Rock Island Today

Just like most learning institutions, the coming of the new school year brings with it homecoming celebrations at Augustana College.

A different tradition recently took place at Augustana's homecoming game, however: the induction ceremonies for the Augustana "Tribe of Vikings" Hall of Fame, which take place each year as part of the school's homecoming festivities.

The Hall of Fame was started in 1977 by former athletic director Vince Lundeen. Originally called the "Hall of Honor," it was designed to bring notoriety to the college and its myriad of successful athletic programs and athletes. It also was designed to be unique.

"He had a vision that was a little different from a lot of Hall of Fames," Dave Wrath, sports information director at Augustana, told Rock Island Today. "What he did is he broke it down by years of graduation, so the very first Hall of Fame induction was on Feb. 19, 1977. We inducted people who graduated from the time that school started, which was in 1860 until 1919; that was the first class. In 1978, we took people from the classes of '20 to '29. In 1979, we went from '30 to '39, in 1980, we went from '40 to '49 and in 1981, we went from '50 to '59."

After inducting another class in 1982, Lundeen announced his retirement from the college, and with his departure, the "Hall of Honors" went on indefinite hiatus before being reopened 20 years later on Oct. 25, 2002, when it was officially renamed the Tribe of Vikings. The Hall picked up where it left off in inducting graduating periods, before instituting an open phase starting in 2009, in which the Hall committee went back and inducted anyone who had been left off the first time. 

The committee features nine voting members and consists solely of those within the Augustana College community. They include a faculty athletic representative, the registrar of the college and even several workers from the athletic office. Everyone on the committee has a deep Augustana tie.

With every letter winner in Augustana history technically eligible for the hall, the committee's main job is paring a list of up to 600 potential nominees each year. When deciding what names to keep, there are only a few tenets the committee follows.

"I learned a long time ago from a very successful football coach here at Augustana that you don't have too many rules because you might have to enforce one or two of them," Wrath said. "Our only rules are they have to be a graduate of Augustana and they have to have graduated at least 10 years from the time that they are inducted.  Anybody who has ever lettered at Augustana is eligible.  We only consider what you did at Augustana. While we might mention what people have done on the outside when we induct them, we're not supposed to consider that in the selection process ... We want to err on the side of not including somebody than on the side of including somebody who doesn't belong. As long as we are leaving quality people out, I have to believe that we're putting quality people in."

This year's induction class is certainly filled with the type of quality the committee searches for each year. Joe Wheeler was the College Conference of Illinois Wisconsin (CCIW) Defensive Player of the Year during his senior season in 1984 and helped lead the Vikings to their second consecutive NCAA Division III national championship.

Dave Linger was a three-time CCIW champion in the discus throw and also was the one-time school record holder in the event. During his time at the school from 1977-1981, he also made one national qualifier. 

Corey Christenson was Augustana's last three-sport letter winner, earning accolades in track and field, wrestling and football. He was a six-time All-American in track and field, and still holds the school's record in the pole vault to this day. He was also on conference champion squads in both the wrestling team, where he competed as a 158-pounder and won a CCIW title, and on the football team, where he played defense and handled the team's punting duties.

Joe Schmulbach is part of just the second father-and-son combination in the hall's history. Schmulbach's father, Tom, was a football coach at the school, while Joe played quarterback. Joe led the Vikings to two conference championships while also garnering first and second team All-CCIW recognition and being named CCIW Offensive Player of the Year during his senior season in 1999.

Sarah Ainsworth Fulcher won three CCIW singles championships in tennis, becoming the first player ever to achieve such a feat. Fulcher was at one time both the singles and doubles victory leader at Augustana, and to this day, she still holds the school doubles-wins record, with 83. Fulcher also helped lead Augustana to a CCIW championship. 

Patti Wenig Miller was a very versatile track athlete who held Augustana's school record in both the triple jump and in the 400-meter hurdles. Miller also was part of a record-setting 4x100-meter relay team, was twice named an All-American and had won multiple state titles before graduating in 1991.

The school honors the inductees by introducing them at halftime of the homecoming football game, then later on that night, there's a banquet dinner, where the actual induction takes place. Each year, it's an honor to the entire Augustana community to see such stellar athletes immortalized in the hall.

"We're very proud of our athletic program at Augustana at all levels," Wrath said. "And we believe that showcasing our athletes is something that's good for the institution. Every year, I'm amazed by the stories that they tell, and I'm amazed at the growth that they have shown after they left the school. Clearly, what we're trying to do is develop young people into successful adults, and we must be doing something right because I'm always amazed, and I'm never disappointed. "