There are many reasons for Augustana's ascension from a struggling North Central Conference underdog in most sports to a national Div. II athletics titan. Tom Billeter's building of men's basketball is near the top of those reasons, as Matt Zimmer wrote a year ago when Billeter left for Emporia State.

From his arrival in 2003 — when the Vikings were 14 years removed from their last NCAA Tournament and literally had run out of basketballs — to his departure last year after 21 seasons and 393 wins, the Illinois native and former major Div. I assistant proved the small, private school could indeed compete for and win a national title.

So, why did he leave, and what has it been like in his one season at a Div. II public school in Kansas? 

Billeter starts his engaging, entertaining 95-minute conversation with John Gaskins by catching us up to speed on the similarities and differences of Augie and the new gig. But the two spend most of the time reminiscing about how Billeter turned Augie from a doormat to a dominating force in just over a decade, culminating with the 2016 NCAA championship.

Sure, he has legendary stories about that team, but also about his early players and squads that helped dig Augie out of the doldrums — much of which was inspired by Billeter's determination raise money to improve facilities and get students ("Augieholics") to pack the Elmen Center, then Sioux Falls Arena, then the Pentagon.

But why, despite sustained success, did attendance dwindle in Billeter's last few years? How does a basketball coach keep sane as rosters constantly turn over due to NIL and the transfer portal? Why does Billeter roll with all these punches at age 64 and keep on swinging?

You'll feel it in every answer and colorful story. And don't worry, there's plenty of vivid memories from his years before Augie — as head coach at North Dakota State (1992-97) and as an assistant at Arizona, Rice, and Texas A&M.

Sure, he coached for national champion Lute Olson in Tuscon, he beat Iowa's Fran McCaffery the year Augie went on to win the national title, and then faced Duke's Mike Kryzewski at Cameron Indoor Stadium the year after the Vikings won it all.

But how he ended up as a young assistant coach at Arizona to start his college career after two grueling years as a high school coach and camp instructor is a legendary combo of "right place, right time" and Billeter's own unmistakable grit.

Enjoy.