Augustana College Athletics

Bob Reade was hired by Vince Lundeen in the spring of 1979 to become Augustana’s 15th football coach and he immediately made his mark on the program. Reade had fashioned a powerhouse at J.D. Darnall High School in Geneseo, Illinois where he compiled a record of 146-21-4 in 17 years with three straight Class 3A state championships from 1976-78. In 16 years at Augustana the success never stopped and when he stepped down in June of 1994 after 16 seasons, his record was 146-21-1. In the CCIW he was 112-12-1 with half of those losses coming in the first two years. His teams were in the NCAA Division III national playoffs 11 times, including a national record 10 straight appearances from 1981-90. The Vikings won four straight NCAA Division III national titles from 1985-86 and his legendary senior class of 1987 went through its entire career without a loss (49-0-1). That bunch had a hand in all four of the school’s NCAA Division III national championships (1983-84-85-86). Augustana won 12 CCIW titles with Reade at the helm, including eight straight from 1981-88.

In January of 1998 he was awarded the prestigious Amos Alonzo Stagg Award by the American Football Coaches Association and in August of that same year he was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Indiana. He won four straight national “Kodak Coach of the Year” awards as picked by the AFCA and was chosen CCIW “Coach of the Year” nine times. Starting with the first game of the 1983 season and ending with the second round of the 1987 playoffs, Augustana put together a streak of 60 games in a row without a loss, still an NCAA Division III record. He coached 37 All-Americans at Augustana, 106 first team all-conference performers, 10 academic All-Americans and 13 CCIW MVP’s.

Bob and his wife Mary Jo are the parents of 11 children and the couple still resides in Geneseo. Earlier this year the All-American Football Foundation honored Bob with its “Contribution to Football” award and gave Mary Jo the “First Lady of Football” citation. His trademark was a calm sideline demeanor, a time-consuming running game and an aggressive, punishing defense. His teams appeared on network television every year in some fashion eight times during his tenure – unheard of at the division III level.