Here to stay: Raboin passes on Minnesota offer

For a kid from Detroit Lakes who grew up watching the Gophers, the Big Ten’s University of Minnesota hockey program was always the dream. Garrett Raboin lived that dream for five years as an assistant coach before coaching Augustana hockey.

This March, when the Gophers’ head coaching position opened up, he had the chance to return in a bigger role — to one of the Big Ten’s flagship programs — but just a few days later, Raboin chose to stay.

Raboin learned about Bob Motzko’s departure from Minnesota the way most people did: through social media.

To him, the news was personal. Raboin played for Motzko at St. Cloud State from 2006 to 2010. He later spent nearly a decade as his assistant at St. Cloud from 2012 to 2018 and then at the University of Minnesota from 2018-2022. Throughout that time, they had watched each other’s children grow up.

“I was wanting him to be good,” Raboin said. “He had done so much for so many people. Selfishly, you want to make sure that he has an opportunity to understand how much he’s impacted so many.”

When Minnesota reached out about the vacancy, Raboin engaged. He said it was healthy to understand the opportunity and evaluate where Augustana stands.

“I wanted to be honest with our staff and the people here on campus, and our players first and foremost,” he said. “But I also wanted to have some healthy conversations about where our program is at and what the commitment is to continue to grow it.”

The timing was complicated. Augustana was still waiting to learn its NCAA tournament fate, and Raboin was conscious of the uncertainty for players and staff.

“We couldn't live in limbo,” he said. “We had to act as if we were going to play.”

Raboin said just 48 to 72 hours passed from the first conversation to a final decision. When he knew, he told both sides.

On March 20, Athletics Director Josh Morton posted on X: “Our Coach. Now and for years to come.”

Raboin arrived in 2022 before Augustana even had a rink, building a program from the ground up. Junior Hunter Bischoff, current team captain, was the program’s first-ever recruit.

“When you come to a school, especially a school far away that you’ve never been to before, you build your connections based on the people around you and who recruited you,” Bischoff said. “He’s just such an excellent people-person. Anyone can go up and talk to him and feel like they’ve gained something from it.”

In just their third season — still a new convert compared to established CCHA and Big Ten programs — the Vikings finished 22-11-4, ranked 15th nationally in the NCAA Performance Index and came within one game of earning an NCAA tournament bid.

“Any interest in our head coach means we’re doing something right,” Morton said. “We feel like we’re on the cusp of something extraordinary.”

While Raboin knows how far the program has come, he also knows how far it still has to go.

“If you look at our rafters, they're bare,” he said. “There are goals that haven’t been attained yet within this program: league titles, regular season, postseason.”

At the same time, Raboin’s reasons for staying went beyond the rink.

“I have three young kids and a wife, and I think what’s happened over the last four years cannot be ignored or denied of a community really embracing and supporting us,” Raboin said. “I really enjoy it here; my family really enjoys it here. We talk about growing our family in Sioux Falls, and those are things that are really important to us.”

Next season, for the first time, Augustana will graduate players who played under Raboin for four years.

“They’ve come in and walked through a lot of the unknown and handled themselves first-class,” Raboin said. “They’re forging a path forward for the ones that’ll follow.”

For Bischoff, who will be one of those seniors, Raboin’s decision provides stability for the program.

“We don’t want change,” Bischoff said. “We want to keep building on what we have here. I think he’s going to do so many special things for this program down the line.”

Morton said he sees Raboin’s decision as part of a larger story.

“Elevating the profile of the university is something that athletics can play a large role in, and the hockey program has done that for sure,” Morton said.

In the college hockey world, the reaction was immediate. A top candidate choosing a three-year-old program in Sioux Falls over one of the sport’s most storied positions sent a message.

“I think it says more about Augustana,” Morton said. “It validates our alignment, it solidifies the CCHA, and it probably opened a lot of people’s eyes to what we’re doing here.”

Raboin’s message to the students, alumni and city that took his family in was simple.

“This is a truly unique place,” he said. “It’s not just another school. You can come here, feel safe, feel appreciated, enjoy that sense of community. There’s a sincere connection amongst the people here, and that’s what makes it the most special.”

That environment provided a foundation for his decision to stay.

“We really believe in this university,” Raboin said. “We believe this is the best place for us at this time in our life. We want to continue on this path and call Sioux Falls home.”