Former Augsburg hockey coach Ed Saugestad receives AHCA's John MacInnes Award for service to amateur hockey

MINNEAPOLIS (2/15/02) -- Former Augsburg College men's hockey coach Ed Saugestad was honored for his contributions to the growth of amateur hockey in the United States with the American Hockey Coaches Association's John MacInnes Award, awarded this week.

The John MacInnes Award, named for the former Michigan Tech head coach, recognizes coaches who have achieved exceptional success with athletes on and off the ice. Saugestad will be honored with his award at the AHCA Coach of the Year Banquet, to be held on April 27 at the Naples (Fla.) Beach Hotel and Golf Club.

Saugestad coached Augsburg to a 503-354-21 in a career that spanned 37 seasons (1958-1996), a win total second only to Don Roberts of Gustavus Adolphus (515) among Division III coaches. The two are the only Division III coaches to have amassed more than 400 career wins and only four coaches, across all divisions, have won more games while coaching at just one institution. In Saugestad's 37 years of coaching, he had only 11 overall losing seasons and just nine in MIAC play.

In 1998, the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference named the MlAC playoff championship trophy in his honor in 1998, a year in which, fittingly, Augsburg took home the trophy.

Saugestad took teams to postseason play on 10 occasions {nine NAIA and one NCAA), winning NAIA national championships in 1978, 1981 and 1982. He was named NAIA National Coach of the Year after each of those championships and was MlAC Coach of the Year six times. He coached 22 All-Americans at Augsburg.

Saugestad began his Auggie coaching career while still a student at Augsburg, in 1958. He graduated with a double major in physical education and biology in 1959. He went on to earn his master's degree from the University of Minnesota in 1964. In addtion to coaching hockey for parts of five decades, he also served as Augsburg football coach from 1959-84 (head coach in the 1970-71 seasons);men's athletic director from 1981-87; and during his entire Augsburg career served as an instructor in the school's Health and Physical Education department.

The John MacInnes Award recognizes those people who have shown a great concern for amateur hockey and youth programs. The recipients have had high winning percentages, as well as outstanding graduation percentages among their former players. The winners of this award have helped young people grow not only as hockey players, but more importantly as individuals.

The John MacInnes Award has been given by the AHCA since 1983. Previous winners of the award include "Badger Bob" Johnson of Wisconsin (1985), Bill Cleary of Harvard (1991), Don Roberts of Gustavus Adolphus (1993), Herb Brooks of Minnesota (1994), Bob Peters of Bemidji State (1995) and John "Gino" Gasparini of North Dakota (1999).

Two other Minnesotans received other awards from the AHCA.

Lou Cotroneo, who coached and taught at St. Paul Johnson High School from 1954-75 (199-59-8 record) and later sewed Humboldt High School as an administrative assistant, received the John Mariucci Award, honoring legendary high school coaches. Cotroneo's teams reached the Minnesota State high school tournament five times. Cotroneo also spent three decades as a referee at all levels (high school, college, professional.) On many occasions, he has also served as a volunteer at conference and national championships in the Twin Cities area. The St. John's University graduate currently serves as a mayoral liaison for the city of St. Paul, host of this year's NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Championships.

Bette Blair, a Blaine, Minn., native who recently retired after serving as a counselor for USA Hockey Development Camps for 10 years, received the Joe Burke Award, honoring contributors to girls' and women's hockey. Blair also served the college game as a team host at the AWCHA women's hockey national championships, held at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis in 1999.