Hall of Fame
Coach Bob Reade brought unprecedented positive national recognition to Augustana (IL) during the 1980s. Reade's tenure with the Vikings football program was highlighted by four straight NCAA Division III national championships from 1983 through 1986.
When Reade assumed the reins of the Augustana football program in the spring of 1979, few people in the administration of the Lutheran school near the banks of the Mississippi River in Rock Island, Illinois, could have predicted the success that was going to become synonymous with the Vikings on the gridiron. One look at Reade's history, however and one would have a good indication that the father of 11 children – he had nine when he took the job – was no stranger to building a powerful program.
He left behind a powerhouse at J.D. Darnall High School in Geneseo where he went 146-21-4 in 17 years and was coming off three straight Class 3A state titles in 1976, 1977 and 1978. From 1965-71, his Maple Leafs had an unbeaten streak of 52 straight games.
In 16 years at Augustana, the success never stopped as Reade compiled a record of 146-21-1 overall and 112-12-1 in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin. His .862 winning percentage still ranks in the top five in NCAA history across all divisions of play. His teams were in the NCAA Division III playoffs 11 times, including a then-national record 10 straight appearances from 1981-90.
The Vikings won four straight NCAA titles from 1983-86 and his legendary senior class of 1987 went through an entire career without a loss. That group of 13 seniors finished their collective careers with a record of 49-0-1 and had a hand in all four national championships.
Augustana won 12 CCIW titles during Reade's time on the sidelines, including eight straight from 1981-88. A total of 37 players earned NCAA Division III All-America honors while Reade was the head coach, including Hall of Famer Lynn Thomsen. He also coached 10 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans and 106 First Team All-CCIW performers. In his 16 seasons, a Viking was named the league MVP 13 times.
Reade was the first coach in college football history to win 100 games in his first 10 years as head coach. During the decade of the 1980's Augustana was 103-10-1 for a winning percentage of .908, which was the best single decade mark ever recorded at the time.
He won four straight national "Kodak Coach of the Year" awards as picked by the AFCA and was chosen as CCIW Coach of the Year nine times. Starting with the first game of the 1983 season and ending with the second round of the 1987 playoffs, Augustana put together a streak of 60 games in a row without a loss (there was a 0-0 tie with Elmhurst to open the 1986 season). That streak still stands as an NCAA Division III record and is the second longest in NCAA history, regardless of division.
Because of the success of the Vikings, and the unique way that Reade ran his program, Augustana's name was in front of the national media in an unheard of fashion for a division III institution. The Vikings appeared on network television seven straight years from 1981-87 and nearly every major newspaper in the country ran features on the team's exploits.The Wall Street Journal and Rolling Stone Magazine both ran features on Augustana and Reade also authored a book called "Coaching Football Successfully."
In January of 1998, four years after he coached his last game, he was awarded the prestigious Amos Alonzo Stagg Award by the American Football Coaches Association and in August of that same year, he was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame.
Reade is also in the Tribe of Vikings, the Geneseo High School, the Quad City Times and the Illinois Football Coaches Association halls of fame.
Reade passed away on Sunday, July 5, 2020, in Geneseo, Illinois. He was 87.
