海角社区 announced today that Athletic Director Jeff Swenson 鈥�79 will step down at the end of May 2025. A six-time national wrestling coach of the year, Swenson led the Augsburg athletic program through a period of unprecedented growth, improvement and athletic success while prioritizing equity, inclusion, and academic excellence.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to overstate Jeff Swenson鈥檚 impact on intercollegiate athletics at Augsburg over the past five decades,鈥� said Augsburg President Paul C. Pribbenow. 鈥淚t can鈥檛 be measured solely in statistics or even championships, impressive as those numbers may be. Jeff鈥檚 true legacy is the generations of student-athletes who found identity, purpose, and belonging through athletics under his leadership.鈥�
Swenson has been a vital part of the Augsburg community since 1975. As a student-athlete, he was a standout wrestler, winning an individual national championship in 1979. He joined the Augsburg athletics staff after graduating and was named men鈥檚 wrestling head coach in 1980. In 25 seasons as head coach (1980鈥�84 and 1986鈥�2007), Swenson led the Auggies to a record 10 NCAA Division III national championships and 20 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference team titles. He was named MIAC Coach of the Year 13 times and NWCA National Coach of the Year six times. In 2002, Wrestling USA Magazine named Swenson National College Coach of the Year.聽
Swenson also served as an assistant football coach for 10 seasons and director of the alumni office before moving into athletics administration in 2001 and becoming athletic director in 2007. During his tenure, Augsburg鈥檚 student-athletes have consistently performed at the highest level in and out of the classroom, earning a 3.17 average GPA in 2023鈥�24. Since 2001, 42 Auggies have received Academic All-American honors from College Sports Communicators, considered the highest academic award in college athletics.聽
Over that same period, Augsburg teams won 32 MIAC team championships, received 83 berths in MIAC postseason playoffs with nine playoff titles, and appeared in NCAA Division III national tournaments 18 times. Augsburg was the first university in Minnesota to add women’s lacrosse as a varsity sport (in 2012), and is the only four-year college in the state to currently offer women’s wrestling.聽
鈥淎s we celebrate 100 years of Augsburg athletics, and having been a part of athletics here for nearly 50 years, counting my undergraduate years, my family and I felt that the time was right to make a transition,鈥� Swenson said. 鈥淚鈥檓 looking forward to helping Augsburg transition to the next athletic administrative team, and finishing up our fundraising for the men鈥檚 locker room project and other university priorities. I鈥檓 excited to watch 海角社区 and our athletic program continue to improve, grow, and prosper in the future.鈥�
Under Swenson鈥檚 leadership, Augsburg invested in significant upgrades to athletics facilities, including the completion of new classroom, locker room, fitness center, and wrestling center facilities in the Kennedy Center; the completion a new sports medicine center and renovation of the women鈥檚 locker room in Si Melby Hall; new turf and dome at Edor Nelson Field; and updates to the Augsburg Ice Arena. From mentoring young coaches to strengthening alumni connections, Swenson also made it a priority to invest in people, strengthening the community of support for Augsburg student-athletes long past graduation.聽
鈥淛eff embodies integrity, honesty, and sportsmanship鈥攁ll values we hope to instill in our student-athletes as they develop into engaged citizens and leaders in their communities. We are grateful beyond words for his extraordinary commitment and faithful service to Augsburg,鈥� said Pribbenow.
鈥淢y goal has always been to provide the best possible experience for our student-athletes and to improve one percent each day in everything we do. I hope we鈥檝e accomplished that in the areas I鈥檝e had the opportunity to be part of at Augsburg during the last five decades,鈥� said Swenson.聽
Following his transition next May, Swenson will assume a special assistant role in Augsburg鈥檚 Office of the President. A national search for his successor will commence in early 2025.