Steve Schafer, a 2001 graduate of Augustana, was tabbed to become the 16th head men’s basketball coach in Viking history on Wednesday, June 24, 2020. Schafer replaced Grey Giovanine, who retired in May of 2020.
In his first season at the helm of the Augustana program, Schafer guided a largely inexperienced outfit through a COVID-shortened season to a 7-5 record. The Vikings finished 6-4 and in fourth place in the CCIW—posting a winning record in the league for the 21st consecutive season—and advanced to the semifinals of the CCIW Tournament.
Schafer has a wealth of small college experience and he comes to Augustana after a five-year stint as the head men’s basketball coach and director of athletics at Benedictine-Mesa University in Mesa, Arizona. He had the unique challenge of actually starting Benedictine-Mesa’s athletic program from scratch in 2014 when he was hired. He started his task in April of 2014 and he took the department from 60 student-athletes and eight club sports in 2014-15 to its present number of 325 student-athletes and 13 intercollegiate varsity programs.
“I am extremely pleased to welcome Steve Schafer back to Augustana as our next Head Men's Basketball Coach,” said Augustana Director of Athletics Mike Zapolski at the time of Schafer’s hiring. “Steve's administrative background and extensive coaching experiences at multiple small colleges have prepared him well for the challenges and opportunities ahead. I look forward to partnering with Steve, his staff and our student-athletes to continue the rich, storied tradition of Augustana men's basketball.”
In 2019-20, his final season, Schafer guided the Redhawks to a 14-15 overall record and a 6-8 mark in the California-Pacific Conference. In five years at the helm of the Redhawks, Schafer put together an overall record of 76-69 and a league mark of 30-27. Benedictine-Mesa qualified for the California-Pacific Tournament twice in the first four years and Schafer has helped guide eleven different players to the All-Cal Pac team, including Newcomer of the Year Monnard Brown in 2016-17. The Redhawks best season to date came in 2018-19 when the team broke the school record for most wins in a season with 18. In 2016-17, they finished as Regular Season Co-Champions in the Cal Pac, finishing with an 11-3 record.
The athletics department at Benedictine-Mesa enjoyed great success in its first five years of intercollegiate athletics under Schafer. Going from a program that was just a vision when he was hired in 2014, the Redhawks can point to 114 all-conference players, 14 NAIA All-Americans, three conference team championships and one NAIA team national championship prior to the 2019-20 school year. In addition, there have been 60 NAIA Daktronics Scholar-Athletes and Redhawk athletes have compiled over 1,000 hours of community service. The Benedictine athletics department also hosted several conference tournaments and played host to the 2019 NAIA Men’s Golf National Championship and were scheduled to host the 2020 tournament also.
Prior to starting the athletics program at Benedictine-Mesa, Schafer was the head men’s basketball coach at Fontbonne University in St. Louis, Missouri. He improved the Griffins’ victory total each of his three seasons at the helm.
He also spent two years as the assistant men’s basketball coach/athletic recruiting coordinator at the Benedictine campus in Lisle, Illinois from 2009-11. He was also the assistant coach at North Park (2004-09) and Wayne State (2001-04).
He graduated from Augustana in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts in speech communications and he has a Master’s of Science in Education from Wayne State (Nebraska) with an emphasis on sports management.
A native of Batavia, Illinois, Schafer was a member of the Augustana men’s basketball team from 1997 through 2000 but his playing time was limited by injuries. He served as a student-assistant for the men’s program under Giovanine in his senior year of 2000-01. A tremendous player at Batavia, he was a three-year varsity player who helped the Bulldogs compile a 68-18 overall record. Twice he was a first-team all-conference performer and was named to the all-area team in the Tri-Cities.
STEVE SCHAFER'S RECORD
|
ALL |
|
|
|
CONFERENCE |
|
|
| YEAR |
W |
L |
.PCT |
|
W |
L |
.PCT |
SCHOOL |
| 2011-12 |
5 |
20 |
.200 |
|
3 |
13 |
.188 |
Fontbonne |
| 2012-13 |
8 |
17 |
.320 |
|
6 |
10 |
.375 |
Fontbonne |
| 2013-14 |
9 |
16 |
.360 |
|
9 |
9 |
.500 |
Fontbonne |
| 2015-16 |
14 |
15 |
.482 |
|
|
|
|
Benedictine-Mesa |
| 2016-17 |
16 |
12 |
.571 |
|
11 |
3 |
.786 |
Benedictine-Mesa |
| 2017-18 |
14 |
15 |
.482 |
|
6 |
9 |
.400 |
Benedictine-Mesa |
| 2018-19 |
18 |
12 |
.600 |
|
7 |
7 |
.500 |
Benedictine-Mesa |
| 2019-20 |
14 |
15 |
.482 |
|
6 |
8 |
.429 |
Benedictine-Mesa |
| 2020-21 |
7 |
5 |
.583 |
|
6 |
4 |
.600 – 4th |
Augustana |
| Augustana Total |
7 |
5 |
.583 |
|
6 |
4 |
.600 |
|
| Career Total |
105 |
127 |
.453 |
|
54 |
63 |
.462 |
|
