FB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[bulk19]

UWL or UWEC?
I've lived in La Crosse for 30 years or so, and graduated from UWEC, and lived there for three years thereafter, too... So I've got feelings towards both...

If I were looking for a football coaching job in the WIAC, it would be hard to top the history that UWL offers. But if I were looking for a bigger challenge, to make my name on a program, UWEC would be the choice. Facilities wise, I'd say they are a wash, McPhee vs. Mitchell Hall and the other rec center at UWL. Stadium-wise, I'd pick UWEC's Carson Park setting over Veterans Memorial in La Crosse...

As far as the whole athletics program situation, UWL has won more D3 titles overall - track and field, gymnastics, football come to mind - but UWEC has won the majority of its championships since 2000, in a variety of sports. So I can't say I know which program is in better shape overall...

Recruiting has been difficult for EC lately, as the D2 schools in Minnesota have probably drawn away a few prospects, as has been mentioned on this forum a bit before... However, the new AD has tapped into the Chicago market big time, so maybe that will bring some results on the field...

Not sure how big a difference there would be in salaries, but the cost of living in EC and LaX is basically the same... If I had a family to raise, I'd choose EC over La Crosse, for lots of non-football related reasons.

As an athlete, if I were a football player, again, it would be a difficult choice to make... Do I want to go with the tradition at UWL, or make a mark at UWEC? Not sure which way I'd lean. As a student, however, I'd choose UWEC for its academics over UWL every day of the week...

P.S. Screaming Eagles writes:
I remember visiting UWEC and being kind of depressed by the whole place (and that huge hill to climb every day).EC is the most beautiful campus in the WIAC...  And that hill? That's what builds character, and what made me the jerk, curmudgeon, pot-stirring fill-in-the-blank I am today... 

[ScreamingEagles]

P.S. Screaming Eagles writes:
I remember visiting UWEC and being kind of depressed by the whole place (and that huge hill to climb every day).EC is the most beautiful campus in the WIAC...  And that hill? That's what builds character, and what made me the jerk, curmudgeon, pot-stirring fill-in-the-blank I am today... 

I feel like you could fix this by heading down to Third Street in LAX......

[bulk19]

P.S. Screaming Eagles writes:
I remember visiting UWEC and being kind of depressed by the whole place (and that huge hill to climb every day).EC is the most beautiful campus in the WIAC...  And that hill? That's what builds character, and what made me the jerk, curmudgeon, pot-stirring fill-in-the-blank I am today... 

I feel like you could fix this by heading down to Third Street in LAX......

It could be, perhaps, that my "shoes were too tight."
Reference, anyone? 

[OzJohnnie]

[Brian R. Carroll]

The Grinch had to wonder, as he had oft' before/and he puzzled and puzzled,'till his puzzler was sore."Eau Claire or La Crosse ?" he asked his one friend Johnson/ "Which is the finest in western Wisconsin ?"/ So the Grinch left his dogs, all his bloodhounds and beagles and went off to choose between Blugolds and Eagles.        Someone stop me. Please.

[OzJohnnie]

[Brian R. Carroll]

On a more serious note, I am dismayed by the developments at UWL. I have no inside access to information, but hope that the program will soon be pointed in the right direction. Both Eau Claire and La Crosse have much to offer, and I hope both find coaches who will enjoy success.

[ScreamingEagles]

On a more serious note, I am dismayed by the developments at UWL. I have no inside access to information, but hope that the program will soon be pointed in the right direction. Both Eau Claire and La Crosse have much to offer, and I hope both find coaches who will enjoy success.

+K

[bulk19]

The Grinch had to wonder, as he had oft' before/and he puzzled and puzzled,'till his puzzler was sore."Eau Claire or La Crosse ?" he asked his one friend Johnson/ "Which is the finest in western Wisconsin ?"/ So the Grinch left his dogs, all his bloodhounds and beagles and went off to choose between Blugolds and Eagles.        Someone stop me. Please.

Bravo, and a +K, and a floofloover fanfare, too, just for you!
May you find a gar ginker or or tar tinker under your tree Christmas morning....

[emma17]

The Grinch had to wonder, as he had oft' before/and he puzzled and puzzled,'till his puzzler was sore."Eau Claire or La Crosse ?" he asked his one friend Johnson/ "Which is the finest in western Wisconsin ?"/ So the Grinch left his dogs, all his bloodhounds and beagles and went off to choose between Blugolds and Eagles.        Someone stop me. Please.

Well done.

I love all Grinch. Jim Carey was great with his Sean Connery Grinch.

[palum]

The real reason Dettwiler's gone: He lost the team

http://lacrossetribune.com/print-specific/columns/the-real-reason-dettwiler-s-gone-he-lost-the-team/article_857d8115-65b0-5fb0-ae7f-952df8527810.html

Blum declined to respond to specific questions regarding Dettwiler's resignation, saying that it was a "personnel issue."

"There was a lot of negativity," said a player, who requested anonymity. "It made football just not fun at times because it was always so negative."

The players did not give specific incidences, but suggested a climate of negative treatment that affected team morale.

"Lots of guys just didn't like the way they were treated, especially on the sidelines during games," a player said.

All of these comments line up with what I've heard went on behind the scenes.  And they are kind in comparison with reality.

An easy way to show this is the number of Seniors on the team this year - only 9.  This was in Coach Dettwiler's 5th season, with an entire program of guys he recruited and brought to La Crosse.  There are a few examples of players starting as Freshmen that quit football altogether after their one season at UWL. 

I, and many other UWL fans, have seen the sideline treatment towards players discussed in the article.  The bench is fairly close to the stands, and light fan support made it easy at times to hear what was going on.  It was more than just players though - one game I distinctly remember watching, astonished, as Dettwiler berated and swore at a ball boy on the sideline for not being in exactly the right spot.

I think you can tie this all back to a question I asked before the season started - would UWL fire Dettwiler after another 3-7 year?  Many of you on this board said probably not, that at a D3 institution it's about more than just Wins and Losses and there are other measures of success and progress that we can look for.  I completely agreed and still do.

This is a great example that sometimes it's not about what the end result is, but how you get there.     

When I heard of Dettwiler's resignation I wondered if there was something more than him wanting to do something else. At halftime during the Platteville-La Crosse I was walking towards the concession stand past the door to the visitors locker room which was open it was on f-bomb after another.  Platteville had just scored on a 3 play 50 yard plus drive with time running out to turn a tight game into the beginnings of a blowout so they had some reason to be upset. There were some players outside the door on a training table you could see it on their faces they were glad they were getting taped up and not in the locker room.

[AppletonRocks]

On a more serious note, I am dismayed by the developments at UWL. I have no inside access to information, but hope that the program will soon be pointed in the right direction. Both Eau Claire and La Crosse have much to offer, and I hope both find coaches who will enjoy success.

The Indians deserve better.  Long heritage of success.  Need to get back near the top of the WIAC where Whitewater, Point and Oshkosh have made a strong commitment to both athletic and academic success.

It is time.  LaX used to have coaches who were known nationally--Esten and Hering come to mind.  Great coaches get it done. 

[wsuc/wiac fan]

How far has lax fallen? I was surprised. Lax last made the playoffs in 2006, and since then they are 3-6 vs uwec, which last made the playoffs in 2007. Posters who insist that administrative support from the top is essential for significant progress to take place are correct.

[ScreamingEagles]

How far has lax fallen? I was surprised. Lax last made the playoffs in 2006, and since then they are 3-6 vs uwec, which last made the playoffs in 2007. Posters who insist that administrative support from the top is essential for significant progress to take place are correct.

Resources are indeed tight at UWL - Dettwiler made less than many high school football coaches in the area.

Former coach Larry Terry led the effort to fundraise and build Veterans Memorial Field.  After him, former AD Josh Whitman led significant fundraising efforts to:
- Partner with the La Crosse Loggers to upgrade Copeland Park and make it the Eagles' baseball home.
- Raise funds to upgrade technology/scoreboards at all athletic facilities
- Announced a brand new gymnastics training and competition facility.  When he left in 2014, so did any plans to complete this project.
- Announced a brand new fieldhouse for UWL athletics.  This was supposed to have begun construction in 2014 but is delayed indefinitely.  https://www.uwlax.edu/fieldhouse/

The common theme here is private funds.  The only project to be completed with university support is the fieldhouse, and that is delayed indefinitely.  The locker/athletic training/meeting rooms for athletes of all sports are in Mitchell Hall and are circa the 1960's.  Athletics has not been a priority for the school's administration for some time, and unless their attitudes change, success on the field will be a challenge for whoever the coach is.  Right now UWL Football has a gorgeous stadium with locker room and support facilities from 40 years ago. 

Coach Terry said as much when he retired in 2011.  The football program does have more resources now (3 full-time coaches vs. 1 previously), however the schools administration has not changed it's tune.

[wsuc/wiac fan]

Excellent info from screaming Eagles. It will take much more than changing coaches and/ or athletic directors to return to the upper echelon of Wiac football.