We celebrate ...
Involvement in intercollegiate athletics and recognize its centrality to the Augustana experience.
Evidence:
- Augustana—as one of four private NCAA Division II colleges in the upper Midwest—possesses the best academic profile of entering first-year students and one of the best in the nation among D-2 institutions. It ranks first of fourteen in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
- Augustana ranks in the top 10 of all NCAA Division II colleges in average attendance for men’s and women’s basketball, football and volleyball.
“Augustana’s celebration of athletics accompanies its tremendous academic program to provide an exemplar of what a student-athlete is looking for. Recent additions to the academic buildings and the outstanding renovations to the athletic facilities have helped Augustana to stand out as one of the premier NCAA Division II institutions--academically and athletically--in the nation. The faculty and staff here are not only understanding of athletic endeavors, but support our efforts 100%, creating not only a bridge between the student-athletes' main endeavors, but also a community that celebrates the student-athlete."
Jason Donnelly (‘09)
Elk Point, SD
Elementary Education
- Augustana produced 577 Academic All-Conference athletes during its 66 year membership in the North Central Conference.
- In the past 16 years alone, 42 student-athletes have earned Academic All-American honors.
- 25 Viking athletes have been named NCAA Postgraduate Scholars, placing Augustana among the top ten percent of all NCAA institutions in receiving this recognition.
- On average, one in five Viking athletes will be named to the Dean’s List annually.
- The NCAA requires all member institutions to calculate and report graduation rates of its student-athletes. This calculation is called the Academic Success Rate (ASR). Augustana’s ASR is 88%, significantly higher than the NCAA Division II average of 70%.
- Augustana has one of the finest athletic complexes for training and competition of any college or university in the upper Midwest.
- In the College's first year of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference competition, Augustana finished second among the Conference's 14 members in the NSIC/U.S. Bank All-Sports Award.
- Augustana's student fan club, the Augieholics, figure prominently in creating an exciting game day atmosphere. Even visiting coaches acknowledge the energy they create when they play the Vikings.