Concordia Sports - The First 100 Years by Finn Grinaker

"Concordia Men's Sports - The First One Hundred Years"
by Vernon Finn Grinaker
| Return to Index | Chapter 1 | 1903-1921 | 20's | 30's | 40's | 50's | 60' | 70's | 80's | 90's |
Chapter 8-- The 70's

| 1970-1971 | 1971-1972 | 1972-1973 | 1973-1974 | 1974-1975 | 1975-1976 | 1976-1977 | 1977-1978 | 1978-1979 | 1979-1980 |

In 1977 the MIAC changed its membership from the NAIA to NCAA Division III. Concordia also kept its membership in the NAIA until 1981. This was the year that Concordia won the NAIA national championship. Entry into the NCAA Division III brought some recruiting problems to the conference.

Under NAIA rules athletes were given special consideration in their financial aid package. NCAA Division III regulations mandated that athletes should be treated the same as other students in the student body.

1977 Football

The 1977 Cobber football team, under Coach Jim Christopherson, captured second place in the MIAC Conference race with a 5 - 2 record, with an overall mark of 7 - 2. Named to the All-Conference team were Barry Bennett, Mike Blum, and Allen Holm. Mike Johnson and Bob Beliveau received honorable mention. Team captains were Mike Blum, Mike Lien, and Barry Bennett.

Barry Bennett was selected to play in the annual East-West Shrine All-Star football game in San Francisco on December 31 — the first Cobber in history to receive this honor.

On the roster were Bob Quinn, Scott Borgsdahl, Dave Brutlag, Jeff Holter, Mike Lien, Curt Christianson, Mike Rowlette, Steve Atchison, Larry Seljevold, Paul Ludtke, Bob Beliveau, Bob Majeski, Paul Nellermoe, Dean Baldry, Lane Peterson, Dan McCann, Erik Salveson, Tom Bellefeuille, Dan Rosenfeldt, Jim Ostlund, Ken Helland, Greg Hruby, Mike Lee, Bob Bellefeuille, Dave Martinson, Jay Erickson, Steve Youso, Cam Enarson, Mike Johnson, Jeff Welker, Miles Gehlar, Dave Mickelsen, Tom Bartholemew, Mike Anderson, Steve Knutson, Steve Wonderlich, Scott Graves, Tim Hodel, Roy Plankers, Brad Paulson, Tom Myrin, Brad Struck, Neil Hecktner, Jim McLeod, Dave Verley, Paul Weida, Paul Barrick, Steve Dibb, Derek Johson, Rich Westland, Jim Carter, Tim Bye, Allen Holm, Barry Bennett, Mary Kumm, Tim Stroebe, Dave Hubbard, Mike Blum, Duane Bjelland, Randy Smith, Tom Luttio, John Price, Mark Jensen, John Rehkemp, Todd Rosengren, Dave Freeman, Dave Klug, Brian Howland, and Bob Shepley.

The season results were:
Concordia 10 Moorhead State 6
Concordia 10 UM - Morris 0
Concordia 97 Macalester 6
Concordia 9 Gustavus 7
Concordia 17 St. Olaf 6
Concordia 0 St. John’s 31
Concordia 3 Augsburg 7
Concordia 35 Hamline 6
Concordia 24 St. Thomas 21

Final standings in the MIAC were:
St. John’s 7 - 0 - 0
Concordia 5 - 2 - 0
Gustavus 5 - 2 - 0
St. Thomas 3 - 3 - 1
Augsburg 3 - 4 - 0
St. Olaf 2 - 4 - 1
Hamline 2 - 5 - 0
Macalester 0 - 7 - 0

Wide Receiver Dave Grinaker signed a bonus contract as a free agent with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He attended the rookie camp in May and the Steelers’ main training camp in July.

1977 Cross Country

The 1977 cross-country team was coached by Don Larson and included runners Mike Plante, Tenner Thompson, Ron Noyce, Kevin Mears, John Hagen, Mike Paul, Dave Bandy, Bruce McNeil, and John Mutschelknaus.

Meet scores were
Concordia 25 Wahpeton Science 30
Concordia 35 Valley City 37 Wahpeton Science 56
Concordia 56 NDSU 35 Moorhead State 31
MIAC Conference Meet: 5th place out of 9 teams

1977-78 Men's Basketball

The Cobber men’s basketball team in 1977 - 1978 performed unexpectedly well for the season. With only one senior on the roster, they managed an 8 - 10 conference mark for a fifth place tie with St. Olaf in Coach Sonny Gulsvig’s 23rd and final year as head coach. Their overall record was 9 - 16. Playing for Concordia were Mike Jones, Bruce Paulson, Dave Glaser, Joel Mittelstaedt, Eric Larsen, Chuck Gulsvig, Dan Brekke, Steve Johnson, Bob Dale, Mark Hagberg, Craig Flaagan, Kelby Krabbenhoft, Mark Lynne, and Brent Reichert.

The season’s results were:
Concordia 60 NDSU   64
Concordia 63 Northern State 60
Concordia 52 Moorhead State 71
Concordia 81 St. Mary’s 97
Concordia 67 NDSU   99
Concordia 56 Green Bay 66
Concordia 66 St. Norbert 73
Concordia 57 Hamline 53
Concordia 62 Macalester 52
Concordia 57 Gustavus 62
Concordia 68 Augsburg 77
Concordia 92 Macalester 76
Concordia 73 Gustavus 63
Concordia    Augsburg
Concordia 55 St. Olaf 63
Concordia 55 Moorhead State 73
Concordia 64 St. John’s 74
Concordia 53 Hamline 55
Concordia 77 Bethel   81
Concordia 68 St. Thomas 61
Concordia 74 St. Mary’s 71
Concordia 91 St. Olaf 68
Concordia 68 St. John’s 80

Sonny Gulsvig resigned as head basketball coach at the end of the 1977 - 1978 season, continuing on the physical education, health and athletic department’s coaching staff and teaching faculty. Gulsvig ended a 22-year career with the Cobber cagers.

1977-78 Hockey

Under the guidance of head coach Al Rice, the 1977 - 1978 hockey team finished the season with a 6 - 8 record in the conference, 11 - 16 overall. Nine of the Cobber’s 14 conference games were played on the road. Team captain was Jeff Frider and All-Conference honorees were

John Villalta and Rex Lewis with Jeff Frider, Dave Perry, and Ray Weisgarber receiving honorable mention.

Those on the hockey roster were Jim Froeber, Kevin Sorenson, Tom Samuelson, Sheldon Vatnsdal, Dave Thune, Al Griffith, John Willert, Kelly Wheeler, Tim Nickel, Jeff Frider, Ray Weisgarber, Dave Perry, Lionel Shmyr, John Villalta, Tony Hoops, Ed Monacelli, Frank Bellanger, Jim Nelson, Bruce Orehek, Brian Kines, Bob Hilderman, and Randy Beck.

The scores posted were:
Concordia 1 Bemidji State 5
Concordia 12 Iowa State 2
Concordia 7 Augsburg JV 1
Concordia 0 Gustavus 10
Concordia 4 St. Thomas 7
Concordia 6 St. John’s 7
Concordia 6 Superior 5
Concordia 4 Superior 8
Concordia 4 St. Cloud State 1
Concordia 9 St. Cloud State 10
Concordia 11 St. Mary’s 2
Concordia 5 St. Mary’s 3
Concordia 3 Bemidji State 6
Concordia 2 Winnipeg 10
Concordia 6 Winnipeg 5
Concordia 6 St. Olaf 4
Concordia 7 St. Olaf 5
Concordia 7 St. John’s 3
Concordia 2 Hamline 5
Concordia 9 Hamline 4
Concordia 6 St. Thomas 8
Concordia 2 St. Thomas 8
Concordia 3 Augsburg 7
Concordia 5 Augsburg 8
Concordia 3 St. John’s 4
Concordia 4 Gustavus 8
Concordia 2 Gustavus 13

1977-78 Wrestling

Heavyweight Barry Bennett was the standout wrestler for the 1977 - 1978 matmen, under Coach Finn Grinaker. Barry placed first in every tournament he entered and ended his career at Concordia with a 90 - 5 - 1 record, winning All-Conference and All-American honors. Others on the roster were Tim Bye, Brian Clark, Mike Clark, Chuck Flickinger, Vic Galfano, Tom Gruhlke, Steve Hanson, Randy Hanson, Gerald Howard, Mark Jensen, Jim McLeod, Jeff Poliak, Rob Pain, Craig Rothfuss, Ken Smith, Terrry Schrupp, Chuck Thompson, and Doug Tweet.

Results for the season were:
St. Cloud Tournament: 8th place out of 16 teams (Bennett - 1st place)
North Country Invitational: 2nd place out of 9 teams (Bennett - 1st place)
All-Lutheran Tournament: 4th place out of 9 teams (Bennett - 1st place)
MIAC Conference Meet: 3rd place out of 9 teams (Bennett - 1st place)
NCAA Division III Meet: 9th place out of 90 teams (Bennett - 1st place)
Dual Meet Record: 9 wins, 5 losses
Concordia 26 Valley City State 16
Concordia 28 Moorhead State 27
Concordia 13 North Dakota State 37
Concordia 28 St. Thomas 26
Concordia 20 St. John’s 31
Concordia 46 Northwestern College 10
Concordia 24 St. Olaf 21
Concordia 37 Gustavus 18
Concordia 12 Augsburg 36
Concordia 48 Bethel 0
Concordia 20 Bemidji State 21
Concordia 33 Hamline 9
Concordia 49 St. Mary’s 6
Concordia 21 UND 24

1978 Track

Ed Langsdorf returned as coach of the 1978 track team with Don Larson serving as assistant coach. Those on the track roster were Craig Dresser, Pete Hennum, Charlie Brown, John Hanson, Mike Ginter, Kevin Kinder, Bill Schrank, Paul, Ludtke, Rich Westland, Nate Hanson, Steve Fox, Curt Baldwin, John Burkhardt, Greg McIver, John Mutschelknaus, Kevin Mears, Tim Siegle, Greg Jurvy, Dave Bandy, Bob Bellefeuille, Mike Paul, Tom Myrin, Tenner Thompson, Scott Graves, Doug Nelson, Dave Mickelsen, Mike Ranum, Roy Plankers, Paul Brown, Mark Bruns, Dave Brunsvold, Mark Kollar, Arnie Benson, Bob Shepley, Bob Dale, Tom Nystuen, Ron Noyce, Jerry Monson, Dave Freeman, Larry Seljevold, and Dave Jones.

The Cobbers enjoyed “mild success,” setting new records and qualifying for the prestigious Drake Relays. Steve Fox set a school record in the 440-yard hurdles with a time of 52.8, beating the old record of 52.9 established by Dave Grinaker. Fox, an All-American hurdler, won first place in the event at the conference meet to defend his conference title.

Schedule for the season was:
US Track and Field Federation Meet: No team points kept
Intercity Meet: NDSU - 88 1/2, MSU - 64 1/2, Concordia - 28
Concordia 70 Jamestown 74
Concordia 112 Northern 32
Concordia 41 1/2 MSU 103 1/2
SDSU Invitational: No team points
Wildcat Invitational: 2nd place
Cougar Invitational: 2nd place
Northern Invitational: tie for 3rd place
Drake Relays: No team points
Al Cassell Relays: 5th place
Macalester Invitational: No team points
MIAC Conference Meet: 5th place out of 9 teams

1978 Tennis

Kent Stadum took over the reins for the 1978 tennis team which won 8 matches and lost 9. Competing on the team were Brent Reichert, John Snustad, Pete Simonson, Rodger Hagen, Chuck Olson, Steve Gabrielson, and Bob Lund. Brent Reichert led all individual singles with a
9 - 3 record. The Cobbers finished in 7th place in the conference.

A young and inexperienced team, the Concordia netmen faced tough competition and with all the players returning for the following year, a good season in 1979 was expected.

Season scores were:
Concordia 9 Moorhead State 0
Concordia 5 UND   4
Concordia 5 NDSU   4
Concordia 2 Northern Iowa 7
Concordia 1 Central (Iowa) 8
Concordia 4 Luther   5
Concordia 1 St. Thomas 8
Concordia 5 Northern State 4
Concordia 8 Bemidji State 1
Concordia 2 St. Olaf 7
Concordia 3 St. John’s 6
Concordia 1 UM - Duluth 8
Concordia 4 Mankato State 5
Concordia 4 UM - Duluth 5
Concordia 8 Moorhead State 1
Concordia 5 NDSU   4
Concordia 6 UND   3

1978 Baseball

Concordia’s 1978 baseball team, under Coach Al Rice, finished in sixth place to tie with Augsburg at 8 - 10 in the final conference standings. Overall, the Cobbers completed an 11 - 14 record. Outstanding pitching by Steve Atchison, junior from Moorhead and Greg Hruby, from Porter, MN, contributed to their success. Randy Hansen from Brainerd led the Cobber batsmen. Inclement weather forced many practices and the first three scheduled games to be canceled.

The baseball roster included Jay Fraley, Jeff Huguelet, Randy Hanson, Jeff Poliak, Brett Ulrich, Steve Atchison, Terry Kurash, Dean Levinski, Bob Quinn, Greg Hruby, Jeff Birch, Bob Gullick, Rocky Messerschmidt, Randy Smith, Brian Howland, Steve Laurion, and Tom Simon. Scores for the season were:

Concordia 7 Northern State 6
Concordia 7 Northern State 9
Concordia 1 NDSU   2
Concordia 5 NDSU   6
Concordia 5 St. Olaf 7
Concordia 6 St. Olaf 11
Concordia 8 Moorhead State 7
Concordia 4 Bethel   6
Concordia 12 Bethel   3
Concordia 4 St. Thomas 3
Concordia 0 St. Thomas 7
Concordia 1 Gustavus 2
Concordia 0 Gustavus 1
Concordia 3 Hamline 2
Concordia 6 Hamline 1
Concordia 7 Valley City State 0
Concordia 1 Valley City State 5
Concordia 7 St. John’s 3
Concordia 1 St. John’s 0
Concordia 11 Macalester 3
Concordia 5 Macalester 8

1977-78 Golf

A soggy spring also caused a frustrating season for Finn Grinaker’s 1978 golf team. Because of the bad weather, the season was mainly restricted to invitationals and conference playoffs. Concordia golfers were Tom Anderson, Mark Tryhus, Jim Unruh, Randy Johnson, Marshall Johnson, Jim Anderson, Scott Anderson, Bert Olson, Mark Tryhus, and Jay Myhre.

Season results were:
Cobber-Dragon Invitational: 3rd place out of 6 teams (Tom Anderson - co-medalist)
St. John’s Invitational: 11th place out of 18 teams
Northern State Invitational: 3rd place out of 6 teams
Honeywell Invitational: 14th place out of 27 teams
MIAC Conference Meet: 4th place tie out of 9 teams

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These pages are maintained by Jerry Pyle - pyle@cord.edu and Finn Grinaker - cgrinaker@juno.com. These pages are copyrighted © and may not be published or reproduced without the express permission of Finn Grinaker.