Tor Fageraas (2002) - Hall of Fame - Montana State University Athletics

Tor Fageraas

Induction:
2002
Class:
1963

Tor Fageraas Skiing, 1961-63 Years at MSU: 1961-63 Honors Earned: All America, 1962 NCAA Champion Nordic Combined, 1962 Hometown: Verne, Norway “Tor was, without a doubt, the best Nordic skier in the college ranks when he competed for Montana State.” –MSU Hall-of-Famer Jan Stenerud This weekend, several former Montana State athletes that came to Bozeman from Norway will hold a reunion at their alma mater. It’s appropriated that one of the men they will honor is Tor Fageraas. Already a Norwegian legend when he arrived on the Montana State campus, it didn’t take Fageraas long to become an all-time Bobcat. The Verne, Norway, native captured the 1962 NCAA Nordic combined national championship in Squaw Valley, Calif. The next season, he placed second at the NCAA meet in Alta, Utah. The two-time All-America was a team captain under Bobcat coaching legend Bob Beck. As significant as his individual accomplishments, however, was his ability to attract other top-flight Norwegians to Montana State. That list included young prospects Oivind Skauerud and his teammate Jan Stenerud. It was Stenerud, of course, who would gain fame not only as a Bobcat skier but as a record-setting place kicker on the Montana State football team and a future football hall-of-famer. “Tor was a good as anybody in the world,” Strenerud said. “He dominated every time he skiied in conference meets. O believe it is fair to say that Montana State had excellent talent on our ski teams in the 1960s, but Tor was the one who was truly world-class.”