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.
David Kubes
Tennis
Inducted: 1993
Dave Kubes was the first of many great tennis players to have displayed their talents during the Steve Wilkinson era at Gustavus. Kubes was a junior when Wilkinson was named the head coach in 1971 and he responded to his new mentor's guidance by winning #1 singles and doubles titles at the MIAC championships that spring. In 1972, he repeated as MIAC singles and doubles champion but added a sixth place finish in singles at the NAIA national championships to become the first Gustavus all-America selection in tennis and the first collegiate tennis player from Minnesota to earn all-America honors in tennis.
Kubes was a member of three conference championship teams in his four years at Gustavus, winning MIAC singles titles three times as well.
Graduating with a degree in biology in 1972, Kubes immediately entered dental school at the University of Minnesota where he received his D.D.S. in 1976. His first year out of dental school was spent practicing on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and he later purchased a practice in St. Paul where he is still practicing. He was aprofessor at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry from 1979 to 1985. Kubes, the proud father of two children, Sally and Peter, resides in St. Paul.