Augustana College Athletics

Arriving at Augustana in the fall of 1979 after an outstanding basketball career at nearby Moline High School, Deb Rogiers spent the next four seasons as one of the cornerstones of Coach Paulette Stein’s burgeoning powerhouse. Rogiers’ career spanned the program’s seminal transition from the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) to the NCAA and when she graduated, she was its career record-holder for field goal percentage, rebounds and rebounds per game. In addition, she owned the top two single-season marks in each of those categories.
 
At Moline, Rogiers and two future Augustana teammates, Kathy Nelson and Katie Liljegren, helped lead the Maroons to a third-place finish in the second-ever IHSA State Tournament in 1978. Rogiers tallied 19 points and grabbed 21 rebounds in a 60-59 win over Mattoon in the third-place contest. As a senior, she averaged 15 points and nine rebounds and was a first team all-conference selection for a Moline outfit that captured a regional championship.
 
Rogiers led the Viqueen (as Augustana’s women’s teams were known at the time) junior varsity squad in scoring as a freshman, but logged enough minutes with the varsity to finish second on the team with 21 blocked shots. She helped spark an 11-game winning streak late in the season and had a breakout game with 17 points and six rebounds against Monmouth in the first round of the AIAW state tournament. Stein’s club eventually took second at state and finished with a 16-11 record.
 
The 6’ 3” center cracked the starting lineup early in her sophomore season and led the Viqueens in rebounding at 6.9 per game and in blocked shots with nearly three per contest. Her 11.0 points per game—on a team-best .528 field goal shooting—ranked second on the team behind classmate and fellow Tribe of Vikings Hall of Famer Dawn Crosby. Augustana claimed a state championship in its final year of AIAW competition. The Viqueens fell by a point at Spring Arbor (Mich.) in the AIAW regionals and finished the year 18-13.
 
There were high expectations as Augustana began NCAA play in 1981-82 and Rogiers and her teammates didn’t disappoint. She again led the team in rebounding (8.7 rpg), field goal percentage (.502) and blocked shots and finished second in scoring (11.3 ppg), as Stein’s crew qualified for the first-ever NCAA Division III Tournament. The Viqueens defeated Grove City in the opening round before falling at Clark (Mass.) and finishing the season 19-7.
 
Rogiers helped lead Augustana to the postseason for the fourth year in a row in 1982-83. Averaging 14.2 points and 10.1 rebounds per game and shooting .514 from the floor for the newly-dubbed Lady Vikings, she erupted down the home stretch of her senior year. Beginning with a 28-point, 13-rebound effort against Bradley, she put up averages of 19.9 points and 11.7 rebounds over the season’s final seven games. Augustana again earned a spot in the NCAA Division III Tournament, falling to Central in the opening round before rebounding with a win over Buena Vista in the regional consolation game. Rogiers tallied a team-high 17 points in her final collegiate contest.
 
When she graduated in the spring of 1983, Rogiers not only held Augustana career records for rebounds (773), rebounds per game (7.4 rpg), field goal percentage (.509) and blocked shots, she ranked second all-time in scoring (1,090), games played (104), field goals (473) and free throws made (144). As she enters the Tribe of Vikings Hall of Fame 35 years later, she still ranks second all-time in games played, third in rebounds, fourth in rebounds per game and field goal percentage, sixth in field goals and ninth in scoring. Although blocked shot records from that period are incomplete, her career total of well over 100 would place her no lower than third in program history.
 
Rogiers, who majored in elementary education at Augustana, recently retired after teaching and coaching for 33 years in the Riverdale School District in Port Byron, Illinois. She designed and implemented the district’s first English Language Learner program. She currently works part time as an Education Coordinator for Junior Achievement of the Heartland.
 
Deb and husband Todd Slothower, a 1981 Augustana graduate, have two grown daughters—Hannah and Sarah—and reside in Silvis, Illinois. They are members of Trinity and St. Paul Lutheran churches and are active with numerous charitable and community organizations, including Habitat for Humanity and Riverbend Food Bank.
 
Of her years at Augustana, Deb says, “The liberal arts education that I received while at Augustana has served me well! I have been blessed with many opportunities and met and worked with many fine people over the years.”