Augustana College Athletics

John Bothe defied the odds. Playing a position (offensive center) that usually ensures anonymity, he instead made himself a household name in small college football in the mid-to-late 1980’s. It helped that he performed for a team that made its living by running the football and offensive linemen have always been held in high esteem at Augustana. Bothe has to rank as one of the best to ever toil in the trenches.

He was a tight end at Amboy High School but it didn’t take long during the grueling two-a-days in August of 1985 for the Augustana coaching staff to convince him to switch to center. He won the job almost immediately and he never relinquished it. He started 49 consecutive games in a Viking uniform and the team’s record during that time frame was an outstanding 45-3-1. During his freshman and sophomore seasons of 1985 and 1986 Augustana won NCAA Division III national titles and in 1987 the Vikings were defeated in the quarterfinals by Dayton and in 1988 lost to Central of Iowa in the semifinals. He was on four straight CCIW title teams.

The center before Bothe got to Augustana was Greg King, also a former Amboy standout. King was the starter for three straight years (1982-83-84), giving the Vikings seven consecutive seasons of having an Amboy High School product as the starting center. During that time frame Augustana played 85 games and had a record of 80-4-1, won four NCAA Division III national titles, finished second once, tied for third once and tied for fifth once. The Vikings also won seven straight CCIW titles.

With Bothe as the starting center, the Augustana ground game was a thing of beauty to watch. In his freshman year the Vikings averaged 291.2 yards per game rushing and in his sophomore season that figure was 286.3. During his junior year of 1987 the Blue & Gold reeled off an eye-popping 346.5 yards per game rushing and in 1988 it was 315.8. In his four years as a starter he helped the offense average 308.3 yards per game. The Vikings gained nearly nine miles of real estate by rushing the football when Bothe was the starting center.

He was the first team all-conference selection three straight times (1986-87-88) and in 1988 he was named the “Offensive Player of the Year” in the CCIW, an incredible accomplishment for a center. He earned NCAA Division III All-America honors in 1987 and 1988 and as a senior in 1988 he was one of three finalists for NCAA Division III “National Player of the Year”. He was also a CoSIDA Academic All-America selection in 1986 as a sophomore.

Bothe has been the head football coach at Oregon High School in Oregon, Illinois for nine years. He earned his M.A. from Northern Illinois University in educational administration after receiving a bachelor’s degree from Augustana in Business Administration in May of 1989.

John and his wife Michelle reside in Oregon with son Jed (5) and daughters Jadyn (5) and Jenae (3).