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Inaugural coach for Augsburg’s women’s hockey program in 1995-96, the first varsity intercollegiate women’s hockey program in Minnesota and the Midwest … Augsburg won MIAC regular-season titles in 1998-99 and 1999-2000 under her leadership, winning the conference playoff title and advancing to the AWCHA Division III national championship series in Boston, Mass., in 1999-2000 … MIAC Coach of the Year in 1999-2000 … In 15 seasons (1995-2010), had 171-177-30 record, with four appearances in MIAC postseason playoffs … Coached 8 All-American honorees, 3 MIAC Players of the Year (Angie Rieger in 2000 and 2001, Lauren Chezick in 2003), 2 MIAC Sheila Brown Award-winners (Tiffany Magnuson in 2009, Jess Olson in 2010) … Coached 28 All-MIAC, 19 All-MIAC Honorable Mention and 3 MIAC All-Rookie Team honorees … Coached 150 players in Augsburg program during her 15 seasons … Inducted into Women’s Hockey Association of America (WHAM) Hall of Fame in 2006 … Received Minnesota National Girls and Women in Sports Day’s “Breaking Barriers Award” in 1998 … Served as a coach at several U.S. Olympic Women’s Hockey Development camps … Served on NCAA D-III Women’s Ice Hockey Committee from 2000-04 … President of Minnesota Girls’ and Women’s Hockey Association in 1989-90 … Secretary/Treasurer of American Women’s Hockey Coaches Association in 2000-04 … Played on 4-time national champion Minnesota Checkers girls’ hockey team … Currently works as a school administrative manager at Minneapolis Edison High School.
Our 2021 recipient of the Distinguished Athletic Service Award, Jill Pohtilla has been an athletics pioneer throughout her life, from her days playing on the four-time national champion Minnesota Checkers girls' hockey team in the 70s and 80s, to her role in starting the first collegiate varsity women's hockey program in the Midwest, at Augsburg in 1995. Jill coached the Auggies for their first 15 seasons, winning 171 games and claiming the MIAC regular-season titles in both 1999 and 2000. In 2000, the Auggies advanced to the first-ever Division III national championship, the AWCHA tournament in Boston. She earned MIAC Coach of the Year honors in 2000 and was a finalist for National Coach of the Year honors twice. Jill coached 150 players in her 15 seasons at Augsburg, including eight All-American honorees, three MIAC Players of the Year and two MIAC Sheila Brown Award-winners, along with 28 All-MIAC players, 19 All-MIAC honorable mention players and three MIAC All-Rookie Team honorees. Jill also was a leader in hockey on the state and national level, serving as a coach at several U.S. Olympic Women's Hockey development camps, serving on the NCAA Division III Women's Ice Hockey National Committee for four years, serving as president of the Minnesota Girls and Women's Hockey Association and as secretary and treasurer of the American Women's Hockey Coaches Association. Jill was inducted into the Women's Hockey Association of Minnesota Hall of Fame in 2006, received the Breaking Barriers Award on the Minnesota National Girls and Women In Sports Day in 1998, and received the Women's Ice Hockey Founders Award from the American Hockey Coaches Association in 2013. Jill currently works for the Minneapolis Public Schools, and she and her wife, Joyce Spehar, live in Crystal, Minnesota.
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