Augustana College and Theological Seminary (Rock Island, Ill.). Augustana College Athletic Association
Augustana College and Theological Seminary (Rock Island, Ill.). Board of Control of Athletics
Augustana College (Rock Island, Ill.). Department of Physical Education
Augustana College (Rock Island, Ill.). Tribe of Vikings

English

There are no restrictions on the use of this collection.

Augustana College (Rock Island, Ill.)
Augustana College (Rock Island, Ill.)--Students.
College students--Recreation.
College sports--United States.
College sports for women--United States.
Intramural sports--United States.
College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin.

Helen Reinold, 2011. Updated by Julia G. Westblade, 2012. Revised by Rachel Bruce, 2012.

Augustana College Special Collections
Thomas Tredway Library
639 38th Street
Rock Island, Illinois 61201
309-794-7643
specialcollections@augustana.edu

 The Tribe of Vikings Hall of Fame sketches and CDs are donated to Special Collections each year by Dave Wrath.

Athletics and physical education at Augustana College date back to 1873, when the college was still located in Paxton, Illinois. T.N. Hasselquist, a faculty member, noted in a letter that students lacked exercise. It was not until the college moved to Rock Island, however, that formal athletic teams and organizations were formed. There the college had access to better facilities, so local physicians were employed to offer gymnastics classes. The first football team was organized in 1893 and operated without regulation. In that same year, students petitioned the Board of Directors for repairs on the old gymnasium hall, or for the construction of a new building altogether. Between 1894 and 1895, the old hall was torn down and the new gymnasium was built.
The Augustana College Athletic Association was organized in 1899. Its stated purpose was to facilitate “the promotion of all healthful exercises at the institution.” In its first year the club had 100 active members, including both students and faculty members. The Association oversaw all of the college’s sports clubs and teams, including basketball, gymnastics, baseball, football, and the bicycle club. Its early goals were to hire an athletic director, to buy equipment for the gymnasium, and to raise money for a swimming pool.
Though there was no formal department, physical education classes were first offered in 1894. In 1897, the Ladies Physical Culture Class was established to offer female students a chance to exercise. By 1900 the college had drawn up rules and regulations for athletic clubs and teams. Managers or captains of teams had to get approval from the specially formed Faculty Committee of Athletics in order to compete against other colleges. The committee also scheduled the use of the gymnasium for practices and games. Teams were only allowed to compete against other colleges, and any student reported as delinquent in their studies could not participate in any athletic group. The Board of Control of Athletics was established in 1901. It was responsible for overseeing the intercollegiate sports teams, scheduling games and matches, and judging the eligibility of the athletes. The first complete football season was in 1902, and the first track and field meet was in 1903.
In June 1905 the Augustana Synod placed a ban on college baseball, basketball, and football, due to the injuries the sports caused and the “immoral behavior” they encouraged. Students at Augustana responded negatively, especially regarding basketball. In 1906, 157 students signed a petition to reinstate intercollegiate basketball, but were refused by the Board of Directors. On October 23, 1906, over 100 members of the student body staged a violent demonstration in favor of basketball. The crowd marched to the houses of four professors, chanting and shouting insults. A portion of the crowd broke off and followed two Board members to the Rock Island train station, where they were boarding a train to Omaha. Students entered the coach and shouted at the men for several minutes. Some of the students assaulted the Board members by hitting them with drum sticks, pulling on their coat tails, and pinching them. The college punished all members of the demonstration severely, and at least seventy two students were suspended for one week. The student body continued to send petitions to the Synodical Council every year and in 1910 basketball and baseball were reinstated. Football was reinstated by the Board of Directors in 1917. As a result of the ban, students formed other clubs, including the Olympic Gymnastic Club, the Tennis Association, and the Terfing Fencing Club.    
The Tribe of Vikings was formed in 1927. It was originally a student group that functioned to recognize men who had earned their letters in a varsity sport. Eventually, the group evolved into an alumni association, and began inducting athletes into the Hall of Fame. 
The Department of Physical Education was established in 1912, under the name Department of Physical Training. It was listed in the college catalog with student organizations and was mainly responsible for fulfilling the students’ athletics requirement. Students had to complete two hours of exercise a week under the supervision of an instructor. In 1930 the department was first listed with the academic departments. The Physical Education major and minor first became available in 1947, listed in the Social Studies category. The major was expanded in the 1970s and 80s to include specializations in coaching, teaching, and sports and fitness management. 2000 was the last year Physical Education was offered as a major at Augustana. Since then, the department has mainly offered activity courses, which count towards the student athletic requirement.
The college was a member of the “Little 19” conference until 1937, when it and nine others withdrew to form the College Conference of Illinois (and later, Wisconsin). Conference sports included football, basketball, wrestling, swimming, baseball, track and field, tennis, and golf. At the time, there were no intercollegiate sports available for women, who could only participate in intramural sports. The first intercollegiate varsity sports for women became available in the 1970s, and included swimming, basketball, tennis, and volleyball. A varsity gymnastics team was added in 1974, the same year that the first Women’s Athletic Director was hired. The Roy J. Carver Center for Physical Education was completed in 1971, and was responsible for creating new interest in conference and intramural sports, physical education, and general recreation. Also during this time, the college became a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, Division III. Conference sports expanded, and by 2010 the college offered eleven women’s varsity and twelve men’s varsity teams. Eight club sports were available, including crew, equestrian team, rugby, and cheerleading. Thirty three intramural sports were offered, including badminton, bowling, dodgeball, mini golf, table tennis, and euchre.      

The Collection on Augustana Athletics and Physical Education includes meeting minutes and record books from several early athletic clubs, departmental records, sports schedules and brochures, sweaters and jerseys, and sketches of the Tribe of Vikings Hall of Fame inductees. It encompasses 12.84 linear feet and includes documents from 1889 to 2011. It is divided into two series: Department of Physical Education and Athletics

The Department of Physical Education (1899-1933) series contains two subseries: Department Records (1949-1965) and Publications (1936-1983). The Department Records subseries contains the Physical Education Club Charter (1949) and Department objectives (1965). The Publications subseries contains a Physical Education pamphlet from 1936, a Women's P. E. Majors and Minors newsletter from 1963, and P. E. major/minor pamphlets (1977-1983).

The Athletics (1899-2011) series contains nine subseries: Augustana Athletic Association (1899-1913 and undated), Board of Control of Athletics (1902-1974), Club and Intramural Sports (1906-1920 and undated), Women's Athletics (1924-1936 and undated), Protests and Scandals (1906, 1958),Publications (1937-2011 and undated), Athletic Events (1923-2009), Athletic Uniforms (1930-1938 and undated), and Tribe of Vikings (1935-2010).

The Augustana Athletic Association subseries contains invitations and rules from 1899, meeting minutes (1899-1913), and a scrapbook.

The Board of Control of Athletics subseries contains meeting minutes (1902-1974) and the 1912-1913 treasury report.

The Clubs and Intramural Sports subseries contains six sub-subseries: Terfing Fencing Club (1906-1907), Augustana Tennis Association (1913-1919), Academy Athletics (1914-1915), Olymipic Gymnastic Club (1915-1920), Intramural Sports (undated), and Pompoms Club (1968). The Terfing Fencing Club sub-subseries contains minutes and correspondence from the 1906-1907 school year. The Augustana Tennis Association sub-subseries contains membership rolls (1913-1919) and financial records (1919). The Academy Athletics sub-subseries contains financial reports and athletic schedules from 1914-1915. The Olympic Gymnastics Club sub-subseries contains secretary's records from 1915-1920. The Intramural Sports sub-subseries contains an undated intramural handbook.

The Protests and Scandals subseries includes information about the 1906 protests by students against the ban on sports, particularly basketball and correspondence regarding the 1958 incident in Rockford in which Augustana's basketball was accused of not playing to their full potential.

The Women's Athletics subseries contains three sub-subseries: Augustana Girls Athletic Association (1924-1933), Women's Athletic Association (1935-1936), and Kat's Klaws (undated). The Augustana Girls Athletic Association sub-subseries contains a record book from 1924-1933. The Women's Athletics Association contains minutes from the 1935-1936 school year. The Kat's Klaws sub-subseries contains an undated newsletter.

The Publications subseries contains eighteen sub-subseries: General Athletics (1960-2011), "Sports News from Augustana College" (1983-2011), Baseball (1970-1999), Men's Basketball (1906-1999), Women's Basketball (1987-1999), Men's Cross Country (1973-1998), Women's Cross Country (1979-1998), Football (1934-1999 and undated), Golf (1970-1989), Men's Soccer (1980-1998), Women's Soccer (1994-1998), Softball (1980-1999), Swimming (1970-1999 and undated), Tennis (1970-1999 and undated), Track and Field (1941-1999 and undated), Volleyball (1980-1999), and Wrestling (1963-1999). The General Athletics sub-subseries contains CCIW materials, press books, publicity brochures, an athletic handbook from 1968, brochures and guides about athletics at Augustana, sports schedules, and sports statistics. "Sports News from Augustana College" is a newsletter which summarizes highlights of each sporting season. This sub-subseries contains issues from 1983 to 2011. Each individual varsity sport has its own sub-subseries, each of which contains various programs, clippings, brochures, and guides.

The Athletic Events subseries (1923-2009)contains information on athletic banquets, the Vking Olympics from the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the 1973 NAIA men's basketball tournament, and the 2009 Paul Olsen Track dedication.

The Athletic Uniforms subseries consists of a 1930s varsity letter sweater, an All-American sweater from 1938, a 1920s women's basketball jersey, and two undated letter sweaters.

The Tribe of Vikings subseries (1935-2010) contains pencil sketches and digital scans of those inducted into the Hall of Fame as well as the newsletter published by the alumni association.

The collection is arranged chronologically within each series with undated materials at the end of the series. Undated documents are organized alphabetically by title.

MSS 216 Flavius Sten scrapbook