by SAU Sports Information Director Brian Thiessen
It all started on April 16, 1983.
The St. Ambrose men's golf team, coming off a second place finish at the district tournament in the fall, held off Quincy for a one-shot victory at the eight-team Culver-Stockton Invitational. The Bees won that season's spring opener with a 323.
It was a nice win, but for a program dating back to the 1940s with a handful of national tournament appearances at the time, it was nothing truly remarkable. The only item of note was the victory marked the first for then-first-year head coach Jeff Griebel.
Less than a week later, Griebel earned win #2 when his Bees won the inaugural SAU Invite at Emeis Golf Course. SAU's 300 was four strokes better than second-place Central College and 10 better than third-place DePaul in the 12-team event.
Thirty-three years later, Griebel is still at it.
And the longest-tenured head coach in the history of St. Ambrose, and a 1976 SAU graduate, reached a major milestone Tuesday with his 200th career tournament title as the Bees won their 2015 fall opener at the Clarke Fall Early Bird.
There is no official list on record but 200 wins has Griebel in an elite group among collegiate golf coaches.
Curiosity drove Griebel, a past president of the NAIA Men's Golf Coaches Association, a former representative on the National Advisory Board of the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA), and a member of the NAIA Coaches and St. Ambrose Athletic Department Halls of Fame, to go through his own well-kept records and large trophy collection to tally his win total.
"Six or seven years ago, I wondered where I was so I added them all up," Griebel said. "I knew I would have quite a few but even I was surprised by how many wins I had at that point. It's really not something that's tracked, but it's a number I'm proud of."
Since then, it's been a steady climb. Win #199 came at the Clarke Fall Classic last September and he hit the magic number a year later.
What's even more impressive is that his list of 200 wins only includes tournaments of at least five teams. Griebel's 1982-83 team alone won three triangulars, which are not counted among the 200.
While his first and most recent victories weren't at the highest-profile events, Griebel has more than his share of big wins.
His Bees have won 21 conference championships, 22 NAIA regional crowns and 12 NCAA Division I-sponsored tournaments, including the Bradley Invitational and the Wis.-Green Bay Invitational four times each. He has taken St. Ambrose to the NAIA Men's Golf National Tournament 23 times and has a pair of top-four national finishes.
He was instrumental in bringing the NAIA Men's Golf National Championships to the Quad Cities at TPC Deere Run for three years from 2009-11. St. Ambrose will again serve as the host school for the 2016 and 2017 national tournaments.
All this from a guy who didn't try out for the St. Ambrose golf team as a student because "I didn't think I was good enough." And after serving as a volunteer assistant coach while working in SAU Admissions, he was hesitant about accepting the head coaching position when offered for the same reason.
Since taking the reins, Griebel, who has served the University in a variety of roles since 1979 - Admissions, Financial Aid Director, Sports Information Director and Coordinator of Athletic Recruiting, has never looked back.
"As I got into it, I realized being a good player is the least important aspect of being a golf coach," Griebel said. "It's more important to provide good competition, stay positive and focused, and have clear expectations. And when you have success, that builds the program up even more."
And he has no plans of stopping now.
"I still enjoy it and get excited at the beginning of the year. I can't imagine not coaching. I enjoy the players' excitement and enthusiasm. I still want to be competitive, qualify for nationals and do well there, and provide a good experience for the golfers. The school has done a great job supporting me over the years. We host nationals the next two years so that will keep me busy, and as long as I still enjoy it, I see myself coaching for years after that."
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