Barth, Chryst and Hoffmann named to 2015 WIAC Hall of Fame Class

MADISON, Wis. -- The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) has announced the members of its 2015 Hall of Fame class.  The WIAC established a Hall of Fame to coincide with the conference's celebration of its 100th anniversary, which took place during the 2012-13 academic year.

The 30-member class for 2015 will be inducted at the WIAC Hall of Fame Banquet to be held on August 1, 2015, at UW-Platteville.

In announcing the 2015 class, WIAC Commissioner Gary Karner noted once again how difficult the selection process is given the 102-year history and incomparable success of the conference.  "Quite frankly, there are dozens, if not hundreds, more individuals deserving of this honor.  Therefore, it is our intention to continue to induct future Hall of Fame classes every three years with the ultimate goal of recognizing those student-athletes, coaches, administrators, officials and others whose contributions and achievements have established and solidified the WIAC's status as the most accomplished Division III conference in NCAA history," added Karner.

For more information on the Hall of Fame class, please visit www.wiacsports.com.  More detailed bios and photos on each of the inductees will be provided at a later date.


Name                                  School                                Years                                   Category
Ken Anderson                   UW-Eau Claire                 1969-95                               Coach (men's basketball)              
-Served as UW-Eau Claire's men's basketball coach from 1969-95, accumulating a career record of 631-152 (.805 winning percentage).  His 631 victories are the most in conference and school history.  Anderson led the Blugolds to 14 conference and 14 NAIA District 14 championships.  In 1972 and 1990, his teams were national runner-up in the 32-team NAIA tournament.  He coached the United States team to the gold medal at the 1979 World University Games in Mexico City.  In 2012, Anderson was selected the WIAC Men's Basketball All-Time Co-Coach in conjunction with the conference's Centennial Celebration.

**John Barth                     UW-Platteville                  1947-81                              Administrator (director of athletics) & Coach (men's basketball/football/men's golf/men's tennis)
-Beginning in 1947, Barth taught and coached at UW-Platteville for nearly four decades.  He was the men's basketball coach from 1947-63 and directed the Pioneers to six WSUC crowns.  Barth also served as head coach of the football, men's golf and men's tennis squads.  As the defensive coordinator for the football team, UW-Platteville claimed five conference titles.  He served as the director of athletics, as well as director of health and physical education from 1949-81.
 
Randy Boelk                       UW-Stevens Point            1998-2001                          Student-Athlete (men's swimming & diving)
-Was a member of UW-Stevens Point's men's swimming & diving team from 1998-2001 and a 28-time All-American.  He won one individual and two relay NCAA Division III titles.  Boelk was a 10-time WIAC individual event champion and 13-time relay winner.  He holds four individual records and three relay records at UW-Stevens Point.  In 2012, Boelk was selected to the WIAC Men's Swimming & Diving All-Time Team in conjunction with the conference's Centennial Celebration.
 
Mark Braden                      Conference Office            1985-2011                          Administrator & Game Official
-His association with the conference began in 1985 when he joined the WSUC football officiating staff.  Two years later, he added women's basketball to his officiating workload and in 1998, was selected to officiate the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship game.   In 1992, Mark agreed to become the conference's supervisor of women's basketball officials.
 
**George Chryst               UW-Platteville                   1979-92                              Administrator (athletics director) & Coach (football)
-Served as UW-Platteville's football coach from 1979 until his sudden death in 1992 at age 55, leading the Pioneers to a 79-60-2 record, with winning records in nine of his 14 seasons.  He guided the program to its last league title in 1980.  The WIAC Football Coach of the Year award is named in his honor.  As the athletics director from 1981-92, Chryst was a significant influence in the formation of the "Cheese League", which featured five National Football League teams training in Wisconsin, including the Chicago Bears in Platteville from 1984-2001.
 
James P. Fischer             UW-Whitewater               1958-present                     Contributor & Student-Athlete (baseball/men's basketball)
-Was a member of UW-Whitewater's baseball and men's basketball teams, earning All-America accolades in both sports.  On the basketball court, he collected NAIA All-America recognition in 1961 and 1962, and was a three-time all-conference and all-state selection.  Fischer ranks third on the school's all-time scoring list.  He continues to give back to the Warhawks as a volunteer spotter for the public address announcer at home football games.
 
Jim Gantner                       UW-Oshkosh                     1973-74                              Lifetime Achievement & Student-Athlete (baseball)
-Was a member of UW-Oshkosh's baseball team from 1973-74 and earned All-America honorable mention recognition both seasons.  He helped the Titans to a third-place finish at the NAIA World Series in 1973 and fifth in 1974.  UW-Oshkosh captured the WSUC title in 1974.  Gantner was selected in the 12th round of the 1974 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers.  He played 17 seasons and 1,801 major league games, including helping the Brewers advance to the 1982 World Series.  In 2012, Gantner was selected to the WIAC Baseball All-Time Team in conjunction with the conference's Centennial Celebration.
 
Wendy Heinecke               UW-Stout                           1986-89                              Student-Athlete (women's swimming & diving)
-Was a member of UW-Stout's women's swimming & diving team from 1986-89, claiming four NAIA individual national titles and 23 NAIA All-America awards.  In 1989, she was named the NAIA District 14 Swimmer of the Year.  Heinecke posted 12 WWIAC first-place finishes and owned 14 school records and three conference records upon graduation.  In 2012, she was selected to the WIAC Women's Swimming & Diving All-Time Team in conjunction with the conference's Centennial Celebration.
 
Ben Hoffmann                   UW-Platteville                   1995-98                              Student-Athlete (men's basketball)
-Was a member of UW-Platteville's men's basketball team from 1995-98 and is the only player in NCAA Division III men's basketball history to be a part of two undefeated national championship teams.  Hoffmann is a two-time All-American, garnering first team honors in 1998 and second team recognition in 1997.  In 2012, he was selected to the WIAC Men's Basketball All-Time Team in conjunction with the conference's Centennial Celebration.
 
Michelle Jacob                  UW-Stevens Point            1998-2001                          Student-Athlete (women's soccer)
-Was a member of UW-Stevens Point's women's soccer team from 1998-2001, leading the Pointers to WIAC titles and NCAA Division III Championship appearances all four seasons.  In 2001, Jacob claimed NSCAA All-America First Team and WIAC Player of the Year recognition.  In 2012, she was selected to the WIAC Women's Soccer All-Time Team in conjunction with the conference's Centennial Celebration.
 
**Byron James                  UW-River Falls                  1959-98                              Coach (wrestling)
-Served as UW-River Falls' wrestling coach from 1959-98 and led the team to 11 WSUC championships.  In 1985, the Falcons finish third at the NCAA Division III Championship and sixth at the NAIA Championship.  James coached four national champions, 52 All-Americans and 55 WSUC champions, while claiming conference Coach of the Year honors in 1985 and 1988.
 
Steve Kurth                        UW-Eau Claire                  1959-2001                          Administrator (athletics director/faculty athletics representative) & Coach
                                                                                                                                        (men's basketball/football) & Student-Athlete (men's basketball/football)
-Had a 36-year association with Blugold athletics that began as a student-athlete in football and basketball, earning All-WSUC honors and the team co-MVP award in 1960.  Kurth was the school's athletics director from 1975-92.  He was named Associate Dean in UW-Eau Claire's School of Education in 1992, and continued his association with athletics as the men's faculty athletic representative.  He was appointed to chair the transition team responsible for the merger of the WSUC and the WWIAC.
 
Dwain Mintz                      UW-Stout                             1962-89                              Coach (men's basketball)
-Served as UW-Stout's men's basketball coach from 1962-89, compiling a 385-361 record and three WSUC titles.  His 385 wins rank fourth on the conference's all-time list.  Under his leadership, 21 Blue Devils claimed All-WSUC first team recognition.  He coached UW-Stout's baseball team from 1963-68, and played in the St. Louis Cardinal and Brooklyn Dodger minor league organizations in the 1940s and 1950s.
 
**Dominic Moselle          UW-Superior                       1966-86                              Lifetime Achievement & Coach (baseball/men's basketball/football/track & field) &
                                                                                                                                        Student-Athlete (football)
-Was a member of UW-Superior's football team from 1946-49 and finished as the program's all-time scoring leader.  He was the first player in conference history to be selected in the National Football League Draft - picked by the Cleveland Browns in the 1950 draft.   Moselle was a member of the Browns' NFL Championship squad in 1950, and played four seasons in the league.  He was the head men's basketball coach from 1966-70 and served on the baseball, football and track & field coaching staffs, while being an instructor in physical education from 1966-86.
 
Melissa Mueller                UW-Oshkosh                     1991-94                              Lifetime Achievement & Student-Athlete (women's track & field)
-Was a member of UW-Oshkosh's women's track & field team from 1991-94, winning three individual NCAA Division III titles (two indoor, one outdoor) and nine WIAC championships (five indoor, four outdoor).  Mueller competed for the United States in the pole vault at the 2000 Summer Olympics and set the American indoor pole vault record twice in 1999.  In 2003, she earned a gold medal in the pole vault at the 2003 Pan American Games.  In 2012, Mueller was selected to the WIAC Women's Track & Field All-Time Team in conjunction with the conference's Centennial Celebration.
 
**Emogene Nelson          UW-River Falls                  1959-82                              Administrator & Contributor
-Was a pioneer in physical education and competitive sports for women and served as the Executive Director of Women's Athletics in Wisconsin.  In 1977, she helped the commissioner's position for the WWIAC become a reality by acting as Executive Secretary.  She was president of the Wisconsin Association for Health, Physcial Education and Recreation, and on a number of local and state task forces and committees on faculty development, women in administration, physical education and athletics.  In 1983, Nelson was the first woman named to the UW-River Falls Athletic Hall of Fame.
              
Nancy Nelson                    UW-Whitewater                 1966-70                              Student-Athlete (women's basketball/women's golf/softball/women's tennis/women's volleyball)
-Was a member of UW-Whitewater's women's basketball, women's golf, softball, women's tennis and women's volleyball teams, earning a combined 13 letters.  She was a three-time MVP for the women's basketball team and helped the Warhawks post a 32-5 record in four seasons, while the volleyball squad went undefeated both years that she played.  In 1979, Nelson was the No. 1 draft choice of the International Women's Professional Softball Association and earned league MVP honors.
 
Tori Neubauer-Muesing  UW-La Crosse                   1980-84                              Student-Athlete (women's cross country/women's track & field)
-Was a member of UW-La Crosse's women's cross country and track & field teams from 1980-84, claiming six NCAA Division III individual titles.  She posted a first-place national finish in cross country in 1982 and 1983 – one of four women in NCAA Division III history to win multiple titles.  Neubauer also secured eight conference championships (three indoor, five outdoor) and qualified for the United States Olympic Trials in 1984 and 1988.  In 2012, she was selected to the WIAC Women's Cross Country and Women's Track & Field All-Time Teams in conjunction with the conference's Centennial Celebration.
 
Tom Newberry                  UW-La Crosse                   1982-86                              Lifetime Achievement & Student-Athlete (football/men's track & field)
-Was member of UW-La Crosse's football and men's track & field teams from 1982-86, securing NAIA All-America First Team honors in football in 1984 and 1985.  He was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the second round (50th overall pick) of the 1986 National Football League Draft and played 10 seasons in the NFL, including a starter for the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XXX.  Newberry won four national titles in track & field and produced 10 conference first-place finishes (three indoor, seven outdoor).  In 2012, he was selected to the WIAC Football and Men's Track & Field All-Time Teams in conjunction with the conference's Centennial Celebration.
 
John Peterson                   UW-Stout                           1968-71                              Lifetime Achievement & Student-Athlete (wrestling)
-Was a member of UW-Stout's wrestling team from 1968-71 and accumulated three WSUC titles, as well as a pair of NAIA All-America honors.  In 1976, he won a gold medal at the Olympic Games in wrestling 82kg freestyle.  In 1972, Peterson claimed a silver medal at the Olympic Games in wrestling 82kg freestyle.  The WIAC Wrestler of the Meet award is named in his honor.  In 2012, Peterson was selected to the WIAC Wrestling All-Time Team in conjunction with the conference's Centennial Celebration.
              
Otto Puls                            Conference Office            1959-2005                          Administrator & Game Official
-Over a span of nearly 50 years, Puls was a significant contributor to the success of the WIAC in a variety of roles associated with helping to ensure that the quality of officiating in the conference was commensurate with the most accomplished Division III conference in NCAA history.  His officiating tenure with the WSUC began in 1959 and over the next 40 years, he presided over countless WIAC/WSUC baseball, men's basketball and football games.  
 
Andrew Rock                     UW-La Crosse                   2001-04                              Lifetime Achievement & Student-Athlete (men's track & field)
-Was a member of UW-La Crosse's men's track & field team from 2001-04, winning 11 national titles and 17 WIAC championships.  Rock was the first athlete in NCAA Division III history to win three consecutive indoor 400-meter dash crowns.  In 2004, he won a gold medal as a member of the 4x400-meter relay team at the Olympic Games.  In 2005, Rock claimed a gold medal at the World Outdoor Games with the 4x400-meter relay squad.  Rock was a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American.  In 2012, he was selected to the WIAC Men's Track & Field All-Time Team in conjunction with the conference's Centennial Celebration.
 
**Sandy Schumacher       UW-Eau Claire                  1968-95                              Lifetime Achievement & Coach (women's basketball/women's golf/softball/women's volleyball)
-Was a pioneer of women's athletics at UW-Eau Claire after arriving at the university in 1968 and was one of the founding members of the WWIAC in 1971.  She conducted the first volleyball and basketball camps for girls at Eau Claire and was the school's first women's volleyball coach from 1970-75.  Schumacher was also the first Blugold women's basketball coach, directing the program from 1969-87, and served as softball coach from 1993-94.  After her retirement in 1994, she was an assistant coach for the women's golf team.
 
**Ed Schwager                 UW-Whitewater               1927-71                                 Administrator (director of athletics) & Coach (baseball/men's basketball/football/
                                                                                                                                         men's track & field) & Student-Athlete (men's basketball/football)
-Served as UW-Whitewater's athletics director from 1942-71 and developed the physical education and athletic programs to their greatest heights.  When he took over, only three sports were available and he expanded the offering to 11 sports.  Schwager also coached baseball, men's basketball, football and men's track & field.  He was a member of UW-Whitewater's men's basketball and football teams, earning all-conference honors in each sport three times.
 
Lydia Thering                     UW-Superior                     1954-94                              Administrator (director of athletics) & Coach (softball/women's tennis/
                                                                                                                                        women's track & field/women's volleyball)
-Was an exceptional leader and advocate for women and women's athletics, serving as the director of women's athletics for 16 years and the department chair of the physical education/health and human performance department.  Thering coached softball, women's tennis, women's track & field and women's volleyball at UW-Superior in the 1960s and 1970s before women's sports reached varsity status.
 
Dr. Russell G. Tiedemann               UW-Oshkosh      1953-88                              Administrator (director of athletics) & Coach (baseball) & Student-Athlete
                                                                                                                                          (men's basketball/football/men's track & field)
-Served as the baseball coach at UW-Oshkosh from 1968-69 and 1971-88, posting a 501-168-2 record (.748 winning percentage).  The Titans won the NCAA Division III title in 1985, made eight NCAA Division III World Series appearances, three NAIA World Series showings and claimed 15 WSUC championships.  Tiedemann also served as the director of athletics for the 1987-88 school year.  In 1989, UW-Oshkosh's baseball field was named Russ Tiedemann Field.  In 2012, he was selected the WIAC Baseball All-Time Team Co-Coach in conjunction with the conference's Centennial Celebration.
 
**Ted Whereatt                   UW-Superior                     1930-47                              Coach (men's basketball/football)
-Served as UW-Superior's football and men's basketball coach from 1930-47 – missing three years while in the service.  His football teams won five conference championships with the 1936 and 1937 teams not allowing a point.  On the basketball court, the Yellowjackets won five league titles under his leadership and reached the national tournament in 1941.  UW-Superior's baseball field is named in his honor.
 
Judy Wilson                        UW-River Falls                  1966-92                              Administrator (associate athletic director) & Coach (field hockey/women's tennis/
                                                                                                                                         women's track & field)
-Served as a founding member of the WWIAC and chaired many committees that furthered the development of women's athletics in the state.  Wilson was UW-River Falls' associate athletic director from 1980-92.  From 1966-84, she coached field hockey, earning WWIAC Coach of the Year honors in 1982 and leading the team to a state tournament victory in 1972.  Wilson coached the women's tennis team from 1966-70 and 1984-89, claiming conference Coach of the Year recognition in 1988.  From 1966-78, she directed the Falcon women's track & field team.
 
Carol Yanna                       Conference Office            1991-2014                          Administrator
-Her tenure with the conference began in 1991 with the WWIAC.  For the next 23 years, Yanna was the go-to-person for most everything pertaining to the operations of the conference office.   In 1997, she was a key player and invaluable contributor to the merger of the WSUC and WWIAC into the WIAC. 
 
Kari (Groshek) Zdroik       UW-Stevens Point            1998-2002                          Student-Athlete (women's basketball)
-Was a member of UW-Stevens Point's women's basketball team from 1998-2002, helping the Pointers to the 2002 NCAA Division III title.  In 2002, Zdroik claimed All-America First Team recognition and WIAC Player of the Year honors, while receiving the NCAA Top VIII Award.  She is the first CoSIDA Academic All-America selection in program history.  In 2012, Zdroik was selected to the WIAC Women's Basketball All-Time Team in conjunction with the conference's Centennial Celebration.
 
 
**deceased