Augustana (South Dakota) Vikings
| Augustana University Vikings | |
|---|---|
| Logo | |
| University | Augustana University |
| Conference | Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference |
| NCAA | Division II |
| Athletic director | Josh Morton |
| Location | Sioux Falls, South Dakota |
| Varsity teams | 14 |
| Football stadium | Kirkeby-Over Stadium |
| Basketball arena | Elmen Center/Sioux Falls Arena |
| Baseball stadium | Karras Park |
| Softball stadium | Bowden Field |
| Soccer stadium | Morstad Field |
| Other venues | Sanford Gymnasium |
| Nickname | Vikings |
| Colors | Navy and gold[1] |
| Website | www |
The Augustana Vikings are the athletic teams that represent Augustana University, located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Vikings compete as members of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference for all 14 varsity sports. The Vikings joined the NSIC from the North Central Conference, which folded in 2008.
Varsity sports
List of teams
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Men's sports
|
Women's sports
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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[2] 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. This makes Augustana University one of the premier Division II colleges in the area in terms of facilities. The head football coach is Jerry Olszewski.
Wrestling
In 1976–77, 2004–05, and 2009–10, the Augustana wrestling team finished second in the NCAA Division II Championship. The Elmen Center serves as the home for both the volleyball team and the wrestling team.
Basketball
In 2015–16 the men's basketball team coached by Tom Billeter finished the season 34-2 and won the NCAA Division II National Championship. On November 6, 2015 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, the Vikings upset the Iowa Hawkeyes of the Big Ten Conference 76-74 in an exhibition game on a buzzer-beating right-handed jumper by Daniel Jansen.[3] Led by Jansen, the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference's Player of the Year,[4][5][6][7] 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. Augustana defeated Lincoln Memorial 90-81 in the championship game on March 26.[8] Augustana's Arvid Kramer[9][10][11][12] and Brett Szabo[13] both played in the NBA.
The 2012–13 women's basketball team played at San Antonio in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight.
The Sioux Falls Arena serves as the home court for the men's and women's basketball teams.
Baseball
The 2018 Augustana baseball team won the NCAA Division II College World Series, defeating Columbus State 3-2 in the final. They finished the year 52-9, a school record.[14]
NCAA Division I
While nothing is definite at this time, there is much talk and a strong push by certain parties within Sioux Falls, more specifically Sanford Health for Augustana to move to the NCAA Division I. They wish for the Vikings to join The Summit League to rejoin old North Central Conference rivals, SDSU, USD, UND, NDSU, and UNO (Omaha). While this is just speculation right now, it seems the dominoes are lining up for this to happen in the near future, i.e. fast growing city, growing athletic department, Summit League offices recently moving to Sioux Falls, very big financial backing by Sanford and other businesses etc. A big question mark would be what would Augie do with the sports the Summit League does not sponsor, such as football and wrestling. Many have suggested the answer for football would be to move to a Division I FCS non-scholarship model and join the Pioneer Football League with members of the likes of Drake, Valparaiso, Butler and Dayton. This would be a better option opposed to dropping the sport since the have recently built a new football facility in Kirkeby-Over Stadium (2009), Which seats 6,500.
References
- ^ "Augustana University Athletics Quick Facts". Retrieved February 13, 2017.
- ^ "Site Work on Kirkeby-Over Stadium to Begin Monday". Augie.edu. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
- ^ "Vikings stun Iowa with buzzer beater by Jansen in exhibition finale". goaugie.com.
- ^ "High ambitions led Jansen to become Augustana career scoring leader". siouxcityjournal.com. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
- ^ "Dan Jansen leaves mark as one of the best to ever play at Augustana". argusleader.com. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
- ^ "Augustana's Daniel Jansen named 2016 Division II National Player of the Year by the NABC". basketballcatalyst.com. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
- ^ "Augustana's Daniel Jansen Named NSIC Player of the Year". keloland.com. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
- ^ "Augustana wins 2016 NCAA Division II men's basketball championship". NCAA.com. Retrieved 2016-05-17.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2004-07-08. Retrieved 2004-07-08.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Arvid Kramer Stats".
- ^ http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050624/news_m1sc24kramer.html
- ^ https://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/24/sports/miami-chooses-who-first.html
- ^ "Brett Szabo Stats".
- ^ "Augustana Baseball Wins 2018 National Championship". goaugie.com.
External links
