Augustana College Football Camps
Coaching Staff
Steve Olinger
Quarterback Coach / Running Backs
Steve Olinger is in his 10th season on the Augustana staff and his fourth as the program's offensive coordinator.
During his time as director of the Viking attack unit, Olinger has coached nine All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference first team players. Augustana posted a school-record 11 wins in 2010 and shared the South Division championship with a 5-1 mark. Offensively, the Vikings led the league in time of possession and were fourth in total offense. Individually, sophomore quarterback Josh Hanson was first in passing average and total offense.
Olinger served as the team’s recruiting coordinator during the 2006 campaign and spent the 2004 and 2005 seasons as a graduate assistant coach.
He began his coaching career with the Vikings in 2002. After spending the 2002 and 2003 seasons as a student assistant coach, Olinger was elevated to a graduate assistant coach in 2004 and coached linebackers.
Olinger was an assistant coach with the Sioux Falls Storm for four seasons. The Storm set a professional sports record by winning 40 games en route to winning their fourth-straight United Bowl championship in 2008.
The former Viking defensive back enjoyed a stellar collegiate career at Augustana, where he was a three-year starter. As a senior in 2001 he earned All-North Central Conference honorable mention recognition. He was third on the team in tackles that season with 57, was second on the squad in interceptions with five, and pass break ups with eight.
A native of Emery, S.D., Olinger graduated from Augustana in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in education with an emphasis in health and physical education. He earned a master’s degree in education at Augustana in 2005.
Don Pierson
Special Teams Coordinator / Defensive Line
Now in his 26th year, Don Pierson is the senior member of the Augustana staff. His current duties include special teams coordinator and defensive line coach.
Augustana set a school record with 11 wins in 2010, and the defense led the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference in rushing defense and total defense.
In the past two years, Pierson has coached four All-NSIC picks on the defensive line. Standout defensive tackle Brady MacIver was named to the 2010 All-NSIC first team defensive unit and accepted an invitation to play in the Cactus Bowl. Pierson also coached the North Central Conference’s most valuable defensive lineman in 2003 as Austin Flyger picked up the honor.
Pierson, a member of the American Football Coaches Association, is a 1983 graduate of Dakota Wesleyan. Prior to coming to Augustana, he served on the staff at Nebraska-Kearney in 1983 and 1984. He assisted at Southwest Minnesota State in 1985. Pierson also serves as an assistant administrator in the athletic department. He is the home event manager for men's and women's basketball.
Pierson and his wife Shelly have two children, Tyler and Emilee.
Joe Evenson
Offensive Line
In 2010, Joe Evenson was a finalist for the American Football Coaches Association Assistant coach of the Year award. Nominees for the award were selected from Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III and the NAIA.
Evenson is in his fifth year as a member of the Vikings’ staff and since 2008 has been in charge of the offensive line. Augustana generated almost 400 yards a game in 2010 while posting a school-record 11 wins and earning a share of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference South Division championship.
During Evenson’s tenure, running back Joe Clark became Augustana’s all-time leading rusher and the first to accumulate 1,000 yards three consecutive seasons. Center Dan Schoen, a three-year starter, was a 2010 All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference first team choice and the recipient of a NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.
Before coming to Augustana, Evenson spent three seasons as a graduate assistant coach at Wayne State College (Neb.). During his stint at WSC, he worked with the linebackers.
A native of Garretson, S.D., Evenson was a four-year letter winner and two-year starting linebacker for Augustana from 1998 to 2001. He was an All-North Central Conference honorable mention selection both his junior and senior seasons.
Following his career with the Vikings, Evenson played three seasons (2002-2004) with the Sioux Falls Storm indoor football team. He was a member of the 2004 team that won the Pacific North Conference championship.
Evenson earned his bachelor's degree in fitness management from Augustana in 2003 and his master's degree in sports management from WSC in 2006.
Evenson and his wife, Tresse Klumper Evenson, who graduated from Augustana in 2004, are the parents of twin daughters, Jade Dorothea and Brynn Michael.
John Van Dam
Wide Receivers/Recruiting Coordinator
John Van Dam is in his fourth season on the Augustana coaching staff. He works primarily with wide receivers and tight ends and also serves as the recruiting coordinator.
In 2010, the Vikings possessed the second most productive passing offense in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
Van Dam coached senior wide out Tyler Schulte, who set a school record for touchdown receptions in a season (17) and tied the single-game record (4). Schulte finished his career with 158 receptions, 2,626 yards, 32 touchdowns, and 248 points. He was named to the 2010 All-Northern Sun South Division first team and the Don Hansen NCAA Division II Super Region Three first team.
Van Dam played collegiately at Michigan State, where he was a quarterback.
After redshirting in 2003, Van Dam saw limited action during his final four seasons with the Spartans. He participated in two bowl games, the 2003 Alamo Bowl versus Nebraska and the 2007 Champs Sports Bowl against Boston College. As a junior in 2006, he earned Academic All-Big 10 honors.
A native of East Lansing, Mich., Van Dam was a two-year letter winner at Okemos High School, where he also competed in lacrosse and track and field.
Van Dam’s father, Gary, is also associated with college football as a former coach and now as director of sales and marketing for the Little Ceasars Bowl.
A National Merit Scholarship recipient, Van Dam earned a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from Michigan State in 2008 and a master's degree in education from Augustana in 2010.
He spent two seasons as a graduate assistant at Augustana prior to his appointment as a full-time assistant in 2010. His post-season coaching experience at Augustana includes two Mineral Water Bowl appearances (2008 and 2009) and the NCAA Division II playoffs (2010).
Van Dam lives in Sioux Falls with his wife, Heather.
Joe Nordin
Running Backs
Joe Nordin is in his second season as a graduate assistant coach working with running backs at Augustana in 2011.
Under Nordin's guidance, Joe Clark became Augustana's all-time leading rusher in 2010.
Nordin comes to Augustana after spending a year as a graduate assistant at Tiffin (Ohio), where he worked with the defensive line. Prior to coaching a TU, he spent the 2008 season as a student assistant coach at Augustana.
A native of Lake Lillian, Minn., Nordin was a four-year starter at punter for Augustana from 2004 to 2007. He was twice named All-North Central Conference and served as a team captain during his senior year. Nordin finished his career with a 36.3 yards-per-punt average. He earned his degree in elementary education from Augustana in 2009.
Nordin lives in Sioux Falls and is pursing his master's degree in sports administration and leadership at Augustana.
James Schrenk
Linebackers
James Schrenk enters his first season as a graduate assistant coach for linebackers at Augustana in 2011.
A four-year letterwinner at Northern Colorado, Schrenk started two years at linebacker for the Bears and earned All-Big Sky honorable mention honors as a senior. He spent his first two seasons with UNC as a quarterback and was a special teams starter for four years. Schrenk appeared in 44 straight games and logged 67 career tackles for the Bears.
Schrenk earned his bachelor's degree in communications with a minor in coaching from UNC in 2010. He is currently pursuing a master's degree in sports administration and leadership at Augustana.
Eric Bergman
Defensive Line
Eric Bergman, a former Augustana defensive lineman, begins his inaugural season as a graduate assistant for the Viking football program in 2011.
A three-time All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference pick, Bergman wrapped up his collegiate careeer in 2011 and helped Augustana make its first playoff appearance in more than two decades. In the Vikings' playoff opener against national-power Grand Valley State, Bergman returned his first-career interception 25 yards for a touchdown in front of a rowdy home crowd at Kirkby-Over Stadium. Augustana went on to beat the Lakers 38-6.
A native of Clear Lake, Minn., Bergman finished his career with 70 tackles and 13.5 sacks. He earned his degree in business from Augustana in 2011.
Bergman, who is pursuing his master's degree in sports administration and leadership at Augustana, resides in Sioux Falls.
Lance Siebenahler
Offensive Line
Volunteer assistant Lance Siebenahler begins his second stint working with the Augustana football program in 2011 after serving as a student assistant from 2007 to 2009.
A native of Pipestone, Minn., Siebenahler graduated from Augustana in 2010 with a degree in elementary education. He currently teaches seventh-grade math at Edison Middle School in Sioux Falls.
Siebenahler, who lives in Sioux Falls, works with the offensive line.
Gerald Davis
Offensive Line
Gerald Davis begins his inaugural season as a volunteer assistant coach working with the offensive line at Augustana in 2011.
The Greensboro, Ga., native was an all-conference offensive lineman at Valdosta State (Ga.) and helped the Blazers win Division II national titles in 2004 and 2007. Following his collegiate career, Davis spent two seasons in the Canadian Football League, playing for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2008 and the Edmonton Eskimos in 2009. He moved to the indoor game in 2010, suiting up for the Sioux Falls Storm. In 2011, he helped the Storm win the Indoor Football League’s United Bowl.
Davis, who also spent two seasons as a graduate assistant at VSU, earned his degree from VSU in 2010. He lives in Sioux Falls with his wife, Karen.
