MOORHEAD, Minn. (3/14/08)-- The Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn., community is mourning the loss of legendary coach Edwin “Sonny” Gulsvig who passed away at his home on Thursday, March 13. He was 79 years old. Gulsvig was one of the most recognizable figures at Concordia. He was the longtime men’s basketball coach and also served as the head baseball coach, assistant football coach and sports information director. Gulsvig graduated from Concordia in 1950 and coached at the school from 1955 through 1991 before being inducted into the Concordia Athletics Hall of Fame in 1995. There will be a memorial gathering on Sunday, Mar. 16 from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m. in Memorial Auditorium on the campus of Concordia College. The memorial service will be held on Monday, Mar. 17 at 11 a.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church in Moorhead.

“Sonny was the grandfather of the athletic department,” says Concordia athletic director Larry Papenfuss. “He was one of the fortunate coaches at the college level to reach legendary status while still living. He embodied the tradition and mission of Concordia. He was full of life and was an inspiration to be around. He will be sorely missed.”

Gulsvig coached the Cobber men’s basketball team from 1955 to 1978 and is still the all-time winningest coach in program history. He compiled 237 wins in his 23 seasons and coached numerous All-Conference and All-Region players. He also finished his career with 153 MIAC victories. His best season came in 1959 when the Cobbers went 11-5 in the conference and finished second.

Gulsvig came to Concordia in 1946 as an undergraduate student. He went on to earn nine varsity letters before graduating in 1950 with a degree in economics, physical education and health. He returned to Concordia in 1955 after spending time in the Army as well as coaching and teaching at the high school level.

He was the head baseball coach for two seasons in 1963 and 1964 and spent 20 years as either the head coach or assistant coach for the team. He was also an assistant football coach for 36 years and was the school’s sports information director for 16 years.

Gulsvig married Marcella Summers in 1952. They have four children (Penny ’75, Kris ’77, Kathy and Chuck ’79) who all attended Concordia. Kris was inducted into the Concordia Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004, while Chuck is the longtime boys’ basketball coach at Moorhead High School and Penny is married to Cobber baseball coach Bucky Burgau.

After retiring in 1991, Gulsvig earned professor emeritus status. He was a fixture at all the college and high school basketball events held at Concordia and kept in close contact with the baseball team. He was heavily involved in church and community activities and was active as a speaker and broadcaster around the region.

Concordia College is a four-year liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America offering 78 majors, including 18 honors majors, and 12 preprofessional programs.