Cella was presented with the Mike Augustin Award by MIAC Commissioner Dan McKane (right) and Concordia Director of Athletics Rachel Bergeson (left).
Cella was presented with the Mike Augustin Award by MIAC Commissioner Dan McKane (right) and Concordia Director of Athletics Rachel Bergeson (left).

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MIAC honors Jim Cella with Mike Augustin Award

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) honored longtime Concordia College director of athletic communications Jim Cella as the 2025-26 recipient of the Mike Augustin Award on Saturday. 
 
The award is issued annually by the conference's sports information directors in recognition of outstanding media contributions to MIAC athletic programs and their student-athletes.
 
"This award means so much to me because it comes from my peers, who do an incredible job promoting their school and the conference," Cella said. "The workload they put into their profession is incredible, and they constantly inspire me to grow in the field of communications. To add my name to the list of former Directors of Athletic Communication who have already received this award, like Jerry Pyle, Dave Wright, Tim Kennedy, Gene McGivern, Don Stoner, and Donny Nadeau, is very surreal because they were pioneers in the profession and helped everyone achieve such a high standard of work."
 
A 1985 graduate of Saint John's University, Cella came to Concordia in 1992 to take over the school's men's soccer program after having served for several seasons as an assistant coach for the Johnnies. His Concordia teams went on to win back-to-back MIAC championships in 1995 and 1996 - the year that the Cobbers advanced to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Division III national tournament. Cella was selected MIAC Coach of the Year on three occasions and became the all-time winningest coach in Cobber men's soccer history. He also spent two seasons as Concordia's head women's soccer coach.
 
Cella added sports information director to his duties in 2000 and transitioned into athletic communications full-time in 2003, where he quickly became known as one of the most dedicated and innovative communications specialists in NCAA Division III.
 
"Jim has earned the respect of his peers in the MIAC, the sports media in the Fargo-Moorhead area, and beyond with his warm hospitality and refreshing honesty," Macalester director of sports information Matt McLagan said. "I can't think of anyone more worthy of receiving an award named after Mike Augustin, who was a friend of Jim's, than Jim Cella."
 
Mike Augustin was a longtime sportswriter at the Pioneer Press and was an articulate friend, follower, and advocate of the MIAC. The Conference established the award in his honor following Augustin's death from a sudden illness in December of 1997.
 
"I am extremely honored to receive this award named after one of the greats in journalism who did such an amazing job covering all MIAC sports," Cella said. "Mike was actually the writer who first posted an announcement in the Pioneer Press when I was hired as the men's soccer coach at Concordia, so this award means the world to me."
 
MIAC sports information directors selected Cella to receive the honor at their annual business meeting in August. Cella formally received the award on Saturday, August 30, during a halftime ceremony of the non-conference men's soccer between his alma mater and the school he has called home for more than three decades.
 
| Mike Augustin Award |