Hall of Fame
Despite the physical nature of the North Central Conference, Neil Klutman did not miss a basketball game in four seasons. Through those 104 games, he tallied 450 assists and 1184 points. He was the career assist leader, and was third on the career scoring list at the end of his four years; currently, he is fifteenth on that list. As a freshman, he was 11-11 from the free throw line against Briar Cliff, one of six Augie players in history to shoot 100%. One of his teammates called him a "true workhorse" on the court.
The 1974-75 basketball team, under Coach Mel Klein, was 19-7; that was the most wins in school history at that time. As a senior on that team, "Klute" had 362 points and shot a team-leading 79% on free throws; he was also named All-NCC, Academic. As a junior, he led the NCC in assists.
During his collegiate career, he was named to the All-Lutheran and the Academic All-Lutheran teams. He was the Sioux Falls Honor Athlete of the Year in 1975 and also earned an NCAA Post-graduate scholarship, the second Augustana student-athlete to do so.
Neil, as most of us, liked winning! His most memorable moments include winning at USD, winning at UNI and winning the Holiday Tournament in 1974. The wins at USD and UNI were the first in nearly 20 years.
Neil graduated cum laude with a B.S. in biology in 1975. He completed graduate studies at USD, and earned his Ph. D. in Pharmacy at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 1985, followed by a clinical residency there in 1986.
Dr. Klutman has been an associate professor at the University of Kansas since 1986. His is involved in eighteen different courses as lecturer, director or advisor in the School of Pharmacy and is a member of nine professional organizations. He has authored or co-authored  25 research publications in such journals as American Journal of Medicine, New England Journal of Medicine and American Academy of Family Physicians; he has prepared nine abstracts and four Drug Update newsletters; eight research publications are in progress. In addition, he has given over fifty professional presentations and submitted sixteen grant proposals for research. He was honored at Teacher of the Year in 1995, and was also award a New Drug Discovery grant from the National Institute of Health in 1995.
