in Division I of the Nati ...
of the
Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...
76–74 in an exhibition game on a buzzer-beating right-handed jumper by Daniel Jansen. Led by Jansen, 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 Upper Midwest of the United States. Nine of ...
'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 in
Frisco, Texas Frisco is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Collin County, Texas, Collin and Denton County, Texas, Denton counties. It is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex (DFW) and about from both Dallas Love Field and Dallas/Fort Worth In ...
. Augustana defeated
Lincoln Memorial The Lincoln Memorial is a List of national memorials of the United States, U.S. national memorial honoring Abraham Lincoln, the List of presidents of the United States, 16th president of the United States, located on the western end of the Nati ...
90–81 in the championship game on March 26. Augustana's
Arvid Kramer Arvid Kramer (born October 3, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, mostly known for being the first overall pick by the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the 1988 expansion draft at the age of 31, ...
and Brett Szabo both played in the
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
. 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 San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight. The Vikings have appeared in the NCAA Division II Tournament 15 times. Their combined record is 12–15. 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 ...
and 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 al ...
serve as the home court for the men's and women's basketball teams.


Baseball

The 2018 Augustana baseball team won the
NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the 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 environment ...
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 plans to add men's ice hockey starting in the fall of 2023. The team competes at the NCAA Division I level in the CCHA. The announcement was made at the groundbreaking ceremony for
Midco Arena Midco Arena in Sioux Falls, South Dakota is a 3,082-seat ice hockey arena on the campus of Augustana University. The arena broke ground on October 5, 2021 and opened as the permanent home of the Augustana Vikings men's ice hockey team on Januar ...
which will serves as the team's home. The Vikings are coached by Garrett Raboin.


Awards and Honors

* Kendall Cornick - 2021
NCAA Woman of the Year Award The NCAA Woman of the Year Award was created to honor senior female student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate career in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership. Each year ...


References


External links

* {{Dakota Sports