University of Washington

Hergert accepted a football scholarship from the University of Washington, but decided to transfer to Lewis & Clark College after a few weeks.

Lewis & Clark College

In accordance to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) rules, he sat out his first year but didn't lose any eligibility.

As a senior running back in 1963 he was a Williamson System first team All-American and second team NAIA. During his career he was a four-time all-Northwest Conference selection; in 36 games he averaged 106.5 yards per game(6.1 yards per carry) and scored 296 career points (102 in 8 games as a senior).^[1]

He finished his college football career as one of the leading ground gainers in the nation, the leading rusher in the Northwest Conference and Lewis & Clark College history. He was the second leading rusher in NAIA history to Brad Husted by 107 yards, because as a senior his college accepted a game cancellation request from the Oregon College of Education; this canceled game also reduced their possible win total and left them out of the teams selected to advance to the playoffs.

The 1963 football team that he was a part of was one of the greatest in school history, finishing undefeated with an 8–0 overall record. The team outscored its opponents by an average of 25 points a game, including 41–0 and 40–0 blowouts of College of Idaho and Whitworth University, respectively. The game against Pacific University still holds the school record for most yards rushing in a single game (457).

Hergert was also a four-year letterman in baseball, where as an infielder he was named all-Northwest Conference three times. He also lettered one year in basketball.

In 1979, he was inducted into the Lewis & Clark College Hall of Fame.