As Augustana’s all-time winningest men’s basketball coach, a national champion and a two-time national coach of the year, Tom Billeter has set a national standard for achievement at Augustana.
Entering his 21st season at Augustana, Billeter has led the Vikings to over 300 wins and the 2016 NCAA Division II National Championship. He has directed the Vikings to nine NCAA Tournament appearances, three NSIC Championships, two NSIC Tournament Championships, and has coached 10 players to 11 conference player of the year awards.
It was a building year in 2022-23 as the Vikings resembled a new team with eight players sitting as a sophomore or younger. Isaac Fink earned First Team All-NSIC honors after leading the team in both points and rebounds. He joined the illustrious list of 1,000 point scorers during the season.
The latest championship run was a 26-win season in 2021-22 earning the NSIC Coach of the Year honor as the Vikings earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Central Region Tournament. With a 17-2 NSIC record, Augustana earned its third NSIC crown behind the NSIC South Division's Player of the Year, Tyler Riemersma, and NSIC Defensive Player of the Year, Dylan LeBrun. Riemersma went on to earn NABC All-America honors. First Team All-NSIC honors went to Riemersma and Adam Dykman while a second-team honor was given to Isaac Fink. Throughout the season, three members joined the 1,000-point club in Riemersma, Dykman and LeBrun. In addition, Riemersma finished his career with over 1,300 points and 900 rebounds, becoming just the fourth player at Augustana to combine for those totals.
Academically, Riemersma was the top student-athlete in all of Division II basketball, earning the CoSIDA Academic All-America Team Member of the Year for men's basketball.
In 2019-20, Billeter led a team that saw junior Tyler Riemersma earn first-team all-NSIC honors after ranking third in the nation in offensive rebounds per game and eighth in total rebounds. Riemersma also earned CoSIDA Academic All-America accolades.
In 2018-19, Billeter led a starting group of four freshmen and a sophomore to the NSIC South Division Championship with a 14-8 NSIC record and went 18-12 overall. Sophomore Matt Cartwright earned second-team all-NSIC accolades while he also coached his fifth NSIC Freshman of the Year.
The 2015-16 season was one to remember, winning the NCAA Division II National Championship, a school-record 34 games, owning the highest winning percentage in Division II and the second-most wins of any team in the NCAA. He was named the NABC National Coach of the Year, an award he accepted alongside Augustana’s all-time leading scorer and 2016 NABC National Player of the Year, Daniel Jansen.
Jansen ended his career as Augustana’s all-time leading scorer, as well as twice being named the Central Region Player of the Year and twice being named NSIC Player of the Year. He was named to seven All-America teams over two seasons and concluded his career with a school record of 2,255 points. His 721 points scored in his senior campaign is a single-season scoring record.
At the same time, Jansen was earning NSIC Player of the Year awards, Casey Schilling was earning back-to-back NSIC Defensive Player of the Year accolades. An All-America selection in 2016, Schilling totaled 2,054 points over his career, one of two Vikings’ to score more than 2,000 points in their career. He also finished third all-time at Augustana with 997 career rebounds, one of just three players in school history with more than 900 boards.
Jansen and Schilling were two of 13 finalists for the Bevo Francis National Player of the Year Award by Small College Basketball.
The Vikings captured the 2016 National Championship with a 90-81 win over Lincoln Memorial. Alex Richter was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Elite Eight after averaging 24.3 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.
The Vikings won 31 games in 2014-15, including a 20-2 mark in NSIC action. Jansen and Schilling earned NSIC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors. Jordan Spencer was named the Freshman of the Year, joining the likes of Cody Schilling (2009), Cameron McCaffrey (2010) and Daniel Jansen (2013) to earn the award under Billeter. Their 91.2 winning percentage was the second-best mark in Division II, and the Vikings were one of just 18 teams across all divisions with 30-plus wins.
Billeter has seen four players re-write the Augustana men’s basketball record book after Cody Schilling’s 1,868 points from 2008-12. McCaffrey set the bar even higher, scoring, at the time, the second-most points in a single season in 2012-13 (659 points) to surpass Schilling with 1,964 career points from 2009-13. Both of those records have since been broken by Daniel Jansen and Casey Schilling.
Billeter turned the Vikings into a perennial NCAA Tournament squad after guiding Augie to its first postseason appearance in 19 years during the 2007-08 season. That season, Corey McIntosh was named the North Central Conference Newcomer of the Year.
Coming off a successful season in 2012-13 where Augustana went 22-9, the Vikings finished 16-14 in 2013-14. For just the second time since joining the NSIC in 2008-09, Augustana had two First Team All-NSIC selections in the same season, with Casey Schilling and Jansen both earning first-team laurels. Casey Schilling went on to earn Daktronics All-Central Region Second Team honors, marking the sixth-straight season Billeter has produced an All-Region caliber player.
Billeter emerged from a field of 15 candidates in 2013 to earn Clarence “Big House” Gaines National Coach of the Year Award following the 2012-13 season. He was also a finalist for the John McLendon Coach of the Year honors that season.
In five seasons as the head coach at North Dakota State University, Billeter compiled a 97-50 record. During his time, the Bison posted four consecutive 20-win seasons and earned four straight appearances in the NCAA Division II Tournament. Billeter compiled a 57-33 record against NCC opposition, and the Bison were three-time conference runners-up.
Billeter began his coaching career at the University of Arizona, where he worked two seasons (1985-1987) alongside Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson. The Wildcats were 23-9 in 1985-86 and won the Pac 10 Conference title. Arizona advanced to the NCAA Tournament both seasons.
During his stint in Arizona, Billeter coached Sean Elliott (NBA), Steve Kerr (NBA), Tom Tolbert (NBA), Jud Buechler (NBA) and Kenny Lofton (MLB). He then moved to Rice, where he served as an assistant coach from 1987 to 1992. The Owls won 20 games in 1991-92, the first 20-win season since 1953-54. Rice narrowly missed being awarded berths in the NCAA and NIT tournaments. While at Rice, Billeter coached the Owls’ star center, Brent Scott (NBA).
Billeter’s 32 years in coaching includes experience outside the United States. In 1996 he coached Team America, a team of NCAA Division I players aged 22-and-younger. His squad participated in the Turgut Atakol Tournament in Istanbul, Turkey.
Following his five-year run at NDSU, Billeter spent the 1997-98 season at St. John’s (N.Y.). He served under head coach Fran Fraschilla and helped the Red Storm to a 22-10 record. Led by Felipe Lopez (NBA) and Ron Artest (NBA), St. John’s advanced to the NCAA tournament.
Billeter then began a five-year run at Texas A&M under head coach Melvin Watkins. In 2002-03, the Aggies posted a 14-14 record marking just the second .500 or better season in 14 years. While there, Billeter had the opportunity to coach Bernard King and Antoine Wright (NBA). King is Texas A&M’s career scoring leader and the second all-time leading scorer in the history of the Big 12. Wright was the Big 12 Freshman of the Year in 2002-03.
Billeter earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education from the University of Illinois in 1983 and his master’s degree in exercise physiology from Arizona in 1987. Tom and his wife, Paula, are the parents of four children: Mike (Lindsie), Kelsey (Kyle), Kyle and Brett. Tom and Paula are proud grandparents to Jack, Fox and Sparrow, all three children of Mike and Lindsie.
| Tom Billeter Year-by-Year |
|
|
Overall |
Conf. |
|
| Year |
School |
W |
L |
W |
L |
Finish |
| 1992-93 |
North Dakota State |
12 |
17 |
7 |
11 |
8th |
| 1993-94* |
North Dakota State |
21 |
9 |
14 |
4 |
2nd |
| 1994-95* |
North Dakota State |
22 |
8 |
12 |
6 |
t-1st |
| 1995-96* |
North Dakota State |
20 |
9 |
12 |
6 |
t-2nd |
| 1996-97* |
North Dakota State |
22 |
7 |
12 |
6 |
t-2nd |
| 2003-04 |
Augustana |
6 |
21 |
2 |
12 |
8th |
| 2004-05 |
Augustana |
8 |
20 |
1 |
11 |
7th |
| 2005-06 |
Augustana |
12 |
16 |
5 |
7 |
5th |
| 2006-07 |
Augustana |
16 |
12 |
3 |
9 |
5th |
| 2007-08* |
Augustana |
22 |
9 |
8 |
4 |
2nd |
| 2008-09* |
Augustana |
21 |
10 |
13 |
7 |
6th |
| 2009-10* |
Augustana |
24 |
7 |
15 |
5 |
3rd |
| 2010-11 |
Augustana |
18 |
9 |
15 |
7 |
3rd |
| 2011-12* |
Augustana |
17 |
11 |
14 |
8 |
t-4th |
| 2012-13* |
Augustana |
22 |
9 |
15 |
7 |
3rd |
| 2013-14 |
Augustana |
16 |
14 |
12 |
10 |
t-9th |
| 2014-15* |
Augustana |
31 |
3 |
20 |
2 |
t-1st |
| 2015-16* |
Augustana |
34 |
2 |
21 |
1 |
1st |
| 2016-17* |
Augustana |
24 |
9 |
16 |
6 |
4th |
| 2017-18 |
Augustana |
16 |
14 |
10 |
12 |
8th |
| 2018-19 |
Augustana |
18 |
11 |
14 |
8 |
5th |
| 2019-20 |
Augustana |
19 |
11 |
13 |
9 |
6th |
| 2020-21 |
Augustana |
9 |
7 |
7 |
6 |
4th |
| 2021-22* |
Augustana |
26 |
4 |
17 |
2 |
1st |
| 2022-23 |
Augustana |
15 |
14 |
11 |
11 |
9th |
|
|
471 |
263 |
289 |
177 |
|
* = NCAA postseason
