9/26/2007 10:15:33 AM

Augsburg is observing the 35th anniversary of its varsity women’s athletic program, as well as the rich history of women’s athletics prior to the Title IX era. Augsburg’s varsity women’s basketball and volleyball teams started in 1972, along with gymnastics and tennis.

The Sept. 28 celebration will begin at 5 p.m., with a reception in the LaVonne Johnson Peterson Health and Physical Education on the third floor of the Kennedy Center. At 6:30 p.m., athletes and former athletes will proceed in a “Parade of Champions” from the Kennedy Center to the Foss Center, where official athletic “A” letters will be presented to all women who participated in sports at Augsburg prior to 1988.

Though the varsity era of Auggie women’s athletics began in 1972, there have been women’s sporting activities at the college dating to the mid-1920s. From the 1940s to the 1970s, there were numerous intramural sports sponsored for women, including the famous “Auggiettes” basketball team, coached by Peterson. The Auggiettes competed in the Minneapolis Park Board league and compiled a 125-5 record in 15 seasons from 1950 to 1965.

In October, the unbeaten Auggiettes basketball team of 1956-57, celebrating its 50th anniversary, will be honored with induction as a group into the Augsburg Athletic Hall of Fame.

During this anniversary year, there will be numerous features and special stories about the history of Augsburg women’s athletics on the Augsburg athletic web site (www.augsburg.edu/athletics).

Augsburg release