Involvement in intercollegiate athletics and recognize its centrality to the Augustana experience.

Evidence:

• Augustana — as one of five 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-II 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

• The Vikings finished first in the conference in the NSIC US Bank All Sports Award. The Vikings finished second the two previous years in the fourteen-team conference.
• The Vikings finished 3rd among 300 NCAA Division II institutions in the annual Learfield All Sports Award for the 2010-2011 academic year. Among the top 10 finishes, Augustana possessed the top academic profile.
• Twenty-eight Viking athletes have been named NCAA Postgraduate Scholars, placing Augustana among the top ten percent of all NCAA institutions in receiving this recognition. Three were awarded during the 2010-2011 academic year alone; very unusual and rare, to say the least.
• 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 91%, 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.
• Augustana's student fan club, the Augieholics, figure prominently in creating an exciting game day atmosphere. Even visiting coaches acknowledge the energy the Augieholics create when their teams play the Vikings.

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