MINNEAPOLIS -- Derrin Lamker '97, an Augsburg University Athletic Hall of Fame member who has become one of the top high school football coaches in Minnesota, will return to his alma mater as the 15th head coach in Augsburg football history, the university announced on Friday.
As football coach at Osseo High School, he led the Orioles to the Minnesota Class 6A state championship in 2015, part of an 11-season tenure that saw him earn Minnesota State 6A Coach of the Year honors, while winning three conference titles and two section titles.
He replaces Frank Haege, who stepped down shortly after the end of the season. Haege coached for 15 seasons and compiled a 57-93 mark. The Auggies were 2-8 this past season.
Lamker earned honors from the Augsburg Athletic Hall of Fame twice in the past decade, receiving the school's Excellence in Coaching Award in 2016 and being named to the Hall of Fame for his playing accomplishments in 2018.
For the past three seasons, Lamker served as head coach at Edina High School, where he led the Hornets to the Minnesota Class 6A state tournament quarterfinals in 2017 -- only the team's third state tournament appearance in school history -- and a 20-11 record. He served as offensive coordinator at Edina in the 2016 season before being named head coach in 2017. He earned section coach of the year honors in 2017.
"I am honored and extremely excited to be able to come back 'home'," Lamker said. "Augsburg is a special place, and I look forward to leading the Auggies back to the top of the MIAC in the near future. I have always said that Augsburg has real people in a real-world setting. I am so excited to lead these young men into the next chapter of their lives, to see them succeed in the classroom, on the field and eventually watching them gain employment."
Lamker was a two-time All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honoree as a three-year starting quarterback for the Auggie football team. He led the Auggies to the 1997 MIAC championship and a second-round NCAA Division III playoff appearance -- just the second conference title and first NCAA tournament appearance in Augsburg football history. He was named MIAC Most Valuable Player in 1997, in addition to being a finalist for the Gagliardi Trophy, given to the top student-athlete in NCAA Division III football. He was also named to the Football Gazette All-West Region team.
"Derrin emerged from an outstanding field of candidates to lead our program," said Augsburg athletic director Jeff Swenson '79. "When he quarterbacked the team, he led us to an MIAC championship, and we feel he is capable of leading us to championship success as a head coach. He is unique as an Augsburg Athletic Hall of Famer both as an athlete and a coach, and he has been a winner at every stop in his coaching career. He is so passionate about Augsburg and wants to come home to lead us again. He's ready to hit the ground running in recruiting the student-athletes to keep building our program to the next level."
Lamker completed 550 of 1,022 passes for 6,624 yards and 46 touchdowns during his Augsburg career, setting school passing records that stood for 10 seasons. He currently stands fourth in school history in career passing attempts, completions and yardage, while he is tied for third in school history in career passing touchdowns.
He was also a three-year starter on the Augsburg men's basketball team and played two seasons of baseball for the Auggies.
In 2005, Lamker was named head coach for the Osseo High School football team. In 11 seasons there, he led the Orioles to three conference championships, two section titles and the Minnesota Class 6A state title in 2015. He had a 74-39 record at Osseo, part of his 94-50 high school career coaching record. He earned Northwest Suburban Conference Coach of the Year honors three times, was named section coach of the year twice and was named Minnesota Class 6A State Coach of the Year in 2015. He also served on the coaching staff for the Minnesota High School All-Star Game twice, including as head coach in 2015.
Lamker began his coaching career at his alma mater, where he spent four seasons (1999-2002) as an assistant coach, his final two seasons as offensive coordinator. He then moved to Robbinsdale Armstrong, his high school alma mater, where he was an assistant coach in football, boys' basketball and baseball, and served as head coach for the girls' basketball team in 2003-04.
He served as a physical education teacher in Robbinsdale, Osseo and Edina during his K-12 career. Lamker earned his bachelor's degree in education from Augsburg in 1997 and his master's degree in education from Saint Mary's University in 2004.
A native of Golden Valley, Minn., he and his wife Amy have two daughters, Jordyn (16) and Shea (15), and live in Maple Grove, Minn.