I had a busy Saturday on campus, cheering for the Gusties at several home athletic events. Our football team finished their season with a decisive win over St. Olaf. Women’s and Men’s Hockey and Women’s Basketball all played home games. It was great fun to watch our students perform–on the field, on the ice, and on the court. As always, I was impressed with the exemplary effort and sportsmanship displayed by our student-athletes. We are fortunate at Gustavus to have athletic coaches who are dedicated to working with so many of our students, helping them to learn and grow as individuals and to perform their very best as teams.
- Gustavus now boasts 114 Academic All-Americans, which is the most in the MIAC and 12th most in NCAA Division III.
- Gustavus ranks in the top 10 for the most postgraduate scholars among all NCAA schools (Divisions I, II, and III), with 30 recipients in the last 15 years. Gustavus has had a total of 39 student athletes receive NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships since football player James Goodwin became the first in 1974.
- Gustavus has had 11 teams win national championships including gymnastics, men’s golf, men’s tennis, and women’s tennis.
- Men’s and women’s athletic teams have won 257 MIAC Championships and 56 league playoff titles since the conference was founded 100 years ago.
This year, approximately 600 students are on the rosters of our intercollegiate athletic teams, which is more than 25 percent of our total enrollment. Our coaches are tremendous recruiters and serve as critical members of our admission team. Over 40 percent of our incoming students have at least one interaction with a coach during their senior year in high school. That kind of personalized approach is often the deciding factor in a prospective student saying “yes” to Gustavus. Thank you, coaches, for your diligence in recruiting talented Gusties.