Dr. Bob Boerigter inducted into MIAA Hall of Fame

The 2023 MIAA Awards Celebration presented by Husch Blackwell took place June 6 at the Kansas City Music Hall in downtown Kansas City.

The celebration recognized the outstanding performances and achievements that occurred in the MIAA, one of the nation’s oldest and most competitive NCAA athletic conferences.

The invite-only event featured various award presentations including the induction of the 2023 Hall of Fame Class. The 2022-23 Officiating Award of Excellence recipients were presented their award on stage by Dr. Bob Boerigter.

The association’s 2022-23 Officiation Award of Excellence went to basketball official Roger Schmitz. The MIAA award recognizes active MIAA officials, in any sport, who have made an outstanding contribution to MIAA officiating.

The event continued with Blair Kerkhoff, awards celebration emcee, sitting down with Hall of Fame inductees.

One of the Hall of Fame inductees was Boerigter. Boerigter has served as a coach and an administrator in intercollegiate athletics for 45 years. He was the MIAA commissioner from September 2010 through January 2017. Prior to his time at the MIAA, he was the director of athletics at Northwest Missouri State University from May 2001 until 2010. In his final years as an administrator, Boerigter earned the 2018 Division II Athletics Director Association (D2ADA) Lifetime Achievement Award. Also, he was named the 2018 Waddell & Reed Executive of the Year, conducted by the KC Sports Commission.

Following a fruitful tenure in the Cornhusker State, Boerigter spent nearly a decade as the director of athletics at Northwest , serving as the lead administrator for the department of athletics including recreational sports, club sports, campus recreation and the campus fitness center. In 2010, he was appointed as the fourth full-time commissioner of the MIAA. During his time with the MIAA, he implemented an expansion program of both full-time and associate members to the conference. He oversaw the MIAA Centennial in 2012, serving as a principal figure in attracting NCAA national championships to sites within the MIAA membership. As commissioner, Boerigter guided the conference through an era of immense success that saw the MIAA produce 10 national championships in six different sports.

Over nearly half a century in collegiate athletics, Boerigter served in multiple capacities on the national level. He was named chair of the Division II Football Committee, served as a member of the Division II Championships Committee and the planning and finance committee as well as on many other association-wide and Division II task forces. He also was the chair of the Division II Management Council and served as a member of the NCAA Executive Committee. Finally, Boerigter served as D2ADA Board Member from 2003-08.

Boerigter retired from his post as the MIAA commissioner in February 2017.