Wisconsin–La Crosse Eagles football

The Wisconsin–La Crosse Eagles football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse located in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Wisconsin–La Crosse competes at the NCAA Division III level and is a member of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC). The Eagles play their home games at Veterans Memorial Stadium. Wisconsin–La Crosse has won three national titles: the NAIA Division II Football National Championship in 1985 and the NCAA Division III Football Championship in 1992 and 1995, all during the tenure of Roger Harring, who served as head coach from 1969 to 1999 and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005.^[2][3][4]

Wisconsin–La Crosse Eagles football
2024 Wisconsin–La Crosse Eagles football team
First season	1911; 114 years ago (1911)
Head coach	Matt Janus 5th season, 37–11 (.771)
Stadium	Veterans Memorial Stadium (capacity: 10,000)
Location	La Crosse, Wisconsin
NCAA division	Division III
Conference	WIAC
All-time record	647–325–47 (.658)
Bowl record	1–0–1 (.750)
Claimed national titles	NCAA Div. III: 2 (1992, 1995) NAIA Div. II: 1 (1985)
National finalist	NCAA Div. III: 2 (1992, 1995) NAIA Div. II: 3 (1985, 1988, 1989)
Playoff appearances	22 (2 NAIA Div. I, 5 NAIA Div. II, 15 NCAA Div. III)
Playoff record	30–19 (.612)
Conference titles	35
Rivalries	Wisconsin–Whitewater Warhawks Wisconsin–Eau Claire Blugolds
Colors	Maroon and gray[1]
Website	uwlathletics.com/football

Wisconsin–La Crosse's teams were known as the Indians from 1937 to 1989. The name was changed because of concerns of racial insensitivity regarding Native Americans; see Native American mascot controversy.^[5]

Head coaching history

Wisconsin–La Crosse has had 14 head coaches in their history. No teams were fielded in 1943 or 1944 due to World War II. Additionally, no team was fielded in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Coach	Seasons	Term	Wins	Losses	Ties	Win %	Nat. tit.	Conf. tit.	Playoff app.
Joel Moore	1	1911	3	3	0	.500	0	0	N/A
Fred G. Carter	3	1912–1914	6	11	2	.368	0	0	N/A
Carl Sputh	2	1915–1916	9	4	0	.692	0	0	N/A
Ray Keeler	13	1917–1929	43	25	15	.618	0	3	N/A
Howard Johnson	8	1930–1937	32	17	14	.619	0	2	N/A
Clyde B. Smith	7	1938–1942 1946–1947	29	16	2	.638	0	4	N/A
Gordon Bahr	1	1945	2	2	0	.500	0	0	N/A
Clark Van Galder	4	1948–1951	31	5	1	.851	0	3	N/A (1 bowl game)
Bill Vickroy	17	1952–1968	86	61	6	.582	0	3	N/A (1 bowl game)
Roger Harring	31	1969–1999	261	75	7	.771	3	15	14
Larry Terry	11	2000–2010	65	48	0	.575	0	3	4
Joel Dettwiler	5	2011–2015	16	34	0	.320	0	0	0
Mike Schmidt	4	2016–2019	27	13	0	.675	0	0	0
Matt Janus	4	2021–present	37	11	0	.771	0	2	4

^[6]

Championships

Conference championships

Wisconsin–La Crosse has won the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) championship 35 times.^[7]

Year	Coach	Over.	WIAC
1917	Ray Keeler	4–1	3–0
1919		4–2–1	3–0–1
1927		5–0–2	4–0–1
1933†	Howard Johnson	3–4–1	2–2–1
1934†		5–1–2	3–0–1
1939†	Clyde B. Smith	3–4	3–1
1940†		6–0	4–0
1941†		5–1	3–1
1942†		6–0–1	4–0
1949†	Clark Van Galder	7–2	6–1
1950†		10–0	6–0
1951		7–2	6–0
1952†	Bill Vickroy	8–1	5–0
1953†		9–0–1	5–0
1954		6–2–1	4–0–1
1971†	Roger Harring	8–2	7–1
1973		9–2	7–1
1974†		7–3	7–1
1975†		8–3	7–1
1978†		9–2	7–1
1980†		8–2	6–2
1982		8–2	7–1
1986†		10–2	7–1
1989		12–2	7–1
1991		10–2	7–1
1992	Roger Harring/Roland Christensen*	12–0–1‡	6–0–1‡
1993	Roger Harring	11–1	7–0
1995		14–0	7–0
1996		11–2	7–0
1999†		7–4	6–1
2002	Larry Terry	7–4	6–1
2003		10–2	6–1
2004		7–4	5–2
2022†	Matt Janus	9–2	6–1
2023		11–2	7–0

^[8]

† Co-champions

‡ The official record book does not reflect the game against the University of Wisconsin–Superior Yellowjackets scheduled for week 4 in 1992. After completing their non-conference schedule, Wisconsin–Superior suspended its season prior to conference play, before eventually dropping the football program altogether.^[9] The scheduled game officially went down in the record books as "cancelled" as opposed to a "forfeit". Superior hadn't beaten La Crosse since 1970. The Eagles were looking to extend their 21-game winning streak against the Yellowjackets prior to the cancellation.

* On October 7, 1992, Roger Harring suffered a heart attack that sidelined him for the remainder of the 1992 season. During Coach Harring's recovery, longtime Defensive Coordinator Roland Christensen took over as Interim Head Coach for the rest of the season, including the playoffs.^[10]

National championship games

Wisconsin–La Crosse has played in three NAIA Division II Football National Championship games (winning 1, losing 2), and two NCAA Division III Football Championship games (winning both).^[11][12]

Year	Coach	Division	Opponent	Result	Over.
1985	Roger Harring	NAIA Division II	Pacific Lutheran	W 24–7	11–1–2
1988			Westminster (PA)	L 14–21	11–3
1989			Westminster (PA)	L 30–51	12–2
1992	Roger Harring/Roland Christensen*	NCAA Division III	Washington & Jefferson	W 16–12	12–0–1‡
1995	Roger Harring		Rowan	W 36–7	14–0

Undefeated regular seasons

Wisconsin–La Crosse has finished the regular season undefeated ten times. Of the undefeated seasons, five (1918, 1927, 1932, 1940, 1942) were before playoffs existed. Two undefeated seasons (1950, 1953) resulted in invitations to the Cigar Bowl. In the playoff era, the Eagles finished the regular season undefeated three times (1992, 1993, 1995), winning the National Championship in 1992 and 1995, and losing in the quarterfinals in 1993.

Year	Coach	Reg. seas.	Final record
1918	Ray Keeler	3–0–1	3–0–1
1927		5–0–2	5–0–2
1932	Howard Johnson	5–0–2	5–0–2
1940	Clyde B. Smith	6–0	6–0
1942		6–0–1	6–0–1
1950	Clark Van Galder	9–0	10–0
1953	Bill Vickroy	9–0	9–0–1
1992	Roger Harring/Roland Christensen*	8–0–1‡	12–0–1‡
1993	Roger Harring	10–0	11–1
1995		10–0	14–0

Postseason games

Bowl games

Before there were tournaments to crown a national champion, Wisconsin–La Crosse (then La Crosse State) played in the Cigar Bowl twice, winning once and tying once.

Year	Bowl	Coach	Opponent	Result	Record
1951	Cigar Bowl	Clark Van Galder	Valparaiso	W 47–14	10–0
1954	Cigar Bowl	Bill Vickroy	Missouri Valley	T 12–12	9–0–1

NCAA Division III playoffs

The Eagles have found much of their post season success at the NCAA Division III level, making the tournament field 15 times, playing in the Stagg Bowl twice (winning both times) and compiling a 20–13 record.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result	Record
1983	Quarterfinals	Occidental	W 43–42	9–3–1
	Semifinals	Augustana (IL)	L 15–21
1991	Regionals	Simpson	W 28–13	10–2
	Quarterfinals	Saint John's (MN)	L 10–29
1992	Regionals	Redlands	W 47–26	12–0–1‡
	Quarterfinals	Central (IA)	W 34–9
	Semifinals	Mount Union	W 29–24
	Championship	Washington & Jefferson	W 16–12
1993	Regionals	Wartburg	W 55–26	11–1
	Quarterfinals	Saint John's (MN)	L 25–47
1995	Regionals	Concordia–Moorhead	W 45–7	14–0
	Quarterfinals	Wisconsin–River Falls	W 28–14
	Semifinals	Mount Union	W 20–17
	Championship	Rowan	W 36–7
1996	Regionals	Wisconsin–River Falls	W 44–0	11–2
	Quarterfinals	Saint John's (MN)	W 37–30
	Semifinals	Mount Union	L 21–39
1999	First Round	Central (IA)	L 17–38	7–4
2002	First Round	Coe	L 18–21	7–4
2003	First Round	Concordia Wisconsin	W 52–13	10–2
	Second Round	Mount Union	L 14–39
2004	First Round	St. Norbert	W 37–23	7–4
	Second Round	Linfield	L 14–52
2006	First Round	Bethel (MN)	W 28–21	9–2
	Second Round	Wisconsin–Whitewater	L 21–24
2021	First Round	Albion	W 58–23	9–3
	Second Round	North Central (IL)	L 20–34
2022	First Round	Wartburg	L 6–14	9–2
2023	First Round	Minnesota Morris	W 62–7	11–2
	Second Round	Aurora	W 56–35
	Quarterfinals	North Central (IL)	L 42–55
2024	First Round	Northwestern (MN)	W 59–14	8–4
	Second Round	Saint John's (MN)	L 13–24

NAIA Division I playoffs

Wisconsin–La Crosse participated in the NAIA Division I playoffs on two occasions, finishing with an 0–2 record.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result	Record
1973	Semifinals	Elon	L 24–35	9–2
1978	Quarterfinals	Grand Valley State	L 14–24	9–2

NAIA Division II playoffs

Wisconsin–La Crosse was part of the NAIA Division II playoff field five times, reaching the championship game three times and winning the national championship once. In those five appearances they posted a 10–4 record.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result	Record
1985	Quarterfinals	Carroll (MT)	W 24–0	11–1–2
	Semifinals	Northwestern (IA)	W 35–28 3OT
	Championship	Pacific Lutheran	W 24–7
1986	Quarterfinals	Hanover	W 35–33	10–2
	Semifinals	Baker	L 14–16
1988	First Round	Valley City State	W 31–6	11–3
	Quarterfinals	Northwestern (IA)	W 45–33
	Semifinals	Oregon Tech	W 37–24
	Championship	Westminster (PA)	L 14–21
1989	First Round	Wisconsin–Stevens Point	W 30–20	12–2
	Quarterfinals	Nebraska Weslayan	W 29–0
	Semifinals	Baker	W 21–6
	Championship	Westminster (PA)	L 30–51
1990	First Round	Peru State	L 3–24	9–2

Ranked teams

Starting in 1999 the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) began publishing rankings for Division III football.^[13] In 2003, D3football.com started publishing its own rankings for Division III football.^[14] Since the inception of both polls, Wisconsin–La Crosse has been ranked 10 times in the AFCA Coaches Poll and 8 times in the D3football.com poll to end the season. Additionally, while not being ranked in the Top 25 to end the season, Wisconsin–La Crosse has received votes (RV) in both polls two additional years.

Year	D3	AFCA	Record
1999	N/A	25	7–4
2002	N/A	22	7–4
2003	8	7	10–2
2004	13	16	7–4
2006	6	7	9–2
2017	24	25	8–2
2018	RV	RV	7–3
2019	RV	RV	7–3
2021	11	12	9–3
2022	12	11	9–2
2023	4	4	11–2
2024	21	21	8–4

Border Battle

From 1984 to 2000 the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, home to the Minnesota Vikings and Minnesota Golden Gophers, hosted games in November between WIAC team and Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) team at the NCAA Division II level in what came to be known as the "Border Battle".^[15] The Eagles played at the Metrodome three times, and had a 2–1 record, beating Northern State in 2000 after splitting games with Minnesota Duluth in 1996 and 1999.^[16]

Date	Opponent	Result
November 17, 1996	Minnesota Duluth	L 3–17
November 13, 1999	Minnesota Duluth	W 22–21
November 11, 2000	Northern State	W 20–14

Facilities

From 1988 to 1999 the university hosted the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League for their preseason training camp.^[17] The Saints chose to use La Crosse to escape the extreme heat and humidity of Louisiana summers, as well as the great football facilities.^[18] Five other NFL teams used campuses across Wisconsin and Minnesota for training camp, in what was known as the Cheese League.

Notable former players

Notable alumni include:

• Will Berzinski, NFL player
• Roman Brumm, NFL player
• George Dahlgren, NFL player
• Brian Gutekunst, NFL General Manager with the Green Bay Packers, Super Bowl champion (XLV) as a scout
• Roger Harring, high school and college football coach, 3× national champion (1985, 1992, 1995), inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame (inducted in 2005)
• Don Kindt Jr., NFL player
• Craig Kusick, Major League Baseball player^[19]
• Craig Kusick Jr., Arena Football League player, Melberger Award winner (1995)
• Ace Loomis, NFL player
• Mike Maslowski, Arena Football League and NFL player
• Ric Mathias, NFL player
• Greg Mattison, high school, college, and NFL football coach, NCAA Division I national champion (2006) defensive coordinator and defensive line coach
• Tom Newberry, NFL player, 2× All-Pro (1988, 1989), 2× Pro Bowl (1989, 1990)
• Mike Schmidt, college football coach
• Cole Spieker, Canadian Football League player, Grey Cup champion (2023)
• Bill Schroeder, NFL Europe and NFL player
• Jeremy Unertl, Arena Football League, United Football League, Canadian Football League, and NFL Europe player, NFL Europe interceptions leader (2003) and World Bowl XI champion
• Joel Williams, NFL player, 1980 NFC sack leader
• Gary Zauner, college, United Football League and NFL football coach