One of the hallmarks of Coach Bob Reade’s teams during his 16 seasons at Augustana was tremendous offensive line play and one of Reade’s first great offensive linemen was tackle Kurt Kapischke. Kapischke came to Augustana from Lindenhurst, Illinois and Antioch High School as a 6-foot-4, 220-pounder and left as a 6-foot-5, 250-pound three-time first team All-CCIW selection, All-American and member of the school’s first national championship team.
Kapischke was there for the genesis of Augustana’s domination in the 1980’s. He became a starter midway through his freshman year of 1980, Reade’s second season with the Vikings. Augustana dropped a homecoming contest to North Central on October 18 of that year to fall to 2-3 on the season. Amazingly, that would be the last regular season loss of which Kapischke would ever be a part. The Vikings went on to win their final four contests to finish 6-3 and Kapischke was the cornerstone of the offensive line for the next three years, during which Augustana won 27 consecutive regular season contests.
During his sophomore season, the Vikings lost in the first round of the NCAA Division III playoffs at Dayton by a score of 19-7. During his junior year, the team advanced all the way to the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl in Phenix City, Alabama, where it dropped a 14-0 decision to West Georgia.
After another perfect regular season as a senior in 1983, Kapischke had one last chance to help the Vikings win Augustana’s first ever national title in a team sport. They didn’t disappoint. They edged Adrian 22-21 in an Ericson Field quagmire in the first round of the playoffs. In the second round, the Viking offensive line, which featured Kapischke as well as fellow Augustana Hall-of-Famers Tim Holmstrom and Greg King, paved the way for 324 rushing yards in a 21-15 win over a Wisconsin-LaCrosse team stocked with multiple future pros. A 21-17 win over Union College in the 1983 Stagg Bowl in Kings Island, Ohio culminated a tremendous career for Kapischke.
During his four seasons, Kapischke’s blocking helped pave the way for 11,691 rushing yards and 117 rushing touchdowns. In 1983, he ran escort for not one, but two, 1,000-yard rushers in Craig Allison and George Velasquez. Prior to that, in Augustana history, only Joe Thompson had ever reached that plateau. In Kapischke’s three seasons as a full-time starter, the Viking ground game averaged 299.5 yards per game and 4.6 yards per carry and produced 106 touchdowns as Augustana won 32 of 34 contests. The Vikings posted a 38-5 record and won three CCIW titles during his four seasons.
Following his senior season, Kapischke was named to both the Kodak and Pizza Hut All-America first teams. The Kodak team, selected by the American Football Coaches Association, encompassed both NCAA Division III and NAIA Division II players, while Pizza Hut named him to its Division III All-America squad.
Kapischke graduated from Augustana in 1984 with a degree in business administration. He earned his MBA from the University of Illinois and his teaching certificate from Texas A&M University at Commerce.
After working for 15 years in sales for Leslie Paper and Frito-Lay, Kapischke spent six years as a teacher and coach in McKinney, Texas. For the last six years, he’s been a teacher and coach in the Denton, Texas Independent School District. Kurt and his wife Candy have two sons, Christopher, 17, and Kyle, 15, and reside in McKinney, Texas.
