Marilyn Pearson Florian
Four years after graduating from Augsburg, Marilyn Pearson Florian returned to her alma mater to coach women's basketball (1980-85) and volleyball (1981-98) as the programs transitioned into the MIAC. In 1988, Pearson Florian picked up an additional role as Augsburg's women's athletic director. During her tenure as an athletic administrator, the school added four MIAC women's sports including golf, cross country, ice hockey, and swimming and diving. She also initiated the induction of women athletes into Augsburg's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1988 and created an athletic lettering program for female student-athletes in 1989. In 2007, Pearson Florian transitioned to become an assistant athletic director and senior woman administrator at Augsburg. In 2013, she received a Special Merit Award from the Minnesota Coalition of Women in Athletic Leadership during the 27th annual Minnesota Girls and Women in Sports Day and was honored with the MIAC's Distinguished Service Award for her contributions to Augsburg and the conference. She was inducted into the Augsburg Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997.
Nearly a half-century before women’s athletics officially came to the MIAC conference, Allys Collings became the first woman in MIAC history to be named head coach of a men’s varsity sport when she was hired to revive the men’s tennis program at Augsburg College in the spring of 1939. A champion competitor in her playing days at the University of Minnesota, Collings quickly transitioned from athlete to athletic administrator and her path helped pave the way for women with athletic aspirations to gain expanded opportunities in competitive, educational, and leadership roles.In addition to her duties at the helm of the men’s tennis program, Collings was also put in charge of the women's basketball team and served as director of the Women’s Athletic Association (WAA), as well as the advisor for women’s gym classes at Augsburg. Though not affiliated with the MIAC at this time, the WAA was created for the purpose of providing athletic opportunities to women at the college and Collings was credited with much of the organization’s growth and success. Collings' historic hiring and subsequent contributions made her truly one of the unsung early pioneers of women leaders in sport.
