Athletic Hall of Fame
The Gustavus Adolphus College Hall of Fame was established in 1978 at which time 19 "Charter Members" were inducted either as coaches or as athletes. As of the fall of 2022, 348 individuals (321 athletes, 16 coaches and 11 benefactors) have been elected to the Hall of Fame.
The former Hall of Fame room on the second floor of the Lund Center was originally partially endowed by the families of both Dwight Holcombe's (the only father/son combination holding membership in the Hall). The hardwood plaque upon which the individual plates are permanently displayed, now in the Hall of Champions, was donated by the family of former football coach and Hall of Fame member Jocko Nelson, who passed away in 1978.
Paul Holbach
Tennis
Inducted: 2000
Paul Holbach is one of the most decorated and successful tennis players in the history of the renowned Gustavus tennis program. A six-time All-America recipient in singles and doubles and the 1980 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III doubles champion with partner John Mattke '80, Holbach compiled a career mark of 113-35 in singles and 135-20 in doubles. He was a four-time Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) champion in singles (#3 and #2 positions) and two-time champion in doubles (#2 and #1 positions) while also winning the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) District 13 singles title once (1978) and the doubles title three times. Holbach was an integral part of Gustavus squads that won the NCAA Division III Team Championship in 1980 and finished second in the NAIA Championships in both 1979 and 1980. In addition to his accomplishments on the tennis court, Holbach was also an outstanding student and received NAIA Academic All-America honors in both 1979 and 1980.
After graduating cum laude with a social studies distributive major, Holbach became the Junior Director of Tennis in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1980-1986. He then accepted the position as assistant women's tennis coach at UCLA in 1987 where he served for one year before moving on to independently coach numerous professional, collegiate and high school players in the Los Angeles area (including Lindsay Davenport, currently ranked second in the world, when she was between the ages of 12 and 16). Paul, who is single, is presently Junior Director of Tennis at Sunset Tennis Center in St. Louis, Missouri.