Wisconsin–Stevens Point Pointers football
| Wisconsin–Stevens Point Pointers football | |
|---|---|
| First season | 1895 |
| Head coach | Luke Venne 4th season, 3–27 (.100) |
| Stadium | Goerke Field (capacity: 4,500) |
| Year built | 1932 |
| Location | Stevens Point, Wisconsin |
| NCAA division | Division III |
| Conference | WIAC |
| All-time record | 504–464–44 (.520) |
| Unclaimed national titles | NAIA Div. II: 1 (1987) |
| National finalist | NAIA Div. II: 1 (1987) |
| Playoff appearances | 7 (1 NAIA Div. I, 2 NAIA Div. II, 4 NCAA Div. III) |
| Playoff record | 1–10 (.091) |
| Conference titles | 14 |
| Consensus All-Americans | 5 |
| Colors | Purple and gold[1] |
| Website | athletics.uwsp.edu/football |
The Wisconsin–Stevens Point Pointers football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Wisconsin–Stevens Point competes at the NCAA Division III level and is a member of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC).
Championships
Conference championships
Wisconsin–Stevens Point has won the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) championship 14 times.[2]
| Year | Coach | Overall record | WIAC record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1928† | Carl Eggebrecht | 5–0–1 | 3–0–1 |
| 1933† | Eddie Kotal | 7–0–1 | 4–0–1 |
| 1934† | 7–1 | 5–0 | |
| 1936† | 3–3–1 | 2–1–1 | |
| 1946† | George Berg | 3–2–1 | 3–1–1 |
| 1949† | Hale Quandt | 6–1–1 | 5–1 |
| 1955 | John Roberts | 8–0 | 6–0 |
| 1961 | Duaine Counsell | 8–1 | 7–1 |
| 1977 | Ron Steiner | 8–2–1 | 7–0–1 |
| 1986† | D. J. LeRoy | 8–4 | 7–1 |
| 1987* | 0–15* | 0–8* | |
| 1998† | John Miech | 7–2 | 5–2 |
| 1999† | 9–2 | 6–1 | |
| 2001† | 8–3 | 5–2 | |
| 2008† | 9–2 | 6–1 |
† Co-champions
National championship
| Year | Coach | Division | Opponent | Result | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987* | D. J. LeRoy | NAIA Division II | Pacific Lutheran | T 16–16 | 0–15* |
* The Pointers had a conference record of 7–1 and an overall record of 12–2–1 at the end of the 1987 season, all wins and ties were later vacated due to using two ineligible players. The conference title was retroactively awarded to Wisconsin–River Falls and Wisconsin–Whitewater as co–champions and Pacific Lutheran was retroactively awarded the national title outright[3][4]
Postseason
NCAA Division III playoffs
Wisconsin–Stevens Point has participated in the NCAA Division III playoffs four times and has a 1–4 record.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | First Round | Concordia–Moorhead | L 15–24 | 8–4 |
| 1999 | First Round | Saint John's (MN) | L 10–23 | 9–2 |
| 2001 | First Round | Bethel (MN) | W 37–27 | 8–3 |
| Second Round | Saint John's (MN) | L 7–9 | ||
| 2008 | First Round | Wartburg | L 21–26 | 9–2 |
NAIA Division I playoffs
Wisconsin–Stevens Point participated in the NAIA Division I playoffs once in 1977, losing in the semifinals.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Semifinals | Abilene Christian (TX) | L 7–35 | 8–2–1 |
NAIA Division II playoffs
Wisconsin–Stevens Point has participated in the NAIA Division II playoffs twice, and was named co-champion in 1987 with Pacific Lutheran after playing to a 16–16 tie in the championship game. Later the Pointers forfeited their 12 wins and their share of the title after it was found they had used two ineligible players.[5]
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | First Round | Westmar | W 50–24 | 0–15* |
| Quarterfinals | Saint Ambrose | W 30–14 | ||
| Semifinals | Geneva | W 48–25 | ||
| Championship | Pacific Lutheran | T 16–16 | ||
| 1989 | First Round | Wisconsin–La Crosse | L 20–30 | 8–2–1 |
*The Pointers had a record of 12–2–1 at the end of the 1987 season, the 0–15 record reflects 13 forfeits due to playing two ineligible players.
Ranked teams
Starting in 1999 the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) began publishing rankings for Division III football.[6] In 2003, D3football.com started publishing its own rankings for Division III football.[7] Since the inception of both polls, Wisconsin–Stevens Point has been ranked at least four times in the AFCA Coaches Poll and two times in the D3football.com poll to end the season. Additionally, while not being ranked in the Top 25 to end the season, the Pointers have received votes (RV) in both polls two additional years.
| Year | D3 | AFCA | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | N/A | 19 | 9–2 |
| 2001 | N/A | 13 | 8–3 |
| 2002 | N/A | RV | 6–4 |
| 2003 | 18 | 23 | 8–2 |
| 2008 | 14 | 16 | 9–2 |
| 2009 | RV | RV | 7–3 |
| 2010 | RV | Unknown | 7–3 |
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 teams and Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) teams at the NCAA Division II level in what came to be known as the "Border Battle".[8] The Pointers played at the Metrodome three times, and had a 3–0 record.[9]
| Date | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|
| November 14, 1998 | Southwest Minnesota State | W 28–16 |
| November 20, 1999 | Bemidji State | W 35–23 |
| November 11, 2000 | Winona State | W 30–25 |
Facilities
In 1995 the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League chose the university to host it's inaugural preseason training camp.[10][11] Five other NFL teams used campuses across Wisconsin and Minnesota for training camp, in what was known as the Cheese League.
Notable former players
NFL draftees
| Year | Round | Pick | Overall | Player | Team | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | 16 | 14 | 244 | Bob Schultz | Green Bay Packers | DE |
| 1988 | 12 | 3 | 308 | Aatron Kenney | Indianapolis Colts | WR |
| 1990 | 9 | 22 | 242 | Kirk Baumgartner | Green Bay Packers | QB |
| 1991 | 10 | 8 | 258 | Pete Lucas | Atlanta Falcons | T |
| 1992 | 10 | 27 | 279 | Barry Rose | Buffalo Bills | WR |
| 1999 | 6 | 8 | 177 | Clint Kriewaldt | Detroit Lions | LB |
| 2017 | 1 | 32 | 32 | Ryan Ramczyk | New Orleans Saints | OT |
| 2022 | 2 | 25 | 57 | Luke Goedeke | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | OT |
Other notable former players
References
- ^ "Communication Standards Manual" (PDF). Retrieved September 15, 2019.
- ^ "Football Team Champs (PDF) - Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference" (PDF). wiacsports.com. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
- ^ "The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, which forfeited its share... - UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
- ^ "Article clipped from The News Tribune". The News Tribune. May 10, 1988. p. 27. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
- ^ "The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point announced Monday it was... - UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
- ^ "Polls". AFCA. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
- ^ "D3football.com Top 25 history".
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "Breaking the five-way tie". November 11, 1999.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "Football Year By Year Results (PDF) - Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference" (PDF). wiacsports.com. Retrieved May 10, 2025.
- ^ editor1 (January 28, 2018). "Shoe Column: When the Jacksonville Jaguars came to Point". Point/Plover Metro Wire. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Jacksonville Jaguars Training Camp Locations". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 4, 2025.