Bucky Burgau Baseball Field
The Cobber baseball diamond is included in the Jake Christiansen Stadium and Athletic Complex located south of the main campus along 8th Street South.
FieldTurf, the world-wide leader in artificial grass and synthetic turf systems, was installed on the baseball field in 2010, thus making the field one of the premier playing surfaces in the region. FieldTurf provides Cobber baseball with all-weather playability, increased practice time, and significantly lower maintenance costs.
The baseball field features excellent sight lines and bleacher seating for several hundred fans.
Bucky Burgau Field was dedicated May 5, 2014 in honor of Concordia Hall of Fame coach Bucky Burgau.
"It is a deep honor for my family and me," says Burgau about the naming of the field. "I am honored and humbled. My family has been a great supporter of mine throughout my baseball career. Us coaches know how important mom and dads are for their kids playing baseball."
Burgau is the all-time winningest coach in the history of Concordia athletics. He finished his 36 years as head coach with 711 wins and more than 400 wins in the MIAC, making him the winningest coach in the conference.
Burgau was elected to the Concordia Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007, one of the few coaches ever to be inducted while still an active coach. At his time of retirement in 2014 he ranked 12thh on the all-time list of wins by active NCAA Division III baseball coaches.
He is the all-time winningest coach in the history of Concordia athletics. Burgau amassed 680 career wins as head coach for the Cobbers. He has also posted 401 wins in the MIAC, making him the winningest coach to ever coach in the conference.
Burgau's teams recorded at least 15 wins in 32 of the 36 seasons they played, and posted 20 wins in 13 different seasons. Burgau's best season came in 1995 when the team went 30-8 and won the MIAC championship. In that season, the Cobbers advanced to the NCAA playoffs and finished second in the NCAA Midwest Regional.
When Burgau stepped aside in 2014 he was 12th on the list of wins by active NCAA Division III coaches. He was also 25th in overall wins by any coach in Division III. Burgau has earned the MIAC Coach of the Year honors on four occasions with the most recent coming in 2010.
During his 36 years at the helm of the Cobbers he coached six MIAC Most Valuable Player award winners, seven All-Americans, 36 All-Region players and almost 100 MIAC All-Conference honorees. Several of Burgau's former players have gone on to play professional baseball and was one of the influences on the professional career of former Cobbers, and three-time MIAC MVP, Chris Coste who won the World Series as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies.
Burgau came to Concordia in 1977 as the Equipment Manager and Assistant Baseball Coach. He became Head Baseball Coach at Concordia in 1979. Since then, Cobber teams have been consistent contenders for the MIAC crown. The Cobbers won MIAC titles in 1985, 1993 and 1995 and have finished in the league's upper division in 19 of his 25 seasons at Concordia. His teams are 325-188 in MIAC competition. His Cobber coaching record through 2005 is 544-408-6.
Bucky grew up in Perham, Minnesota, where he learned to love the game. In 1966 his team won the state amateur title. After graduating from high school, Bucky played two years at Fergus Falls Community College before enrolling at NDSU. He played under NDSU coach Arlo Brunsberg, a Concordia graduate and member of the Cobber Athletic Hall of Fame.
Upon graduation, Bucky took his first coaching job with the Perham American Legion. In 1973, he became head coach of the Moorhead American Legion Blues, where he completed 27 years, compiling an 883-396 record. In 1988, his Legion team won the state title, the Central Plains Regional title, and finished fourth in the World Series Championship.
Bucky and his wife, Penny, live in Moorhead. They have two daughters; Jennifer and Rachel and several grandchildren.