Augie's Fylling to Take Year Away, School Tabs Interim Voice

Jeff Fylling has been the voice of Augustana Viking athletics for over 41 years. He got his first start on the air with the Vikings back on August 30th, 1974.

On Monday, news broke that the longtime play-by-play broadcaster would be taking a year off while battling a health issue.

After over 2,000 games with Augustana ranging from Football to Men's and Women's hoops, Fylling will be replaced for the season on an interim basis by area broadcaster JJ Hartigan.

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Per GoAugie.com:

A Sioux Falls native, Hartigan has been all over the area, serving as a broadcaster for the Sioux Falls Canaries from 2014-17 and as lead analyst for the 2021 NSIC and Summit League baseball tournaments on Midco Sports Network. He has also helped with production on several ESPN and CBS Sports Network broadcasts in the area. For four years, Hartigan served as the radio broadcaster for South Dakota State women's basketball, three of which ended in the NCAA Tournament.

Hartigan will begin immediately and will have the call when the Augustana Viking football program takes on UMary to open the season on Thursday, September 5th.

Fylling's time as the lead play-by-play man has come to a pause, but his career thus far is one worth celebrating:

Fylling has called 430 football games and over 1,600 basketball games across 41 seasons with Augustana. He has been on the call for two NSIC championship football seasons, including the first outright conference championship since 1959, and seven NSIC titles across men's and women's basketball.
"When you think of the great moments in Augustana football and basketball history, Jeff called them all and Viking fans heard about it from his eyes," said Vice President for Athletics Josh Morton.
In his 41 seasons, Fylling has seen 34 NCAA tournament appearances between football, men's basketball and women's basketball and was on the call for the 2013 Women's Final Four team and the 2016 Men's National Championship basketball team.

In his own words, Fylling describes his time at Augustana as heard on Overtime with Bert Remien on ESPN Sioux Falls Monday morning:

The Augustana Vikings open up the football season in just a few short weeks, and you can catch Augustana Football as well as Men's and Women's Basketball all season long on 100.1 FM KXRB!

All the best to longtime broadcaster Jeff Fylling as he steps away from his role at Augustana!

Source: GoAugie.com

Know Your South Dakota College and University Mascots

The college football experience is an ultimate high for football fans and it takes several other teams to make that happen week after week during the season.

Just think about what goes into gameday? First and foremost, the players and coaching staff who put in hours and hours of practice and training to play in front of their fans. Then there's field prep, game officials, live broadcasts, concessions, and on-the-field entertainment. Yep, entertainment.

Second to the game, who do you watch? The cheerleaders? The band at halftime? What about the mascot? That's a job not many people can do.

I asked Sioux Falls native and former Cagey mascot for the Sioux Falls Canaries and Little Red & Herbie for the Nebraska Huskers Nate Welch about being a mascot:

What does it take to be a mascot?
"Losing a bet or filling an opportunity!" Welch says, "An internal energized desire to love life. After meeting great performers who are introverts out of costume, they become the center of attention when they take the stage. And also feeding off the performance of others."
Why does the mascot never talk?
"Know your role and shut your mouth. You are there to entertain. Tell the story with your actions and not your voice."
Advice to someone putting on that costume for the first time?
"Remember you are now in a costume. Have fun. Otherwise, you're just a dork in tights. If the fur ain't flying you ain't trying."

Nate Welch has moved on from his days as a mascot to Executive Director of the Vermillion Area Chamber of Commerce and Development Company in Vermillion, South Dakota.

So, can you name the mascots at our South Dakota Colleges and Universities? Check out the gallery below:

Gallery Credit: Dave Roberts