News Archives - 2009
Swenson Wall of Fame dedicated
Augsburg will honor the legacy of its 10-time national championship wrestling program with the dedication of the Jeff Swenson Wrestling Wall of Fame prior to the No. 1-ranked Auggies' dual meet with No. 2-ranked Wartburg (Iowa) on Friday, Jan. 30 at the Si Melby Hall/Kennedy Center complex. The dedication will take place at 6 p.m., with the wrestling dual against Wartburg to follow at 7:30 p.m. There is also a high school dual meet between Albert Lea and Coon Rapids at 6 p.m. at Si Melby Hall.
The Jeff Swenson Wrestling Wall of Fame will contain more than 30 trophies earned by Augsburg wrestling squads from various national tournaments, along with other artifacts celebrating the rich history of Augsburg's wrestling program, considered one of the elite small-college wrestling programs in the nation.
Swenson, a 1979 Augsburg alum who now serves as the school's athletic director, coached the Auggie wrestlers for 25 years (1980-84, 1986-2007), building the squad into a national small-college wrestling powerhouse. Under Swenson's leadership, Augsburg won a record-10 NCAA Division III national championships and produced a career dual-meet record of 321-44 (.879 winning percentage). During his 25 years as head coach, Swenson coached 158 All-Americans and 39 individual national champions.
As a wrestler at Augsburg from 1975-79, Swenson produced a 102-17 competitive record, earning NAIA All-American honors three times (1977-78-79) and winning the national title at 167 pounds in 1979. He earned the school's senior Honor Athlete award in 1979 and was inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999.
Swenson has led Augsburg's 18-sport intercollegiate athletic program since 2001, when he was named Assistant Dean for Athletics and Recreation. In 2007, as part of a restructuring of the athletic department, Swenson's title was changed to Athletic Director. He is also serving as a wrestling assistant coach in 2008-09 under current head coach Mark Matzek.
For more information on the Jeff Swenson Wrestling Wall of Fame event, contact the Augsburg Alumni Relations office at 612-330-1085.
