Augustana Athletics and Viking Football are excited to unveil a special logo as a part of this season's celebration of the 10th Anniversary of Kirkeby-Over Stadium. The 10th anniversary and related social media content and signage are sponsored by Chesterman Company, a Coca-Cola Bottling Company.

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Opening in 2009, Kirkeby-Over Stadium serves as the home of the Augustana Vikings football program and gives the university one of the premier football venues in all of NCAA Division II.

Before the Vikings had their current on-campus facility, Augustana played and shared Howard Wood Field with the high schools in Sioux Falls from 1958-2008. On September 26, 2007, Augustana announced it would no longer call Howard Wood Field home, thanks to a $6.1 million donation allowing the Vikings to build an on-campus football facility, to be named Kirkeby–Over Stadium.

Following the initial donation, President Emeritus Rob Oliver announced in October 2007 that construction of Kirkeby-Over Stadium would begin on the site of the Vikings practice field at 37th Street and Lake Avenue. Through the generosity of Kari and Bob Hall, that dream came to fruition and gave the Vikings the on-campus facility they missed for half a century.

The Halls named the new stadium after the memory of Kari Hall's father and mother, Percy Kirkeby and Elizabeth Markley Kirkeby-Over. Kari Hall majored in sociology at Augustana and graduated in 1969. Bob Hall attended Augustana and currently works as the equipment manager for the football program.

"We wanted this place to be uniquely special," Bill Gross the former Athletic Director in 2008 said in an article to the Argus Leader. "And it's exceeded our hopes and expectations."

TKDA, a specialty architecture and engineering based in the Twin Cities, designed Kirkeby-Over Stadium, while the Winkels Group in Sioux Falls managed the project. The facility features a FieldTurf surface in a bowl venue with seating for approximately 6,500, including 1,200 chairback seats. Fans can also choose to watch the action from grass berms in the end zones, a popular spot for beautiful fall days on the Augustana campus.

Luxurious suites, a spacious press box, and private media booths border the west sideline of the stadium. The facility also boasts high definition television monitors in each suite and plenty of connection options for use by media. With no track surrounding the field, Kirkeby-Over Stadium boasts a great fan experience, with front row seats just 30 feet from play.

"My expectations were lower than this," Hall said, gesturing toward the press box and luxury suite structure that rises high above the home bleachers on the stadium's west side during a 2009 interview with the Argus Leader. "I didn't envision something quite like this. It's beautiful."

The facility represents Augustana's second on-campus football venue. Augustana College relocated to Sioux Falls in 1918 and built the first field in the late 1920s. That facility sat behind the current administration building, East Hall and Old Main.
The Augustana players make their entrance through the above-ground tunnel behind the north end zone. The tunnel marks the end of a walkway from the locker room in the Hall Football Complex at the Elmen Center to the field. The Hall's donated $1 million in 2005 to help build the complex that houses football offices, the equipment room, meeting rooms and a weight room, all attached to the Elmen Center.

Bob's father and mother, Bill and Irene Hall, also contributed greatly to Augustana, and their gift in the 1980s helped construct the Elmen Center, in which the Hall Sports Forum is named in their honor. Bill and Irene also provided a variety of other gifts to Augustana athletics that assisted with facility upgrades, and continue to assist with on-going annual scholarships and operations. All told, the family gifted and pledged more than $11.1 million to Augustana.

Augustana officially opened the stadium on Sept. 5, 2009, in grand fashion, with a 32-21 win over Emporia State in front of a crowd of 6,067 fans. To date, Augustana boasts a 36-21 overall home record in Kirkeby-Over Stadium.