Campus Connection

[caption id="attachment_4873" align="alignright" width="635"] No. 51 Dale Gottschalk, No. 75 Tom Newberry, on right Head Coach Roger Harring. 1985 National Division II football champs. (NAIA). Photo courtesy of Murphy Library Special Collections.[/caption]

All former football players and coaches invited to annual breakfast

Some moments in UWL Athletics history don’t fade. Like No. 75 Tom Newberry holding up the NAIA Division II National Championship trophy in 1985 with Coach Roger Harring at his side. Newberry, who went on to play 10 seasons in the NFL, was obviously a talented athlete. But as many former UWL football players throughout history will attest, playing UWL football wasn’t about any one game or any one athlete. It was about forming a team with great people, and, in some cases, life-long friends.

“More than 20 years later, the things I think of most are the people I played with and the coaches who impacted me during my time there,” says Jason Gonnion, ’95, captain of the 1993 team.

All former UWL football players and coaches are invited to reconnect during Alumni Reunion weekend Oct. 9-11. This year the 1985 and 1995 championship teams will reunite and the annual football captain’s breakfast will be opened up to all former UWL football players and coaches. “Captains were an important part of the team, but not any more important than any others on the team,” says Gonnion, who was involved in broadening the scope of this year’s breakfast. “We’re welcoming everyone back and giving them the opportunity to reconnect with people who care a lot about the football program and the experiences we had while playing at UWL.” Most UWL football players didn’t go on to play in the NFL, but they had their own form of success in life. The reunion weekend will also celebrate those accomplishments, says UWL Football Head Coach Joel Dettwiler. “They were champions when they were here and they are champions now,” Dettwiler says.

Reunion weekend lineup for former football players, coaches

• All former UWL football players and coaches are invited to a football alumni breakfast from 9-11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, at the Cleary Alumni & Friends Center. It is an expansion of a football captain’s breakfast that has been a UWL tradition for a decade.
• Former players, coaches and families are invited to meet at the L-Club tent from 11 a.m.-1 p.m., prior to the football game kickoff.
• Football game UWL v. UW-Stout. 1 p.m. kickoff, Roger Harring Stadium
• The 1985 and 1995 championship teams will be recognized at half time of the game as well as inductions into the UWL Athletic Wall of Fame.
• The 1985 and 1995 national championship teams will have a reunion social at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, at The Old Crow, 100 3rd St. S., La Crosse.

Flashback to UWL football of the 90s

[caption id="attachment_4874" align="alignleft" width="200"] Joel Dettwiler, head coach, UWL football[/caption] Dettwiler had a front row seat to one of the championship teams reuniting this year — the 1995 team. He played against UWL as a football player at UW-Platteville, and calls UWL’s team “a machine” that didn’t lose. The Eagles were undefeated that season and went on to claim the NCAA Division III national championship victory over Rowan College, 36-7, at the 23rd Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl. “I didn’t like them. I wanted to beat them,” recalls Dettwiler. “But when you get time away and look back there is a lot of admiration there. That would have been a cool team to be a part of. That’s what I want for our team now: a culture of being successful.” Talking to former UWL football players, Dettwiler gets a sense of why they were so successful. For one, they built strong connections within the team. Former team captains are still committed to keeping the team connected. A group of four former captains has been instrumental in organizing this year’s breakfast. Those captains include: Gonnion, ’95, Jim Antony, ’92, John Schumann, ’07, and Mark Wilcox, ’05. Gonnion says the 1992 championship team, though talented, didn’t have egos. Instead, they focused their energy on being a great team. Gonnion, now an activities and athletics department director for Woodbury High School in Minnesota, applies that to life. “If you look at great things that are accomplished, whether in football, business or life, when people are less concerned about who gets credit for achievements, it creates this dynamic that’s really hard to beat.”

Honoring ‘Big Gene’

The father of four former UWL football players — Jason, John, Chester and Gene Jr. Janke — died June 26. Eugene Janke, Sr., or “Big Gene” as some called him, was a man people gravitated toward. He was also a strong supporter of UWL’s football program over the years, explains Andrew McGlenn, ’05, a former UWL football captain and current football assistant coach. McGlenn recalls a football practice on Thanksgiving in 2003 when he and the rest of the team had to stay in town because they’d be flying out the morning after Thanksgiving for a game. Big Gene and his family invited the 20 players to share a Thanksgiving feast with them at their Black River Falls home. “That’s the type of people they were,” says McGlenn. Big Gene, much like UWL football captains, bought people together. He will be recognized as an honorary captain during the football game reunion weekend.

If you go —

What: 2015 Alumni Reunion weekend Who: Groups reuniting include: 1985 & 95 Championship Football Teams, football and coaching alumni, Beta Sigma Chi Fraternity and Phi Mu Sorority. When: October 9-11. Save the date. More information to come on registration. For more information contact the UWL Alumni Association at 608.785.8689.