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.
Dan Prochnow
Golf
Inducted: 2006
Dan Prochnow '78 starred for the Gustavus men's golf program in the mid-'70s, becoming the first player in the history of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) to win three conference individual titles. (The only other player in league history to accomplish this feat is current Gustavus golf coach Scott Moe '95.) A Hutchinson, Minn., native, Prochnow claimed his first individual title as a sophomore in 1976, and then followed that by claiming top honors in both 1977 and 1978. In 1977, he set the conference championship record for lowest individual score with a 36-hole total of 72-74—146. Prochnow helped lead the team to a second-place finish in 1976 and then back-to-back league titles in 1977 and 1978. In his senior year, he was the #1 player on a Gustavus team that qualified for the NAIA national tournament in Huntsville, Texas. The Gusties finished 16th out of 32 teams and became the first MIAC team to ever survive the 36-hole team cut at the NAIA tournament. It was also the highest team finish ever recorded by a MIAC team at the national tournament at the time.
After graduating in 1978 with a business, economics, and social science major, Prochnow went on to earn a law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1981. For the past 25 years he has operated his own private practice in Hutchinson, where he lives with his wife, Laura. They have three daughters, Angie (21), Kelsie (19), and Hannah (16).