Augustana College Athletics

The all-time leading rebounder and second-leading scorer in the history of Augustana women’s basketball at the time of her graduation, Jill Rednour takes her place among the six inductees to the Tribe of Vikings Hall of Fame Class of 2015. 28 years after her playing career ended, Rednour’s 809 rebounds and 1,174 points still rank second and fourth, respectively, in school history. Her .483 career field goal percentage is still eighth all-time.
 
Rednour enrolled at Augustana in 1983 after a tremendous career at Atkinson High School in Atkinson, Illinois. She led an outstanding Lady Tiger program in scoring and rebounding for three straight years and was a two-time team MVP and all-conference selection.
 
Called by Coach Diane Schumacher “a big game player,” who “plays very well with the game on the line,” Rednour was a model of consistency during her four years. With the exception of being the team’s fourth-leading scorer as a freshman, she ranked either first or second in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots in each of her four seasons at Augustana.
 
Rednour made an immediate impact for Coach Paulette Stein’s Lady Vikings as a freshman, averaging 8.2 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. The 5’ 10” post player also set a school record by hitting .796 from the free throw line as Augustana posted a 13-9 record.
 
Playing for new coach Schumacher as a sophomore, Rednour led a 15-9 Lady Viking outfit in scoring (13.6 ppg), rebounding (9.5 rpg), blocked shots (28) and free throw percentage (.737). As a junior co-captain, she averaged 13.1 points and a team-leading 9.5 rebounds, while blocking 21 shots for an 18-6 squad.
 
1986-87 was the first year in which the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin sponsored women’s sports and Schumacher’s squad made the most of the opportunity. Rednour helped the Lady Vikings win their final 10 league games to finish 13-3 and claim the first-ever CCIW women’s basketball championship. It was Augustana’s first women’s conference championship in any sport. One of the key games in the team’s closing run was a 65-63 win at Millikin which featured 26 points and 15 rebounds by Rednour. She also hit a pair of free throws with 13 seconds left to provide the margin of victory and earn CCIW Player of the Week honors.
 
The Lady Vikings finished the season with a 20-7 record and an NCAA Division III Tournament appearance. Rednour averaged 13.6 points and 8.2 rebounds per game with a field goal percentage of .512 and 24 blocked shots. She led the CCIW in field goal percentage at .561 and was a first team all-conference selection.
 
After graduating from Augustana in 1987 with a degree in geography, Rednour held positions as Economic Development Director with the Bi-State Regional Commission in Rock Island, Illinois; Small Business Director at the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Chamber of Commerce; President and CEO of Campustown 2000 in Champaign, Illinois; and Executive Director of the Champaign County Economic Development Corporation.
 
For the past 11 years, Jill has worked as Director of Commercial Leasing and Marketing for JSM in the Champaign-Urbana area. However, she will be leaving that position this fall to start her own commercial real estate brokerage, Guth and Associates.
 
Jill currently resides in White Heath, Illinois with her husband of 25 years, Mike Guth. The couple has two grown sons, Nicholas and Adam, both of whom are graduates of the University of Illinois.
 
Of her college years, Jill had this to say: “Augustana provided me a solid foundation for my future career. By being a student athlete, I quickly learned how to prioritize my time and develop the ability to multi-task and work with many types of people.” She added, “My time away from Augie has allowed me to reflect on the tremendous experiences and opportunities I was allowed during my four years. Traveling not only for athletics, but the opportunities for travel within the geography department provided me an understanding that the world is a much bigger place with amazing opportunities and challenges.”