UW-Eau Claire's Kaufenberg To Receive AHCA's Lou Lamoriello Award During Frozen Four Weekend
Justin Kaufenberg, a hockey player in the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Class of 2003, has been named the recipient of the American Hockey Coaches Association's Lou Lamoriello Award for 2018. The award — named in honor of the former Providence College player, coach and athletic director (and current Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager) — will be presented during this year's NCAA "Frozen Four" in St. Paul, MN. Established in 2004 by a group of retired college hockey coaches, the Lamoriello Award recognizes a former college hockey player or coach for their unique and distinguished professional career.
Erik Strand, the current women's head coach at UWEC, was a teammate of Kaufenberg's before getting into coaching. Said Strand, "I was able to get to know Justin as a teammate over the course of three years. Looking back at everything, what he has accomplished does not surprise me one bit. His work ethic on the ice was tremendous, but it was nothing compared to his work ethic off the ice. While the rest of us were being stereotypical college athletes, Justin was always working and learning how to be a successful entrepreneur. He is a tremendous networker and while at UWEC, he surrounded himself with likeminded people who shared a vision of starting a business. You can obviously see what he has been able to build. What has amazed me watching the success he has had, is how humble of a person he is. He has done more than enough to call it a career and live a very comfortable lifestyle, but instead continues to build and advance as a person and a family man. I know if I needed anything and I called him, he would be there in a second to help. Justin is a tremendous example of what it looks like if you dream big, work hard and treat people right. "
Kaufenberg is Chief Executive Officer at SportsEngine, which he co-founded in 2008. Sports Engine employs more than 500 staff members and provides mission critical sports organization management software to more than 33,000 customers. Additionally, more than 1 million teams are powered by the software and more than 35 million parents, players and fans use the system each month.
SportsEngine was recently acquired by the NBC Sports Group and is now the youth sports division of NBC Sports. Prior to SportsEngine Mr. Kaufenberg co-founded Third North, a digital creative agency. Justin holds a bachelor's degree in business economics from UWEC, where he was a member of the varsity hockey team for four years, serving as an assistant captain his senior year.
The award will be presented at a luncheon on Friday, April 6, at 317 on Rice Park in St. Paul, MN. Also being recognized that day will be longtime hockey writer Neil Koepke, recipient of the Jim Fullerton Award, and Jim Pohl of Red Wing, MN, recipient of the John Mariucci Award, given annually to a retired high school coach. Anyone interested in attending should contact Bruce Delventhal at 518-420-7479. Seating is limited.
| Recipients of the Lou Lamoriello Award | |
| 2004 | Lou Lamoriello, Providence (Coaching, Athletic Administration) |
| 2005 | Tom "Red" Martin, Boston College (Communications, Philanthropy) |
| 2006 | John Mayasich, Minnesota (Communications) |
| 2007 | Dave Metzen, Minnesota (Education) |
| 2008 | Tom Coakley, Brown (Military Service) |
| 2009 | Laing Kennedy, Cornell (Athletic Administration) |
| 2010 | Dr. Michael Collins, Notre Dame (Medicine) |
| 2014 | Joe Battista, Penn State (Coaching, Athletic Development) |
| 2015 | Bob White, Bowdoin College (Business) |
| 2016 | General Mark Milley, Princeton (Military Service) |
| 2017 | Richmond "Chip" Kenyon, Middlebury College (Business) |
| 2018 | Justin Kaufenberg, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (Business) |
