Erv Inniger to be Recognized Prior to NDSU-UND Men's Basketball Game

FARGO, N.D. - North Dakota State University will recognize the contributions of longtime coach and administrator Erv Inniger prior to Saturday's 7 p.m. NDSU-UND men's basketball game at the Fargodome.

Inniger, in his 33rd year at the university, will retire Jan. 18. He has been an associate and senior associate athletic director since 1992 after spending 14 seasons as the head men's basketball coach.

Over the past 18 years, Inniger has raised scholarship endowments from $356,000 to over $10.5 million, and Bison Athletics currently has 120 scholarship endowments.

He served two terms on the Fargo City Commission and played a major role in developing facilities such as the Ellig Sports Complex and Newman Outdoor Field on the NDSU campus that have benefited both the university and the community. He is currently working toward the Bison Sports Arena renovation project estimated at $32 million.

Inducted into the Bison Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001, Inniger is the winningest men's basketball coach in school history. He guided NDSU to a 244-150 record from 1978 to 1992 including one North Central Conference title in 1981.

He coached two 20-win teams and racked up 13 consecutive winning seasons from 1978 to 1991, including runner-up finishes in 1980, 1985 and 1987. The 1981 team finished third at the NCAA Division II regional, and the 1983 team advanced to the NCAA regional title game.

Inniger recruited and/or coached eight Bison Athletic Hall of Famers - Jeff Askew, Lance Berwald, Mike Driscoll, Brady Lipp, Joe Regnier, David Ryles, Dr. Paul Shogren, and Dan Wilberscheid.

A native of Berne, Ind., Inniger was a standout performer in high school, where his teams went 67-12 over three regular seasons. He was a member of the 1988 Indiana silver anniversary All-Star Team as selected by the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.

He played at Indiana University in the mid-1960s, where he was captain of the Hoosier team that won the 1967 Big Ten championship and was also a standout pitcher on the baseball diamond.

He went on to play two years in the American Basketball Association with the Minnesota Muskies and Miami Floridians before joining the coaching ranks. He spent four seasons at Golden Valley Lutheran Junior College and five seasons at Augsburg College before coming to NDSU. He had a career record of 409-224.

Erv and his wife Linda have two sons and five grandsons. One son, Bart, was captain of the 1991-92 Bison basketball team, and the other, Brett, played college ball at Concordia in Moorhead.

A formal event in recognition of Inniger's accomplishments is being planned for Friday, April 15.