Northern State Athletics Hall of Fame
Larry Luitjens competed in basketball at Northern and graduated in 1965 with a degree in education. He's been teaching high school math and physical education along with coaching. After stops at Webster, De Smet and New England, N.D., Luitjens made his last stop in Custer in 1973. He has led teams to seven state championships throughout his career, and has had 16 state tournament appearances. He guided his son, Lance, to two state titles in the early 1990's. Lance would move on to become an all-American at Northern in 1995.
Luitjens and his wife, Cherry, have one son and two grandshildren. With 590 wins, numerous awards and accomplishments and being named the charter winner of the Jim Kretchmen award, Luitjens says there is still one honor out there he's lobbying hard for: Grandfather of the Year.
