Augustana University Athletics

Josh Morton was introduced as the new leader of Augustana athletics in April 2018 and officially began a month later. Since his introductory press conference, Viking athletics has continually focused on three cornerstones of the department: enhancing the student-athlete experience, being active and engaging with the Augustana and Sioux Falls community and winning with integrity. 
 
With an intense focus on student-athletes, Morton’s early initiatives included contracting a sports dietitian through the Sanford Sports Science Institute and the addition of a fueling station for student-athletes. In addition, and through a local partnership, all Augustana student-athletes now have access to post-workout recovery drinks. 
 
Under Morton’s leadership, Augustana has seen an NCAA Woman of the Year, two NCAA Today’s Top-10 Award Winners and four Academic All-America Team Members of the Year.
 
Morton’s first year also saw Augustana athletics sign a multi-year apparel agreement with BSN Sports to outfit all Viking programs with Nike gear. 
 
Since May, 2018 Augustana has claimed a pair of team NCAA Division II National Champions, an individual national champion and has been honored with 36 Academic All-America honors. 
 
The 2018 Viking Baseball team won its first ever NCAA Division II National Championship in Cary, N.C. and Augustana claimed its fifth team National Championship when the softball team won in May of 2019. 
 
The 2018-19 academic year also saw Olivia Montez Brown win the Indoor Pentathlon National Championship, three team NSIC Championships, five Academic All-Americans and 215 Academic All-Conference honorees. 
 
A successful move for Augustana men’s and women’s basketball to the Sanford Pentagon highlighted the 2019-20 academic year. The ten-year agreement will have Augustana calling one of the premier facilities in the midwest its home floor. 
 
The 2019-20 academic year saw its challenges with the COVID-19 pandemic but also saw Viking student-athletes lead through all three phases of Augustana Athletics’ cornerstone values. The Vikings led the NSIC with 237 academic All-NSIC honors and claimed eight CoSIDA Academic All-America honors, the most in Augustana’s history. 
 
In competition, Augustana was the leader of the NSIC All-Sports Standings when the pandemic hit and was ranked sixth in the nation in the Learfield IMG College Directors’ Cup standings. 
 
In 2020, the athletics department created a new philosophy statement tied to the overall mission of Augustana University. In support of Augustana University's mission, Augustana Athletics aims: To provide a student-athlete centered experience that is committed to distinction in the classroom, excellence in competition, and faithful service to community. 
 
During the summer of 2020, the athletics department began a year-long focus on ending racial discrimination and social injustice.  A series of Courageous Conversations, the forming of a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, and the first ever student-athlete led Summit on Race series are part of that initiative.
 
On the competition surface, the 2020-21 academic year saw Augustana capture four NSIC Championships while only winter and spring sports were competed. The Viking Athletics Department again led the league in total academic All-NSIC honors at 248. In addition, Augustana had a then-record year with Academic All-Americans with nine honors.
 
2021-22 was a banner year for the department highlighted by Kendall Cornick’s NCAA Woman of the Year honor. She went on to become Augustana’s second Today’s Top-10 Award Winner in January.
 
Augustana would finish seventh in the LEARFIELD Director’s Cup standings for NCAA Division II while sweeping the NSIC All-Sports Award behind eight NSIC Championship teams. In the classroom, Augustana again shined with 13 Academic All-Americans and 245 academic all-NSIC honorees.
 
In addition to the current sport offerings in 2021-22, Augustana formally announced the addition of men’s ice hockey, which will compete at the NCAA Division I level, in October of 2021. Under Morton’s leadership, all three goals for the 2021-22 academic year were met by graduation weekend with the hiring of the program’s first-ever head coach, finalizing the plans for Midco Arena, the on-campus home of Viking hockey, and securing a conference invite.
 
Garrett Raboin was announced as the head coach of the program in April while ground broke on the arena just a few short weeks later. In May, the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) unanimously accepted Augustana as the league’s ninth member when the Vikings take the ice for the inaugural season in 2023-24.
 
Morton’s time in intercollegiate athletics before Augustana focused on fundraising. As an Assistant Athletic Director at Michigan State, he helped secure more than $23 million in major gift commitments. He also served as the primary fundraising liaison for Spartan track & field, cross country and swimming and diving. He served in his role during some of the most successful periods in Spartan Athletics history.  
 
Before moving to East Lansing, he served as an Associate Athletics Director at North Dakota where he successfully worked with the designing, planning, and fundraising behind the UND High Performance Center. From 2009-12, he secured more than $22 million in annual, major and planned gifts for UND athletics.
 
Morton was a walk-on quarterback at UND and was part of North Central Conference Championship teams and three Division II National Semifinal teams. His father, Don, was a successful college football coach serving as the head coach at North Dakota State, Tulsa and Wisconsin. Morton was born in Sioux Falls while Don was an assistant coach at Augustana.
 
Before beginning his career in college athletics, Morton served as the sports director and sports anchor for WCIV-TV, the ABC affiliate in Charleston, South Carolina. 
 
He and his wife, Robin, live in Sioux Falls and are parents to Luke, Cale and Sara Jane.