During his playing career at Augustana, Mark Brooks put up the kind of numbers that certainly make him an easy choice for induction into the Tribe of Vikings Hall of Fame. He came out of Rock Island High School in 1969 and contributed mightily to a four year run of success in basketball that put the Vikings on the map. He was listed as a 6’ 2” guard but he certainly played much bigger than that. He finished his career with 1,333 points and 606 rebounds and to this day he ranks eighth on the school’s all-time list in scoring and seventh in rebounding.
Brooks’ timing could not have been better. He arrived on the Augustana campus the same year that Jim Borcherding took over as the head basketball coach. He was also part of a freshman class that included John Laing, Drew Boster, Chuck Menzer and Jim VanDeCasteele. That group formed the nucleus around which Borcherding built a small-college power.
During Borcherding’s first four years, and also Brooks’ entire Augustana career, the Vikings compiled an overall record of 89-21 for a winning percentage of .809. In College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin action Augustana was 52-12 (.813), including a 30-2 mark during Brooks’ junior and senior seasons. The Vikings won three straight CCIW titles from 1970-73, including a 16-0 season in 1972-73.
Brooks was in the middle of all that success. He was among the most versatile of all the Vikings. In addition to his scoring and rebounding, he was the top defender on the team as well. He was voted Augustana’s Most Valuable Defensive Player each of his four years. An extremely durable player, he started 107 consecutive games during his career as a Viking.
He holds the school record for games started and is second in games played. In addition to his top 10 status in scoring and rebounding, he is also fourth in free throws made during his career with 313. His 285 assists rank fifth on Augustana’s career list despite the fact that the statistic wasn’t first officially compiled until his sophomore season. Brooks was named to the all-conference team in the CCIW three times, including first team recognition as a junior and senior. He was a two-time team captain and was named to the NAIA District 20 team three years in a row. Twice he was picked to the All-Lutheran All-America team.
His senior year in 1972-73 remains as one of the most magical seasons ever compiled in Augustana history, regardless of the sport. The Vikings were coming off a 25-4 record and NAIA national quarterfinal appearance in 1971-72 and were able to better that with a school-record 29 wins against just two losses and a third-place finish at the NAIA national tournament. The team’s only losses that season were to second-ranked Sam Houston State, by a single point, in the championship of the Quincy Holiday tournament and an eight-point setback in the national semifinals to eventual national champion Guilford and future NBA stars Lloyd Free and M.L. Carr.
After graduating from Augustana in 1973 with a degree in biology, Brooks went on to earn master’s degrees in sports science from Truman State University and education administration from the University of Iowa.
His professional life has been devoted to the field of education. After a year of teaching and coaching at Bishop Noll Institute in East Chicago, Indiana, Brooks returned to the Quad Cities, settling in the Bettendorf Community School system in Bettendorf, Iowa. He has been there for the past 37 years, teaching science at the middle and high school levels, coaching boys’ high school basketball and girls’ high school track & field and serving for the past 12 years as Bettendorf High School’s Director of Athletics.
He was the 1991 winner of Scott County’s Golden Apple award, presented to the teacher of the year. His coaching career included four Mississippi Athletic Conference Coach of the Year awards as well as four state championships. In 2010 he was selected as the Southeast Iowa Athletic Director of the Year.
Brooks and his wife Marta have two sons, Andrew, 24 and David, 21. He’s active as a deacon and finance committee member in his family’s church. In addition, he serves as a board member on the Quad City Sports Commission.
“I was blessed to have been at Augustana during some of the best years in its athletic history,” said Brooks. “The athletes in the college during my era, Ken Anderson, John Laing, Willie Van, Bruce Hamming, Dennis Koster and Tim Dodge, to name a few, were all-conference and All-American several times. We had terrific coaching, loyal school and community support and were able to experience and accomplish some things that few, if any, before us and only a few since have been able to.”
“My experience at Augustana helped prepare me for a successful and enjoyable career in secondary education as a teacher, coach and administrator.”
