Menomonie, Wisconsin History/Benund1
The history of the University of Wisconsin-Stout dates back to many athletic teams. UW-Stout has 13 athletic teams who are very important to the school the main two being baseball and basketball. The University of Wisconsin Stout is the only sport Organization in the city of Menominee beside the high school.
Baseball
[edit | edit source]Baseball was one of the first sports the University of Wisconsin-Stout had to offer and helped establish the school as a university in 1909. The baseball team plays in the WIAC and has won 3 conference title since the start of the conference, winning in 1947, 1961, 1982, and 1990. The University of Wisconsin-Stout also has produced 15 All Americans, including Brad O’Connell. Stout has an overall record of 896 wins and 1077 losses over the span of the team’s existence.
Championships
[edit | edit source]The baseball team plays in the WIAC and has won 3 conference title since the start of the conference, winning in 1961, 1982, and 1990.
Coaches
[edit | edit source]Over the 107 year span Stout’s baseball team has been coached by 28 different managers. Out of all 28 coaches only 1 has stayed with the team for more than 10 years. Terry Petrie coached from 1971-2000, and accumulated 537 wins, and 401 losses. Terry holds the record for most wins as a coach at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. He has 411 more wins than the next coach highest winning coach Craig Walter. Terry Petrie also holds the mark for coaching the most baseball wins in conference history. Petrie, in his 30 years, coached 75 percent of all Stout wins, guided Stout to two NAIA World Series appearances (1989, 1990) and Terry was the coach when the Blue Devils won the WIAC in 1982, and 1990. The 1990 Team that won the 1990 regular season title also set the record for the most wins in a single season at the University of Wisconsin-Stout with 34 wins. Petrie was the WHSBCA collegiate coach of the year (1983, 1987), the WSUC coach of the year (1982, 1990) and NAIA Area 4 coach of the year (1989). Petrie was inducted into the WBCA Hall of Fame in 2012.
Players
[edit | edit source]Brad O’Connell regarded as the best baseball player to ever come through the University of Wisconsin Stout. For his career, O’Connell holds school record batting average of .422 and a school record slugging percentage of .810. O’Connell is tied for the school career record in home runs with 30 and is second all-time in stolen bases with 43. Brad was a two-time first team all-WIAC and all-region player, Brad O’Connell is the only Blue Devil baseball player to earn first team All-America honors when he led the country in batting average (.524) in 2001. The 2001 WIAC baseball player of the year, O’Connell had 12 home runs with a slugging percentage of .984. Brad O’Connell was born on February 1, 1978 in Menomonee, Wisconsin, US. He was a local kid who had an impact on the baseball community at Stout. Brads isn’t the last of his family to come through Stout. His younger brother Brandon also played for the team from 2008-2011. Brandon stole Brad’s record of 9 triples when he accumulated 10 throughout his career. Brad and his family has had a lasting impact on the perception of the way the game should be played at the University of Wisconsin Stout.
Basketball
[edit | edit source]Since 1907 the University of Wisconsin-Stout has had an established basketball program. The basketball team plays in the WIAC conference and as won the conference title a total of 6 times (1926, 1942, 1943, 1966, 1969, and 1975.) The team made it to the NCAA division 3 tournament in 2004 for the first time in school history. Being one of the first sports at Stout, the basketball team has helped attract students to the University of Wisconsin-Stout from all over the nation and specifically the Wisconsin area.
Championships
[edit | edit source]. The basketball team plays in the WIAC conference and as won the conference title a total of 6 times (1926, 1942, 1943, 1966, 1969, and 1975.) The team made it to the NCAA division #3 tournament in 2004 for the first time in school history.
Coaches
[edit | edit source]Coaching is always a huge part to a team’s success. Over the history of the basketball team there has been 15 coaches only 4 have winning records, Dwain Mintz being the most successful. Dwain Mintz was already one of the most successful junior college coaches in the country when he came to Stout in 1962. Within three years of his arrival, the Stout basketball team won the conference championship (1965-1966) with a 20-3 record. Over the course of his 27 year career at Stout, the basketball team compiled a 385-280 game record.
Players
[edit | edit source]Many basketball players have had a positive effect on the University of Wisconsin-Stout. The school has had 67 first team selections over the years and 2 players who have earned player of the year awards by the NCAA.
The most successful of all these players is Mel Coleman. As a high school junior, Mel was cut from his varsity team at John Adams High in Cleveland. Coleman was cut because of his inability to jump. His legs weren't developed enough, an assistant coach said. "I knew I could jump," Coleman said. "I just had to prove that man wrong." Coleman learned of Stout Coach Dwain Mintz's desire to find tall players who would be willing to work hard. "When Coleman arrived, he knew so little about basketball, we had to show him the free throw line," Mintz said. "But he turned out to be one of the hardest working ball players I ever coached." Coleman played from 1965-1969 and got his first start as a junior after 2 years of hard work. During his 4 year career he was apart of 2 regular season WIAC championships. Mel Coleman received player of the year honors in 1969 and was the main focus and leader on a team that went on to win 36 games, and was crowned conference champs for the second time in his career. On top of leading the team to many team related achievements he also had his fair share of personal accomplishment and records. Mel set the single game record for rebounds with 38 in one game vs Whitewater. He also set the record for single season rebounds with 451 and was 4th all time for career rebounds. In his player of the year campaign he set the single season records for Field goals made (232), most points (571), and of course the rebounding record. Coleman received his bachelor's degree from Stout in 1969 and was drafted by the American Basketball Association's Carolina Cougars and the National Basketball Association's Cincinnati Royals. He chose to go with Cincinnati and played with the team until he was cut. Colman received his master's degree in 1974. He is now a licensed psychologist, is working in psycho- and behavior-therapy and career development programs in Minneapolis.
Another outstanding player who came through the University of Wisconsin-Stout is Cal Glover. Cal attended school from 1967 through 1971. He played alongside Mel Coleman and was a part of the famous 1969 team. . Throughout his time at Stout Cal was selected to three WIAC all first teams (1969, 1970, and 1971). Cal also set many personal school records. Cal Glover set the single season record for free throws attempted, and free throws taken. He also help the single game record for the same categories all in the 1970-1971 season. Cal also holds the record for the most points in the history of stout basketball along with the most field goals made and attempted. He is top 5 in Single season scoring (5th), and career rebounds (2nd).