Augustana University Athletics

Radio announcer Jeff Fylling talked of "the eyes of the linebacker…" when he spoke of David Gubbrud. Dave enters the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. He was an outstanding linebacker for the Vikings and an outstanding student, who finished with a 3.96 GPA and degree in biology.

Dave was the first player in any sport in NCAA history to earn Academic All-America honors four times from 1986 through 1989. He earned All-NCC Academic honors in 1987, 1988, and 1989. (The NCC did not consider freshman eligible for academic honors.) He earned honorable mention All-NCC honors as a junior in 1988 and was named All-NCC second team as a sophomore and a senior. During his junior and senior seasons, the Vikings won eight games and competed in the NCAA Playoff both years. Dave is credited with 360 career tackles and held the record until Bryan Schwartz "easily broke it," he said.

Dave was the GTE-CoSIDA Academic Athlete of the Year in 1988-89 and 1989-90. He was among 150 nominees for the NACDA/Disney Postgraduate Scholarship and one of ten recipients nationwide in 1990. The NCC honored Dave with the 1990 Stan Marshall Award as its top male athlete; the award is based on athletics, academics and community involvement. Dave's hometown of St. Paul, Minnesota, honored him as its amateur athlete of the year in 1989.

Dave wrote that his most memorable coach was Mike Freidel, who "taught me everything I know about football and a few things about life." Two memorable games for Dave were beating St. Cloud State in 1988 to qualify for the playoffs, and tying NDSU 7-7 in Fargo in 1989 to end their home winning streak.