TOM WITSCHEN OBITUARY

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Tom Witschen, the longtime broadcast voice of Augsburg University athletics, died on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023 at Regions Hospital in St. Paul. He was 73 years old.

Witschen called more than 4,000 collegiate and high school games in a four-decade career as a broadcaster in the Midwest, including more than 2,000 Augsburg events in football, volleyball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's hockey, wrestling, baseball and softball. Since 1997, he coordinated broadcasts and webcasts of Augsburg athletic events through his business, T.J. Broadcast Services, employing, mentoring and training many broadcasters who have succeeded at the amateur and professional levels.

Witschen was honored several times for his broadcasting excellence by his colleagues and friends in college and high school sports. In 2007, he was inducted into the Minnesota State High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame, and in 2013, the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honored him with the Mike Augustin Award, given by the conference's sports information directors to an member of the media or media relations staff member for their outstanding contributions to the conference. He was the third play-by-play broadcaster to receive the Mike Augustin Award, and the first individual with a primary association with Augsburg to receive the honor. 

In 2015, Witschen received Augsburg's Distinguished Athletic Service Award at the university's Athletic Hall of Fame event, one of 14 individuals to receive the honor since the award was established in 1990. He also broadcast games for St. Catherine University, the University of Minnesota, University of St. Thomas and St. Cloud State University during his career.

"Tom Witschen was a tremendous member of the Augsburg athletic family, and we will definitely miss his love of the games, his joy and his presence in the press box and scorer's tables at our events," said Don Stoner, Augsburg sports information director. Both started their Auggie tenures in the 1997-98 school year. "Tom lived and breathed Augsburg sports, and loved all our student-athletes and coaches. He shared his passion for the Auggies with so many people, and his enthusiasm for Augsburg was incredible. But more than anything, Tom was a true friend to all who knew him, all who learned from him, and all who enjoyed his broadcasts. I will miss him tremendously, but I will also fondly remember the great times he had with the Auggies."

Witschen was born on Dec. 3, 1949 in St. Cloud, Minn., and was a graduate of Park High School in Cottage Grove, Minn., the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and Brown Institute. He worked at radio stations throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin, including WMIN, WDGY and WRPX in the Twin Cities. He survived a bout with Hogdkin's disease in 2005 and was cancer-free for many years.

Visitation will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Bradshaw Funeral Home, 1078 Rice Street in St. Paul, Minn. His funeral will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023 at 11 a.m. at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, 380 Little Canada Road E., Little Canada, Minn., with visitation beginning one hour prior. Burial will be at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, 1800 Edgerton St., St. Paul, Minn.