ST. JOSEPH, Minn. -- Mike Durbin said it came as a surprise when he was notified he'd be the recipient of this year's National Girls & Women in Sports Day-Minnesota Milestone Award.
 
"I didn't see it coming at all," said Durbin, who was honored alongside 10 other award winners from across the state at the annual National Girls & Women in Sport Day-Minnesota Celebration held Wednesday (Feb. 4) at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul.
 
"It's very humbling. I've been down there a number of times to be present for others who've been recognized," said Durbin. "But I certainly wasn't expecting this to come my way."
 
For anyone familiar with all he's accomplished during his 40 seasons as the head basketball coach at the College of Saint Benedict, the news came as no surprise at all.
 
Durbin – who is in his 41st season as a head coach at the collegiate level overall – boasts a total 778 career victories (through Feb. 3), which ranks him in the top 10 all-time at any level of NCAA competition.
 
During his tenure, he has led the Bennies to the NCAA Division III tournament 17 times, including eight Sweet 16 appearances, three trips to the Elite 8 and two to the Final Four. CSB finished as national runners-up in 1998-99.
 
Beyond that, he has spent countless hours growing participation in the game through the CSB basketball program's youth camps, clinics and more.
 
"Rarely do you find anyone who's been that successful for this long in any field, so to have someone who brings so much experience and success is a tremendous boost to our basketball program and our athletic department," CSB athletic director Kelly Anderson Diercks said. "But more than that, Mike is just an incredible person. He's made such an impact, not just on women's college basketball in Minnesota, but on the entire sport."
 
Those sentiments were echoed by former longtime CSB athletic director and volleyball coach Carol Howe-Veenstra, who was on the hiring committee when Durbin interviewed for the job in 1986, and worked alongside him for almost three decades.
 
"When I think back on Mike's 40 years of coaching, I recall especially those early days when we were still establishing ourselves as a serious athletic program within the MIAC," Howe-Veenstra said. "Mike was one of the people who played a huge role in making that happen. He was also the sports information director for many years, and I always appreciated the way he approached things. He saw a win for any one of our teams as a win for all of us. He celebrated every success we achieved just as much as he did when it was his own team's."
 
"I think what makes it even more special is that this is the 40th year of National Girls & Women in Sports Day nationally, and it's Mike's 40th season here at CSB," Howe-Veenstra continued. "It lines up so perfectly. But it's not like he's just hung in there for 40 years. Or even that he's been so successful. He's also put so much time into working with younger players at youth camps and clinics. If someone asks him to come speak, he always says yes. He's done everything he possibly can to get basketballs into the hands of young girls and grow the game. That's a key piece to this award too."
 
Durbin is the latest in a long line of honorees at the event with close ties to CSB or Saint John's University. Jillian Hiscock, a former CSB employee who is now the owner of A Bar of Their Own, a women's sports bar in Minneapolis, received the Special Merit Award at Wednesday's ceremony.
 
Others on that list include Carol Agnes (Breaking Barriers, 2018), Libby Auger (Breaking Barriers, 2010); Robin Balder-Lanoue (Breaking Barriers, 2022); Shelly Boyum-Breen (Breaking Barriers, 2016); Barbara Carlson (Breaking Barriers, 2002); Howe-Veenstra (Breaking Barriers, 1996, and Special Merit, 2022); Bob Imholte (Breaking Barriers, 2009); Janna LaFountaine (Breaking Barriers, 2013); Marcia Mahlum (Breaking Barriers, 2017); Jim McConnell (Breaking Barriers, 2003); Julie Murphy (Breaking Barriers, 2014); Meghan Orgeman (Special Merit, 2025); Tom Peart (Breaking Barriers, 2017); Margy Retica Hughes (Breaking Barriers, 2001, Marie Berg Education Award, 2022); Val Rogosheske (Special Merit, 2014); Robyn Ruschmeier Courchane (Breaking Barriers, 2011); Toni St. Pierre (Special Merit, 2013); Mary Uran (Breaking Barriers, 2017) and Sister Lois Wedl (Breaking Barriers, 2005).
 
"As someone who was a member of the (National Girls & Women in Sport Day-Minnesota) committee even before I was the athletic director here, I've always believed that honoring the individuals important to the history of women's athletics is so important," Anderson Diercks said.
 
"We've been very lucky at Saint Ben's over the years to have a long list people who have truly been pioneers. But they didn't do it alone. There are so many people at every level – college, high school, club and rec and now even in the professional spaces – who have made huge impacts," added Anderson Diercks. "The opportunities available to girls and women in sports have grown so much over the past 40 years, and it's so important we take the time to share the stories of those who helped make that happen."
 
Durbin, meanwhile, said he is just honored to have his own story included in that group.
 
"I actually sat down and made a list of people I know who have been previously honored at this event," he said. "And it's a group of people I have incredible respect for – other coaches, athletes, administrators and officials. Many of whom were already established before I even got into this. So it does mean a lot to me to be considered part of that history.
 
"I recognize it's rare for someone to coach 40-plus years at any level," Durbin continued. "But I think that speaks to the village we have here at CSB. There's my family and the assistant coaches and athletic directors I've had. Not to mention so many incredible athletes. Without that village, none of this would have been possible."