Three-year letter winner, four-time conference champion, six-time NAIA All-American, member of two conference championship teams and team captain, John W. Erickson certainly left his mark on the Augustana swimming program in the late 1960’s.
As a sophomore in 1967, Erickson won CCI championships in both the 100 and 200-yard butterfly. His time of :56.9 in the 100 fly set a new conference record and his performance helped Augustana to the team title, breaking North Central’s 17-year stranglehold on the conference championship. He then went on to earn All-America honors with a ninth-place finish in the 100 butterfly, an eighth-place finish with the Viking 800 freestyle relay and a sixth-place consolation finish in the 400 medley relay at the NAIA Championships.
Erickson repeated as 100 fly conference champion in 1968, breaking his own record with a time of :56.4. He also garnered All-America honors in the event for the second straight year with a sixth-place finish at the NAIA Championships in St. Cloud, Minnesota.
Erickson was a team captain in 1969 on another Augustana conference championship squad. He won his fourth conference title with the Viking 400 medley relay, which swam a record 3:50.7 at the CCIW meet. That unit also took first place at the Illinois Private College and NAIA District 20 Championships and finished fifth nationally at the NAIA Championships. The Vikings finished 13th as a team. Erickson added an 11th-place national finish in the 100 butterfly, earning All-America recognition for sixth time in his career.
At the time of his graduation, Erickson held school records in the butterfly at 100 (:54.4) and 200 (2:10.6) yards and was also a member of the school-record 400 medley relay (3:46.2) team. His time in the 100 fly still ranks in the top ten best times in school history.
A 1969 Augustana grad, Erickson earned a degree in business administration. He considers himself “semi-retired” from his position as president and owner of Right Now, Inc. A product design and marketing agency, it afforded him the opportunity to travel throughout the Orient designing products for importation to American retailers, although Erickson considers his highlight to be the exclusive representation of the estate of Norman Rockwell.
John and wife Jean reside in Hinsdale, Illinois. They have two daughters, Kristin and Lindsay, and one granddaughter, Marley.
“I enjoyed being a part of a cohesive college community where students of all disciplines interacted with one another,” said Erickson, who also commented, “Returning to Augie dozens of times between 2004 and 2008 to visit my daughter Lindsey, I was amazed at the redevelopment and beauty of the campus.”
