Northland athletic director Bill Wilson has announced the hiring of
Stu Engen as men's head basketball coach for the Northland
LumberJacks. Engen will begin this week. He will also carry out
additional duties as Northland's assistant AD.
He replaces Rob Robinson, who compiled a 45-156 record (.224) in eight seasons.
"We are very pleased to welcome Stu Engen to the Northland
College family," said Wilson. "He is the perfect fit to lead us
into the new era of LumberJack basketball. Stu is a proven winner
who has had a great deal of success at the NCAA Division III level.
It is rewarding to see how excited Stu is to be a part of Northland
College and the momentum we are experiencing on our campus."
Engen most recently coached at Minnesota State
University-Moorhead for eight seasons. He previously held head
coaching positions at UW-La Crosse (2000-02), then-Division III Upper Iowa (1992-2000) and Western
Wisconsin Technical College (1990-92). Engen also served as an
assistant coach at South Dakota and Augsburg.
Engen has a career mark of 262-213, including 101-120 in eight seasons at Moorhead.
"Good coaching positions are sometimes about timing. Under the
new leadership of Northland College president Michael A. Miller and
newathletic leadership of Coach Wilson, I don't think the timing
could be any better to be the men's head basketball coach at
Northland College," Engen stated. "The most rewarding experiences
for me originate from serving others and creating positive change.
I look forward to working with this transitional team in serving
the best interest of Northland College students both academically
and athletically."
A 1986 graduate of Augsburg, Engen was inducted into the school's
athletics Hall of Fame and the Iowa Basketball Coaches Association
recognized Engen with the Paul Maaske Memorial Award in 1999.
During Engen's tenure at MSU-Moorhead, his 2003 team achieved the
best record for MSU-Moorhead's basketball team in 28 years. The
2003 team just missed a trip to the NCAA Division II Tournament,
finishing second in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference
tournament. While at UW-L, Engen's 2002 team finished as runner-up
in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. For his
efforts, Engen was named WIAC Coach of the Year. He also achieved
unprecedented success during his tenure at Upper Iowa, with an
overall record of 133-71. Under Engen's leadership, UIU won three
Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) Championships and
one conference tournament championship during the first year of the
tournament. Engen was also presented with the IIAC Coach of The
Year Award on three occasions.
Engen and his wife, Mary, have four children: daughters Mikkel
(18), Alyse (17), Tierza (14) and son E.J. (12).