Biography: Craig Stensgaard completed his 25th year at NNU in the 2021-22 academic year as an assistant athletic director and NNU’s Head Men’s and Women’s Golf Coach. He retired from coaching to pursue other opportunities following the spring 2022 season, but will continue to serve the athletic department as historian, men’s basketball play-by-play broadcaster, and chair of the Hall of Fame committee.

In addition to the duties of Head Men’s and Women’s Golf Coach, Craig helped oversee indoor and outdoor facility maintenance and upgrades and also assists with game management and the Athletic Communications Office. Craig also led NNU’s annual “The Legend’s” golf tournament — which raises money for NNU Athletics while honor community members who have had a long and lasting impact on Nighthawks Athletics.

Stensgaard led the women’s program to a third-place finish at the GNAC Championships in 2022, led by the conference’s Freshman of the Year in Christine Cho. Three others (two female and one male) also earned All-GNAC honors following the season.

In the spring of 2021, Stensgaard’s men’s golf squad reached the NCAA postseason for the first time as a team, qualifying to compete in the West Regional. The women’s team finished second at the GNAC Championships, just missing out on the automatic qualifying bid to NCAA Regionals. Five women and three men were named All-GNAC, including GNAC Freshman of the Year Lane Strand.

In the fall of 2016, Coach Stensgaard was named to the NCAA Division II Men’s Golf National Committee and also served as the national chair for NCAA DII Men’s Golf. The national committee serves to develop policies and procedures to administer the golf championships. Craig also served as the chair of the Regional Advisory Committees (RAC) in both the West and South Central regions. He traveled to the West/South Central Super Regional Championships and the National Championships each year to serve as the NCAA site representative and administer the championships.

Coach Stensgaard was named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) men’s golf Coach of the Year in 2014 after his team captured the GNAC men’s golf championship in a sudden-death playoff.

Following the team championship, senior Nick Hardy earned an individual selection to the NCAA Division II West Regional Championship in Austin, Texas. Hardy continues a legacy of all-conference Crusaders and Nighthawks that have earned post-season recognition and championship selections under coach Stensgaard.

A 1992 graduate of NNC, Craig served as co-captain of the Crusader baseball team during his senior season in 1990-91, having an enjoyable four-year career at NNU. “My career in an NNU uniform was, and continues to be, an important part of my life. The lessons learned and experiences I had were great. I can only hope to provide that same experience for my players. I consider myself a lifetime Crusader.”

Craig spent three years working in the golf business as an assistant golf professional following college, working with local Treasure Valley PGA professionals John Lewis and Ken Sparks. “My time as an assistant pro was a great learning experience. John Lewis is a skilled teacher of the game of golf and I owe most of my mechanical knowledge of the game to him. He really got me started into the theory of the golf swing, something I still love to study and work with.”

5563″The relationships and foundations we form with the golf program here at NNU are tremendous,” commented coach Stensgaard. “We play a great schedule each and every year, and continue to improve and become more competitive in the West Region of the NCAA Division II.”

He earned his B.A. in office administration at NNU and his endorsement in secondary education at the University of Idaho in accounting and business/computer education. In the summer of 2004, he completed his Masters of Physical Education graduate degree in Athletic Administration from Idaho State University.

Returning to NNU in a full-time capacity in 1997 as men’s golf coach and assistant basketball coach, Craig served as an assistant basketball coach for five seasons and as the head coach of the NNU JV basketball team from 1997-2001.

While teaching middle school computer science and serving as the athletic director at West Middle School in Nampa, Craig coached part-time with the men’s basketball program from 1997-1999 and was then asked to join the staff full-time in 1999 to continue coaching basketball and start the men’s golf program in the fall of 1999.

Following the passing of beloved Sports Information Director Gil Craker, Craig transitioned into the role of Sports Information Director from 2002 to 2012 and was named an Assistant Athletic Director in 2008.

With the addition of Women’s Golf to the slate of NNU sports in the fall of 2012, Craig shifted to Head Men’s and Women’s Golf Coach and continued to serve as an Assistant Athletic Director until stepping down in the spring of 2022.

Craig is married to LeAnn (Stallcop), a 1992 NNU graduate, and they are the proud parents of two sons – Jared Tom (J.T.) and Jayden. LeAnn also serves at NNU as a member of the Social Work faculty and works in private practice in Nampa.