The History Of Football
Wisconsin At LaCrosse
From 1969 To 1997, The
Coach Roger Harring
At The University Of
29 Years Under Head
Created,
Professor
Compiled, And Edited By Eugene
Emeritus Of English At UW-LaCrosse
E. Williams,
Published By The Josten Co. Of Topeka, Kansas
January, 1998
The endsheet pictures are of
Homecoming 1997, taken by
Scenic Concepts, owner Pat
McGuire.
·6 3
The Harring Era
Acknowledgements
Almost one hundred people helped to gather the materials
in this book, which have been used to present the
history of twen-
ty-nine years of football at the school now called the
University of Wisconsin at LaCrosse. When Roger Harring
first began here as
head football coach, the school was Wisconsin State
College, The name has changed several times since 1969.
The football coaches, Roger Harring, Barry Schockmel,
Roland Christensen, Larry Terry, and a dozen more, were
very
cooperative in helping to identify old pictures. A few
pictures we finally gave up on, but not many.
I found pictures in old files from the former yearbooks
published years ago, and in the Murphy Library Research
Center,
where old pictures and various rare items and articles
were located. The librarians were helpful and patient as
I scrounged
through box after box,
Upon my request, several former players sent me pictures
they had kept over the years and were now willing to
contribute to
this book. Some of the former players were willing to
write about their experiences with the football program
here at LaCrosse,
and these are included in this book. These are extremely
helpful in gaining insight into what makes Harring such
a success, and
any young coaches who wish to gain from this insight,
surely can do it by reading of these experiences.
The Sports Information Director at UW-L, Todd Clark, was
very informative, and is to be thanked profusely for
gathering statis-
tics and making them available to me. He also did a lot
of writing over recent years, from which I have drawn
heavily.
Special thanks go to the LaCrosse Tribune and Marc
Wehrs, news editor, for helping me locate pictures of
coaches from
former years. Wherever I have used Tribune writing, I
have credited the author. Some photographs have names of
photogra-
phers, but some went back too far to identify.
Kelly Skaff of Visual Sports Network gave me team
pictures from 1982 through 1997, which were absolutely
essential. Kellys
picture is on page 159.
Jim Lund of Crescent Printing in Onalaska was more than
helpful with his pictures. He went out of his way to
obtain old pic-
tures and to help identify them and to offer
suggestions, for which I am very grateful.
Provost Leo Lambert granted me office space, and most of
the computer operators in the Wing Building assisted
with pencils
and paper clips and the making of signs. Bob Simpson,
custodian, was helpful with tables, chairs and
telephones, The entire
university personnel seemed desirous of cooperative
help, for which I'm grateful. It certainly made this
production easier.
Pat McGuire of Scenic Concepts Inc. gave me aerial
photos of the Homecoming game against Oshkosh, which you
will
see as endsheets in this book. Aria Wojahn of Visual
Communications is to be thanked, as is Burt Sasse of
University Graphics.
People who contributed photos are Don Suter, Paul
Currier, Bob Seaquist, and Larry Lebiecki, as well as
Debbie Schultz,
Craig Chrest, and Craig Kusick Sr.
Although a lot of people contributed to this
undertaking, if anyone locates an error, it is my fault
alone. To all of you I say
thanks. I think Roger Harring deserves the accolades
this book offers.
Table Of Contents
Page
i - Title page
ii - Acknowledgements
iii Contents
iv- Value of a Team
vii- Bill Collar
viii -William Kraemer
2 - Legalized violence
3 Head Coach, by Todd Clark
4- Coach, Father, Friend,
by Jeff Brown
6 - The Little Giant
8 - 53 All-Americans
9 - NFL - Drafted or Free Agency
10 - Dynasty, Legend, and Legacy
12 - Championship Rings
13 -WSUC in the 90s
14- 1969
17 - 1970
20- 1971
24 - 1972
28-1973
32-1974
36 - 1975
40 - 1976
44 - 1977
48 - 1978
52 - Mattison and Bukowski
53 - Nick Harring
54 - 1979
A university football program is promoted by those
people in most coaching roles, by the players'
friends who come to watch the game on Saturday
afternoon, by most parents, although some mothers still
feign fear and loathing, and by some young men who
have some good reason for not playing but would like to
play.
Contrarily, the university football program is derided
by
some academicians as not belonging in the university
envi-
ronment, by some people as too disgustingly rough and
contributing to violence outside the stadium, and by
some
people who denounce competitive activities because
they themselves cannot compete successfully. Nonethe-
less, the successful university football program
contributes
mightily to individuals involved in the various aspects
of the
sport, to the university itself, to the city in which
the program
resides, and to the state in which the city is located,
and ul-
timately to the entire United States of America, as the
foot-
ball phenomenon is perceived by foreigners. Football has
become America's game.
As the football phenomenon becomes more important
through sheer numbers of teams, and continues to impact
more and more Americans, as television pronounces foot-
ball one of the biggest business ventures America has
ever
produced, football needs to be understood, so that it
can
be utilized to the greatest benefit to the most people
and
not get out of control to be used for personal
aggrandize-
ment alone for a limited number of entrepreneurs.
T he most obvious value of football to most players is
the physical conditioning maintained in a physically
demanding game dictated by a mental strategy co-
ordinated with peers, and the emotions that are preemi-
nent in the winning or losing. Football keeps most
players in
shape for a few months and gives them an outlet for
their
tremendous energies in youthful, muscular bodies. It
gives
most players a way to fill a few hours each day, when
they
might otherwise be sitting idle, or worse, be into
mischief or
trouble. Football offers a balance of physical contrast
for
the hours spent in study at a university. Most
university play-
ers realize that they will end their playing days after
their se-
nior year in school.
In that football is an extremely popular spectator
sport,
the news media of today spend great energy in depicting
the football games. That means that the players will
have
their pictures displayed in newspapers, magazines, and
on
television screens. The players become temporary
celebri-
ties, popular not only with children, but with all age
groups.
Each players individual activities become accomplish-
ments, and his ability to throw, catch, or to handle the
ball
in some expert fashion become talents, and for the play-
ers display of these talents, he is offered rewards, or
what
we might call prizes. He is conditioned through these
re-
wards or prizes to attain even greater dexterity and
finesse.
These prizes come from coaches, friends and fans,
various
accrediting agencies, and what we might call 'sponsors'.
Great self-esteem is developed as prizes are awarded
and gathered in abundance. Each good coach knows the
importance of awarding numerous prizes so that consider-
able self-esteem is developed. This self-esteem will
hold
the player in good stead after his playing days are
over.
This self-esteem is maintained and transferred to other
en-
terprises into which the young man will venture. The
more
successful a university football program is, the more
prizes
will be awarded, and the more self-esteem will be devel-
oped by the largest number of players. Thus, the most
suc-
cessful program turns out the most young men with
self-es-
teem to be transferred to other ventures. This is why we
find
a great many former football players successful in
business
later in life.
Is Subtly Beyond Full Realization
This same principle of transferrance of
self-esteem holds true for other athletic
endeavors also, but the scale of the
football programs and the large num-
ber of young people football touches
and the popularity of football today
makes football the number one pro-
gram for teaching one to be successful
and adventurous in business. One is
taught in football to be tough, aggres-
sive, determined, tenacious and perse-
vering. These same traits are utilized by
the most successful businessmen in a
capitalistic society.
Football teaches cooperation and
teamwork. The true individual can't
make it as a member of a football
team. Football requires eleven young
men to move into concerted action
with a common goal at the instanta-
neous command of a quarterback,
There are no loners on a football team.
One learns to sacrifice self to a team
goal through cooperative efforts. Foot-
ball players make great company men.
America has traditionally, historically
recognized and promoted the individ-
ual, pioneering spirit, the man with the
guts to enter unexplored territory, to go it
alone with little help from anyone else,
to test his mettle against the unknown.
That was centuries ago.
A man today is better off learning to
cooperate and to be part of a success-
ful team than to go alone. The frontier is
long gone. There does exist room for the
lone entrepreneur in small business, or in
the experimental laboratory, or in the ar-
chives of a law firm, but much more
room and a zillion more jobs exist for the
successful team player, the man who
seeks approval and corroboration for his
efforts. This is taught in football.
T he value of a successful football
program can be counted in myr-
iad ways by a university. This in no
way places it into conflict with the aca-
demic programs. Football augments
the academics of a university, if for no
other reason than entertainment on a
long week-end. People outside of the
university view the various aspects of a
university differently than those people
who are within and part of the university.
Mention Bart Starr, Woody Hayes, the
Gipper, or Joe Montana to almost any-
one on the street, and that person will
say football. Mention the name of a
state senator, or the state governor, or
the university president to people at ran-
dom and see how many can identify
them. The contrast will be startling, with
many more people identifying football
personalities than politicians, academi-
cians, or even their bosses in large com-
panies.
The point to this is that a successful
football program will bring notoriety to a
school, more than anything else the
school does, because it includes,
through entertainment value, the uned-
ucated masses. An unsuccessful foot-
ball program does very little for a
school. People identify the value of a
university through the success of the
football team. Silly as this seems to aca-
demicians, because the value of an
academic program is in no way related
to the success of an athletic team of
any kind, people continue to identify
and evaluate schools through football
teams.
Mention Ohio State and no one will re-
spond by noting the quality of its pro-
grams or its noted professors or its presi-
dent, or even its size or where it is lo-
cated. Almost everyone will say football.
People want to identify with winners. No
one can tell how many students matric-
ulate at Ohio State or Alabama or Michi-
gan or Notre Dame just because they
have good football teams, but we do
know that some students attend a foot-
ball university because of the vicarious
feeling of power and success attained
through the football team.
Some football players come to a uni-
versity because of its winning reputation
in football. Some of those players'
friends follow the players to that univer-
sity. Every time the team wins another
award, a sense of winning is felt by the
student body as a whole, and on and
on the feeling goes, spiraling ever up-
ward, until the reputation becomes
something unto itself and almost be-
yond the control of the university admin-
istrators.
Even students who rarely attend a
game will get a sense of winning on
week-ends when the team wins another
game. People ask students, "Did you go
to the game?" There's an expectancy,
something inspired, as if it's an accom-
plishment to attend a game. There's a
deflation when the student says no. If
the student says yes, there's a sense of
being lucky and part of intense action
and prestige, even though one did
nothing but watch.
The vicarious thrill one realizes through
being associated with a winning football
team harks back to the prehistoric times
when man fought over anything and ev-
erything, and strength was the mark of
the man. Football comes as close to
those prehistoric battles of strength as
anything other than actual, killing war-
fare. Football permits a man to test his
strength against other men, as men did
eons ago for mating rights or food. To
the victor belong the spoils. Today the
spoils are notoriety, celebrity, and
money.
S imilarly, winning sends a sense of
accomplishment throughout the
entire university city in which the
school resides, and people who have
never even been on the campus speak
proudly of the winning team. Especially
do they speak loudly and proudly when
they are off in other cities. Suddenly they
sound as if they are graduates of the in-
stitution, when one has but to listen to
their vernacular to recognize lack of ed-
ucation and refinement. Nonetheless,
they are also recipients of that intangi-
ble sense of accomplishment, and they
wear the school colors proudly on their
backs.
A city with a university with a reputa-
tion for winning football is fortunate in-
deed. Tourists drive far out of their ways
to view the campus and the field of bat-
tle, and to regale listeners with ex-
panded exploits of former glory days,
whether true or not. The farther one gets
from home, the larger and more im-
pressive the stories become.
Every chamber of commerce worth
its paper utilizes the tales of gargantuan
battles to entice visitors to its city and to
embellish the appeal of residency. Tick-
ets to games become enticements to
be offered discreetly to potential land-
holders, as if they are acquiring the keys
to the forbidden city.
How huge the value of tickets has
grown and how important they appear
is readily seen by viewing the 'boxes'
now perched high atop stadiums across
the U.S. The expense for a businessman
to entertain guests on a Saturday after-
noon in the lofty, royal, private rooms is
a clear indication that one seems to
have 'arrived' when one visits a heavenly
'box'. The majority of Americans believe
this. The 'business' of football almost
makes the game secondary.
T he UW-LaCrosse football team has
traveled to a dozen different states
in the past twenty-nine years, cross-
ing the country from California to Vir-
ginia, most often returning imbued with
additional aggrandizement for self, uni-
versity, city and state. Quite naturally,
there are people now all across Amer-
ica who have heard of the UW-LaCrosse
football team and its vaunted power.
As Harring has built the LaCrosse dy-
nasty, the university has become better
and better known as a quality university.
If its football team is national in quality,
then it must be a university of national
quality. Thus, the football team has
been ambassadorial, not only for the
university, but for the entire state of Wis-
consin, creating goodwill through win-
ning nobley and honestly, and with high
spirits taking the high road to champion-
ships.
The players, the coaches, the Univer-
sity of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, the city of La-
Crosse, and all people who live here or
even have relatives here benefit either
directly or indirectly through the success
of the football team. The benefit is more
than is readily discernable. It is discreet,
subtle, often unseen and intangible, but
nonetheless there working its magic to
make everyone associated feel a bit
more imperial, a bit more like a winner,
one above the rest, not to be toyed with
lightly, for UW-LaCrosse football is a win-
ner, and therefore everything associ-
ated with it is a winner.
oger Harring did not know in 1969
that he would in twenty-nine
years create through his football
heroics such a dynamic, dazzling dy-
nasty. Of course, all coaches aspire to
such largess, but it happens so rarely as
to be almost unimaginable, and its real-
ization only comes about after years of
dedication, devotion, struggle and per-
severance. As with some of the other in-
tangibles of the world, such as valor,
glory, courage, and heroism, one can't
easily identify it, but one knows it when
one sees it.
The Cuffing
Edge
1969-1971
by Bill Collar
In this picture Bill Collar is far left at one of
Coach Harrings training camps for high school
football players. Standing next to him is Bill Vick-
roy, UW-L football coach prior to Harring. Coach
torring, in this 1997 pcture, is between Vickroy
::~Coaches ~and Bruce Bukowski forme player at UW-L now
Defensive Coordinator of football at the University
of Wis consin-Whitewater. All four of these men
have had coaching roles in football at UW-L.
For the past 26 years Bill Collar has been a history
teacher and head football coach at Seymour
H.S. Bill has been named Wisconsin Social Studies
Teacher of the Year, Wisconsin Teacher of the Year,
and Wisconsin Football Coach of the Year. He has
received the Dave McClain Distinguished Service
Award for Football in Wisconsin, and is a member of the
UW-LaCrosse Wall of Fame. Bill was the direc-
tor of the UW-LaCrosse Line Camp for 26 years, and
presently is the President of the Wisconsin Football
Coaches Association.
"If you're not on the cutting edge, you're taking up too
much room!" This sums up Roger Harring's approach to
coaching
football and working with young athletes. His innovation
and commitment to his profession have made an impact on
coaches
and athletes throughout the Midwest.
Elmer Collar, former general manager of the Wisconsin
Rapids Twins, a minor league baseball franchise,
describes a youthful
Harring as'a bundle of energy. Elmer introduced me to
Roger and proudly said, "Bill is a starting tackle at
LaCrosse State." Dur-
ing the summer of 1964, as I was preparing for my senior
football season, Coach Harring offered some shoulder
pads and en-
couraged me to join in the drills with his high school
players. His up-beat coaching style and non-traditional
methods made a
lasting impression.
During a time when most coaches discouraged players from
lifting weights, Roger believed they were the key to
improved
performance. He constructed isometric racks where
players were required to complete a strength building
circuit immediately
after practice. While most coaches in those years denied
players water, Roger took breaks to encourage players to
get more
fluids into their systems.
The 1968 season found me out of coaching and teaching
and back at LaCrosse State working under Dick Koehler as
Assis-
tant Housing Director. I was stunned a year later when
Coach Harring visited the Housing Office, informed me he
was the new
coach at LaCrosse, and told me I belonged back on the
football field. He managed to persuade Dick Koehler to
free up some
time, and Bill Collar became the new freshman football
coach at LaCrosse.
During the next three years, 1969-1971, Roger was a
tremendous influence and helped me realize that football
would always
be a part of my life. He emphasized the positive
approach to coaching. "Players rise to the level
expected of them; high ex-
pectations, high results." Eventually I returned to my
first love, teaching history and coaching at the high
school level. The three
years coaching under Roger made a lasting impression. I
not only met many great people through football at
LaCrosse, but
laid the foundation for a coaching philosophy that
continues to this day.
Some of Rogerfs accomplishments and innovations which
made a lasting impression are:
* The first conference championship for LaCrosse in many
years.
*Football clinics organized so that young coaches could
visit campus and listen to veteran high school coaches
speak. This
was a new concept at the time and led to numerous other
colleges copying the idea .
* On-campus football camps for high school students.
This was another creative idea that offered people the
opportunity to
spend time on a college campus while learning football
skills. Roger spoke with numerous college coaches and
developed
a camp to train offensive linemen, the first of its kind
in Wisconsin.
* A detailed study of the psychology of coaching. Roger
brought nationally known experts to the LaCrosse campus
to share
their expertise with high school coaches.
* Classes in motivation and goal setting. Once again
Roger led the way in this now popular field.
* The expansion of the weight training program. I
remember the little closet where the weights were kept
and how Roger ar-
gued for a large facility suitable for all athletes.
* Presentation of the 'Alumni Coach of the Year' plaque
at the annual clinic. It was rewarding to see LaCrosse
graduates experi-
encing success in their field.
* Presentation of 1000 yard rusher certificates for high
school players, another great idea to recognize young
athletes for their
achievements.
* Twenty-six years and three national championships
later, I'm proud to say, "I coached with Roger Harring."
Tradition And Strength Give Edge To LaCrosse
STRENGTH
TRAINING
head of his
t A m e
laA esCoach Har-
ring stressed
weight training for
all of his players,
and with guys like
me, whohad
been training in
high school, this
was great. A small
percentage like
myself and Rick
Griffin became fa-
natics in the
the LaCrosse tradition in 1997.
d s T weight room, and
this started a tradi
tion ... LaCrosse
William J. Kraemer, Ph.D. football players
Centero- 1971-1974 50" we re highly condi-
Professor of Applied Physio logy tioned teams, and
Director of Research-Center for Sports Medicin e ming fe
Associate Director-Center for Cell Research
The Pennsylvania State University h i g h I y we ig h t
-
_______Strength ~trained in those
early years.
This continued
to get better over
the years. At LaCrosse many football players trained at
least a
few months a year with weights, which was more than
other
players did at most schools in our league. Some of us,
like me
and Rick Griffin, trained all year long. This has become
part of
the LaCrosse tradition in 1997.
Strength and conditioning were keys to LaCrosse football
success and created a distinct advantage we now under-
stand scientifically. The weight training program
allowed for
late bloomers to really flourish at UW-L. We had many
then,
and many are still drawn to UW-L today because of our
strength programs. With off-season weight training
programs,
UW-L made big jumps in physical development over a four
year career. The typical contact scrimmages in the
spring for
Division I and II players slowed training programs,
physical de-
velopment, and produced injuries.
Strength training had humble beginnings in the men's
locker
room in Mitchell Hall with a Universal weight machine
and an
Olympic barbell set in a wooden box which required us to
get
the combination. We also had only one bench.
Testing was also a big part of the program. Players were
ex
pected to return in August in shape, and we were tested
to
determine how fit we were. Being in shape was promoted
in a
big way by Coach Harring, and I believe, looking back,
it paid
off in our play. I was one of the people involved with
the early
development of the National Strength and Conditioning
Asso-
ciation, a professional association for strength
coaches. This
did not happen until 1978, so UW-L was again ahead of
the
times.
OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE SCHEMES
e need top players, but we also need sound football
techniques and strategies which match personnel.
We had them. Coach Harring and Coach Chris-
tensen had top offensive and defensive approaches and
matched them to their players' abilities. Interestingly,
Coach
allowed quarterbacks to call their own plays ... unheard
of to-
day. We were well coached and well disciplined to carry
out
assignments.
We had top specialty teams. For example, my claim to
fame in UW-LaCrosse football, besides helping to start a
tradi-
tion in strength training, was never to have missed a
long snap
in four years of playing.
High powered offenses and stingy defenses were
traditional
for UW-L football, and that was accomplished by solid
game
plans, workman-like practices, respect for opponents,
and the
traditional winning attitude on game days.
I had a unique opportunity to talk with Chuck Vabora,
with
whom I had played grade school football in Marshfield.
He
then went on to play for Marshfield Columbus High School
and then on to UW-River Falls to play nose guard against
me
in '73 and '74. I wanted to know what it was like to
play UW-L.
My curiosity to see us from the other side of the line
provided
an interesting comment on UW-L football at that time and
some insight into the program which had been created to
date.
He stated that many of his teammates looked at the UW-L
football team as a group, a single entity, and not only
by spe-
cific players. Many times they feared us, and our size
and
speed was exaggerated to be sometimes thirty pounds
heavier and several inches taller than we really were.
The key element I found interesting was that we were a
team thought to have complex offensive and defensive
sets.
Our blocking scheme was such that Chuck said he never
knew who was going to hit him ... would it be you, or
would it
be someone else like a back or guard from the off-side?
Speed was also multiplied and exaggerated, and he
thought
we were the fastest team River Falls ever faced.
Coach Chris's 4-4-3 defense was also legendary at that
time. Thus, the concept of tradition we felt, appeared
to im-
pact our opponents' views of us and sometimes give us
com-
petitive advantages greater than we perhaps deserved or
more impressive than were real. But perception is
reality in
football too. Our reputation as a team was ahead of who
we
really were. Thus, by 1974 the tradition and reputation
came
onto the field before we did. However, we had the
systems in
place to make everything work and the strength and speed
to
back it up. We also were blessed with greatly skilled
people on
offense and defense ... so individually we always
matched
up.
TEAM FEELINGS AND CONFIDENCE
ooking into the eyes of teammates in the huddle and
knowing that no one was going to be the one to 'mess
up' meant everything would be okay, and anything we
did would work. Thus, in a strange way the pressure was
off. So
many times we pulled games out on the last drive in the
fourth
quarter, or the Defense held, or we won on a turn-over.
I remember Coach Harring being helpless on the sideline,
but he had confidence in his players, and he let them
play.
He had a saying on Friday nights. "Well, the horse is in
the sta-
ble. All you need to do is play the way you know you can
to-
morrow." That was it. I never really heard Coach use a
lot of
pep talks before a game, as he was more business.
In the early days one could see the emotion get through
more, because I am sure he did not know how good UW-L
teams would be. He had a couple of solid years before
1971,
but that first title made a big difference. He became
more
confident as success started to build more and more each
year.
Players assumed a feeling and connected with the past
and to the future. Young players were taken care of, and
they
looked to learn from the older ones who set the example.
The
great young players now are respected, but the key on
UW-L
teams was RESPECT ... respect for one as a member of a
team.
DEMANDING COMPETITION
o get a position on a UW-L football team for most of us
was a battle each day. Competition for jobs on the
team was fierce. Poor play was not accepted. One had
to perform both in practice and in a game. I still
remember
when we had those large numbers of players, over a
hundred
besides the freshmen, and the traveling list of about
fifty was
posted, and players looked to see whether they were to
play.
It was heart-rending and sad. The pressure went from top
to
bottom.
The competition created high pressure within the team,
but
Coach Harring wanted the best people out there, and many
of us had to work our buns off in practice each day. Few
peo-
ple had a free ride, and if they did, we didn't know it.
Most of us always had a protagonist ready to take our
jobs if
we did not perform. Like any other football team, we put
up
with the pressure and feelings of inside competition for
a job,
but rather than destroying the team, as it does many
times, it
made us better ... as a team.
We also got to practice against the best in practice.
Our
performance was critiqued and evaluated weekly. Thus, we
went into a game with a razor's edge performance. There
is
no question that there was emphasis on performance and
winning. We looked at films and really studied
opponents. I
think we had a very intelligent group of players who
could not
only outplay opponents physically, but get into the Xs
and Os
of the game and know what was going on. In addition, I
think
our team members, Offensive and Defensive alike, knew
one
another.
There was a bit of a separation between O and D, because
we practiced apart, but Coach got us together, and we
tried
to bridge that most typical separation on a team. The
walk-
throughs in uniforms with no pads on Friday nights was
also a
highlight where we bonded and licked the wounds of
compe-
tition within the week and put the final polish on our
focus for
the opponent.
Coach liked to put a lot of time in the classrooms for
study
of the opponents, and we had many'skull sessions', as
they
were called, with various units and teams. Through it
all, the
good and bad, I and my fellow players learned about com-
petition and the work it takes to meet it. Such lessons
have
been valuable in my life, and I think Coach knew that,
and
that is why the game of football can be positive despite
all of
the negatives we hear today, some of which are well
founded.
Finally, we played the game for the fun of it, the
winning
and the friendships. Being drafted was never high on the
prior-
ity list, or even on it for ninety-nine percent of the
players. In
the early years, and maybe even today, UW-L football
pre-
served many of the old time values that have been lost
with
big time football that is focused on money and business.
This
is unique to many Division III schools. It is the last
place where
team is bigger than individuals, and at UW-L that was
true then
and I feel still true today. I also think Coach realized
that, and
it is one of the reasons I never went to a larger
school.
Coach Harring is one of the greatest football coaches in
the history of American football. He impressed me from
our
first meeting, when he spoke of the beauty of LaCrosse.
Only
at the end of our meeting did he start to talk about the
foot-
ball team, the needs for the upcoming 1971 season, what
he
thought the team could do, and his vision for a program
at
LaCrosse that would be the best in the conference. He
was
excited! I also liked the quality program in both
academics
and athletics, and felt at that time that academics were
not
emphasized for football players at Division I and II
schools.
Different from so many others in the football coaching
field,
Roger Harring recognized the need to develop one's
potential
beyond the game of football. To him UW-L football was a
family affair, and his players were his extended family.
This is
what drove him and was most important to him.
RECRUITING
oach Harring out-recruited all of the other coaches in
the conference and acquired many players who
could easily have played for Division I or II football
schools. We had great players at every position, and
many of
them. Numbers was a key factor. I remember going to
foot-
ball practice and seeing a line of people at one
position,
maybe ten of them, and when we circled up that classic
UW-L
circle, it was so big I could not even see players
across from
me. Coach Harring recruited top people! We had tons of
people. This was a key to success at UW-L.
TRADITION
radition needs to be built, and 1971 was the start of a
winning tradition. LaCrosse had a fine history in
football,
but it was distant, so the challenge was to begin again.
Coach Harring did that.
Tradition and belief in self can be evoked to put
pressure on
players to win, give them a psychological edge. This
feeling of
confidence and pride is hard to explain, but is that we
are La-
Crosse, and as we walked onto the field we did not fear
the
other team or think about them in the same way they
thought
about us. We were LACROSSE!
That feeling is developed over time and started with
small
accomplishments and then built upon in each succeeding
year. Tradition and belief in self has become real in
LaCrosse
football.
LaCrosse Tribune photo
Satisfying, Gratifying, Legalized Violence
Football is sweeping America, whipping drinks into
froth, turning gentle men into angry behemoths, ruining
week-ends which
once were designated as family time. Wisconsin, more so
than many other states, is being bracketed between the
Packers,
the Badgers, and in LaCrosse, the Eagles.
People are wearing footballs on their chests, their
heads, their feet and shirts. They drink from mugs
encrested with footballs,
sleep in beds covered by footballs on blankets, wrap
their automobiles in green and yellow flags, scream
football oaths out
of windows, and if they luck out, spend all day Sunday
tailgating in Green Bay. They think they're in heaven.
The football coach who can carry his team's average over
500 becomes an icon, due homage from skeptics to whom
everything must be proven. No need to prove football;
the game is the proof. For two hours the rest of the
world stops. If Iraq
wishes to conquer America, Saddam must do it on a
Sunday, when no men are readily available to defend
America.
Churches have changed their starting time to accommodate
the noon kickoff. Storekeepers hire extra people to man
the
check-outs, so the store owners may slip back home to
engage in the mass hysteria. How else could they engage
in con-
versation on Monday if they hadn't watched the game?
Men engage in vicarious violence while seated on a couch
in front of a TV. Organized mayhem is satisfying to
man's innate
aggressive tendencies, and it's legal. How else can one
man slam another to the ground. Stand on his chest, jump
with the
joy of victory, and all this with the approval of
millions of other men?
Where else can one receive the approval of the female
for being violent? They dress in ruffles and prance
around the bor-
der of the field, delighting in the roar of the crowd,
and shaking pom pons in time with the beating of drums.
Men go bananas for this sexual approval of legalized
violence. It takes them back to prehistoric days when
men fought with
clubs. It stirs their hearts with dreams of heroic
deeds. It ripples muscles rarely used. It lengthens days
into nights filled with
recounting of passing, punting, and tackling. "I could
have done that too, if only... "
No other game has the same appeal. No other game offers
the intense physical contact, the camaraderie of equally
vio-
lent companions, the brothers who will remain true in
memory forever. Poo Poo it if you will, but watch the
faces on a football
afternoon; then ridicule it if you can. It is America's
game, now and forever.
H ead Coach -iRoger Harring atUW-La Crosse.
exU V1-Year ^ L T UWL ^ O^Pi
9695 5 0 206 196
Roger Harring - 1996 I =19::0,1 , , t
,971 | I 2 0 222 ,55 I
by Todd Clark 1971 0
/1972_ 8 2 0 200 i
Roger Harring finished his 29th season as head coach of
the 2 25 165
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse football program, and
his 1 974 3 0" 298.72
accomplishments during his career have put him in the
com--^- -- ^3 11j
pany of the winningest coaches in college football
history. j. . .,.... 2 -
His numbers support such a claim. Harring surpassed the
I1 ^-76 7 3 0- 275 - ^---1---^3
200-win milestone in 1993 to become the 25th coach in
col- 1 97Z67l
lege football history to do so, and only the 14th in
that catego- 19 ,* 9 2 0 ........23, 93
ry to record all his victories at one institution. 1979
i .7, ,, , . 2 0., ,, 316 1.40..
Harring's 29 seasons as a head coach is surpassed in
years 198Q0 ,8 . ,2 . 0 . , 248, 105
by only four other active NCAA II coaches. One can not
enjoy 1 .8.1 .. 6, ., 4 . ,. 15,1 1.. 30i
this longevity without being successful - very
successful. He 1i982 I 8 2 0 I ,21 7 J1 2-7i
has posted a 250-66-7 during his reign of the UW-L
football pro- 91 983* 9 3. 1 229 ,32
gram, which ranks third in total victories and sixth in
winning per- 1 .^984"' 8. 2 0 33 118
centage (.785) among active NCAA III coaches, In
addition, 98* 2 22
he ranks 1 2th on the all-time NCAA victories list. ,
'1986* 1' 0 .3601.8
"Our mental approach is that if we play well, good
things 1 -- ---- . ----
1987 6 4_ I 282 293f
always seem to happen to UW-La Crosse teams, and that
has ^
been kind of our legacy," Harring said. "Playing well,
playing 1...8*. .. .... . .............
together and having fun - that has been the legacy."
19.8. ... 2 .... 2 .... ..... 42 1.. t 243
Harring and his staff have built a program few
institutions can 1990* 9 . 2 i -Q--242 1 572
equal. The Eagles won their first NCAA III football
national 21329918.1 1 ,_. 0 2 0 328 73
! ' ll i 6 ................
championship in 1992 and added another one in 1995 to
give . 1. 992** 1 2 ,, 0 ,1 i ,,,,399 1 84
Harring his third national title during his tenure. UW-L
won the 1993* 1 1 1 , 31 60,
NAIA II title in 1985 to become the only school in
college foot- 1.994 | 8 2. 0 ..350. 1 84
ball to win an NAIA II title and an NCAA III title.
1995**^ 14 0 0 455- 1
Furthermore, the Eagles have made 11 appearances to : .
1996*:. 11.*" ' 0"""". 2 320 167i
post-season in the last 14 years, totaling 13 playoff
appear- . 1997 1 i 2 O 31 2616
ances during the Harring era. UW-L is 13-4 in NCAA
post-season 7 ... ---.--..-.---- .
play. In the 1990s, the Eagles have a 75-9-1 (.888),
making UW- 250 66 7 --- . -
L the second-winningest program in all of Division III
football.
Harring gives much of the credit for his success to a
knowledgeable and experienced coaching staff, which
guided the
Eagles to the NCAA III championship in 1992 with Harring
sidelined by the heart surgery. "When Coach Christensen
stepped
in and took the reins when I was down, he did a great
job, along with the other coaches, which shows the
stability and confi-
dence the kids had in the coaches," Harring said. "You
have to have the people on your staff who are
knowledgeable and
willing to dedicate themselves to the UW-La Crosse
tradition,"
But the winning attitude and positive approach clearly
present in the UW-L football program starts at the top
with the head
coach. "We use an upbeat, positive approach to working
with people," Harring said. "We recruit talented
student-athletes
and retain them by treating them with respect as
individuals instead of a jersey number,
"The coaching staff has made good judgments on ability
and talent rather than on superficial statistics," he
continued, "We
attract kids that want the challenge, academically and
athletically, at UW-La Crosse,"
3
Harring Is Coach, Fatl
by Jeff Brown of the LaCrosse Tribune Staff
following the 1995 season and National Championship
ow do you find a coaching leg-
end? Walk into the University of Wis-
consin-LaCrosse's Mitchell Hall,
proceed to the end of the hallway and
enter Roger Harring's office.
You've just found one.
He's not surrounded by national
championship trophies, although Har-
ring-coached teams have earned
three - in 1985, 1992, 1995. His office
is small, his desk top piled high with
papers, books and newspapers.
Almost always, there is something
else present in Harring's office: people.
Harring, the 63-year-old head coach
of the UW-LaCrosse Eagles, is an
immensely popular person. Not just with
current players, former players and
coaches, but with people on campus,
in the community and across the state.
To many, Harring is more than a foot-
ball coach who has won 232 games
during 27 seasons to leave him 15th in
career victories among those who have
ever coached college football.
He is someone who at one time or
another, has touched their lives.
"I think football is kind of a catalyst for
him to teach us about life," said Troy
Harcey, a wide receiver on this year's
Eagle team. "His ultimate goal involves
more than what happens on the foot-
ball field, To him, coaching LaCrosse
football is so much more than just a job.
He loves the people, and he loves the
game."
That love for teaching life's lessons
began well before Harring became
head coach at UW-L in 1969. A position
he quickly accepted despite the
$3,500 pay cut that came along with it.
t all began the year after his playing
career at UW-L ended in the fall of
1955. Harring, who played every
position but quarterback and center for
a UW-L team then known as the Indians,
stayed on the following season as a stu-
dent assistant coach.
"My senior year I had used up my eli-
gibility, so I stayed on as a student assis-
tant coach under Bill Vickroy," Harring
said.
"I had an incredible learning experi-
ence under Bill, who is one of the nicest
ier, Friend
people I have ever been around. That is
the reason to this day I strongly believe
in having student assistant coaches on
my staff."
Harring, at 190 pounds, was in excel-
lent physical condition and possessed
a thorough understanding of the game
for someone at a young age, said a
freshman lineman at the time, Larry
Lebiecki.
"He was very intense as a coach and
obviously very competitive," said
Lebiecki, now vice-chancellor at UW-L.
"Having been in the Marines a few years
before and having just finished his com-
petition, he was in great shape. He
would lead us in calisthenics. He was
also a very good teacher.
"He is very people oriented, and very
sensitive to the players. He also has this
innate ability to see - then teach-
how a single player fits into a team con-
cept."
Harring began teaching those lessons
- through football - at Ladysmith High
School in 1958. Before his arrival, Lady-
smith had not won a football game in
the previous two seasons.
n Harring's first year, Ladysmith won
the conference title. That was of sec-
ondary importance to Harring, how-
ever.
"The first year we had 1 7 kids out at the
beginning of the season. At the end of
the year we had 43," Harring said. "The
fourth year there, we had 1 20 out of 200
boys (in the school) out for football."
Harring has long believed in partici-
pation, in fairness and in down-and-
dirty hard work.
He believed in those things at Lady-
smith and at his second coaching stop
at Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln High
School. Harring did not meetwith imme-
diate success at Lincoln, however.
"My first year (1963) we won one
game, and we were not that good,"
Harring said. "We had to block two punts
and two kicks to win 21-20."
When Harring left Lincoln his teams
had compiled a 24-23-1 record in six
seasons - the first football coach in the
history of the school (at the time) to post
a career record better than .500. But
again, Harring remembers something
else as being far more important than
winning.
It seems there was an attitude prob-
lem among some athletes when Har-
ring arrived at Lincoln. It tooksome work,
Coach Harring adjusts his new National Championship cap
following the UW-L 36-7 victory over Rowan
College in 1995. This was the third National
Championship for Harring and his Eagles.
some sweat and even some tears, but
a positive environment was restored. I
have the teams make up their training
rules," Harring said. "I do that here (at
UW-L), and I did that in high school. It is
their team, not my team. In 11 years of
high school coaching, I only lost two kids
to training violations."
Harring's willingness to listen, and to
offer whatever help he can hasn't gone
unnoticed by his players or his famiy.
"I have a real deep respect for him. I
am also proud of how he has helped a
lot of kids over the years," said Harring's
oldest son, Nick, who played for his
father in 1977 and 1978 after leaving
behind a full athletic scholarship after
two years at the University of South Dako-
ta. "There were a lot of Thanksgiving din-
ners at my house with players who could
not make it home. He has helped a lot
of people in a lot of ways off the field.
That is something most people don't
know about. They look at the wins and
losses."
WIA * hen the won-loss record is
examined, 232-62-7 is hard to
W V ignore. Even more captivating is
the fact that Harring will pass former
Michigan coach Bo Schembechler
(234-65-8) on the career victory list by
winning three more games and the late
Woody Hayes of Ohio State (238-72-10)
with seven more victories.
Meaningless numbers to Harring? Not
exactly, but...
"The joy I get is from being around the
kids. When you return after a summer
off, you look into the kids' eyes and see
the excitement. I can't explain it," Har-
ring said. "We teach hard work, disci-
pline, getting along with people, and
having fun. This (football) is myvehicleto
teach life skills."
And if it means racking up an incredi-
ble number of victories, that's just extra,
Harring said. Retirement fodder, as he
puts it.
"It's not just a career for him. It's bigger
than that," Harcey said. "And people
sometimes don't realize what he means
to this program. Coach Harring has real-
ly put LaCrosse football on the map. It's
a legacy."
It's one that hasn't gone unnoticed by
another legendary coach, Ron Schip-
per of Central College in Pella, Iowa.
Schipper is currently sixth on the all-Time
coaching victory list with 280 (280-64-
3). He, like Harring, downplays his
record, Instead, like Harring, he
receives the most enjoyment when talk-
ing to his players as people, not
weapons.
"I will give you a list of 50 names (for-
mer players) - doctors, lawyers,
accountants, plant managers, teach-
ers. Write them and have them list the
three most significant college experi-
ences, and I'll bet every one of them will
say football," Schipper said.
"Xs and Os don't win football games;
people do. Society measures our suc-
cess as coaches in the win and loss col-
umn. That is a bunch of poppycock.
what happens to the young people
when they leave here, that is the real
measure."
Lebiecki agreed.
"One of the keys to Roger's long-term
success is changing with the times,"
Lebiecki said. "He tends to zero in on
what life is all about. Through the years,
he was never concerned about long
hair, short hair or anything like that. He
has a tendency to look at what's impor-
tant in life, and that is the people around
him."
arring said his greatest thrill isn't
being carried off the field after a
victory but seeing former players
come back and tell him about their
lives.
"It's neat seeing players come back.
That is what I feed on," Harring said.
"Seeing successful people come back.
When they are here, you stress the things
that you believe in, the things that will
make them successful in life.
"You tell them you have to show up for
practice every day just like you have to
show up for work every day. We tell them
everything you say, every action you
do, you are responsible."
How long will Harring continue to
teach life's lessons using the football
field as his classroom? Will he chase 300
victories - a plateau that would further
immortalize his stature?
"Coach Chris (Roland Christensen)
and I were with Woody Hayes at Ohio
State one year at spring practice," Har-
ring said. "I asked him, 'How long should
a guy coach?' He Said: 'Some people,
15 minutes. Other people should stick
with it until they drop on the 40-yard line.'
Hopefully I won't drop on the 40-yard
line."
5
Roger Harring, The Little Giant
Background
Roger Harring's life has been filled
with competitions and championships,
He has struggled and battled to obtain
a winning record in everything he has
ever undertaken, He maintains a win-
ning attitude about everything and
won't entertain a losing position. He
maintains that a positive attitude is nec-
essary to win.
In high school Roger competed in
football, basketball, boxing and base-
ball, In his brief stint at St. Norbert's Col-
lege he was part of an undefeated
1952 football team. He left St. Norbert's
to enter the U.S. Marine Corp. for two
years. During the 1955-56 school years
he was an offensive lineman and line-
backer on Bill Vickroy's Indians at
LaCrosse State College.
Harring coached at Ladysmith's High
School from 1958-63 and was 31-9 in
football, undefeated in'62 and'63. The
years 1963-68 were spent coaching
teams back to respectability at Wiscon-
sin Rapids Lincoln High School, before
he left for UW-L in 1 969.
Harring was named Wisconsin State
Pepsi Coach of the Year in 1965, Since
coaching at LaCrosse he has been
named Wisconsin State University Con-
ference Coach of the Year six times. In
1973 he was named Regional Coach
of the Year by the American Football
Coaches' Association, In 1992 and
1995 Harring was the Chevrolet Nation-
al Coach of the Year, In 1996 he was
honored by the Wisconsin Football
Coaches' Association as the Wisconsin
College Coach of the Year,
In 1989 Harring was inducted into the
UW-LaCrosse Wall of Fame, and in 1990
he was inducted into the District 14 NAIA
Hall of Fame. In 1997 Harring was
inducted into the Wisconsin Coaches'
Wall of Fame in Madison.
Various awards and honors have
come often to Roger Harring, but three
of them were proclamations by the Wis-
consin governor and legislators for
national championships in 1985, 1992,
and 1995, and were thus truly extraordi-
nary.
Harring did an unusual thing when he
accepted a coaching position in 1988
in Bologna, Italy and went undefeated.
His record overall in the Italian FIAF is 24-
6. Italian fans love him. He has been
instrumental in sending several Ameri-
can players overseas, as well as helping
American coaches to work in Italy,
In his lifetime coaching Roger's teams
have won twenty conference champi-
onships. At UW-LaCrosse Harring's
teams have been first or second 24 of
29 seasons, As a player Roger was on
four undefeated football teams and
was captain and MVP of three of those
teams.
Attitude And Personality
Coach Harring is a pleasant man,
easy to talk with, often with a slight smile
on his openly expressive face, He
moves easily and comfortably from
one person to another, seemingly
always drawing a crowd around him.
He answers questions amiably, never
appearing hasty with strangers or indif-
ferent to another's needs. He answers
even those people whose questions are
obvious and naive. A man with as much
experience as Roger Harring has seen
everything there is about football and
been asked every imaginable ques-
tion, yet he does not dismiss naivete
quickly, as one might anticipate, but
takes time, as if he realizes that the other
person is learning, and he is aware that
learning takes time, He is, after all, a
teacher. That makes him more than just
another football coach.
Therein might lie the difference
between Roger Harring and most other
football coaches in a nation where
football coaches are found on every
street corner, Roger Harring is unique.
We assume that every university cam-
pus in the same football division has
about the same quality players in the
same numbers as every other campus,
so we seekthe differences which create
a dynasty such as is now found at UW-L.
Check out the coaches!
Not only does Roger Harring inspire
loyalty in his fellow coaches and dedi-
cation and commitment from his play-
ers, but even non-playing students
enjoy his classes, and strangers on the
streettalkto him eagerly. In LaCrosse he
has become a personable celebrity.
He is sought after for personal appear-
ances at numerous gatherings, asked
to give talks to various clubs to inspire
young athletes, or simply invited to
social gatherings,
Players' Needs Are
Primary
Roger Harring puts his players' needs
before his own, and players soon realize
that Coach Harring is a friend in whom
they may confide, Players often bring
personal problems to him, and Roger
does whatever is needed, realizing that
a player must be satisfied with his per-
sonal life before he can commit himself
fully to the football field. Roger creates
a harmony within his players, a sense of
family loyalty, which matures and inten-
sifies over the years.
Many players keep in touch with
Roger long after their playing days are
over, Telephone calls, letters, Christmas
cards, invitations to weddings, and the
usual Homecoming activities are part
of Roger's life, and he thrives on it,
Acceptance into his players' lives is
important to Roger, and he looks for-
ward to these events, genuinely, not
with any dissemblance, He is always
honest with his players,
When title Nine (women's equality in
athletics) came into effect some years
ago, and then Roger was told to cut his
squad to only 100 players, he was per-
plexed. He checked, he questioned,
he sought help, but in the end he did
what hurt him more than anything else
in years, he cut players from his roster.
He apologized to his men, most of
whom accepted with understanding,
Some people thought that the UW-L
teams would now diminish in quality
and stature, but Roger wouldn't even
entertain that thought, and so his teams
continued to win championships with
the same verve as previously,
Many people over the years feared
that Roger would be lured away to a
Division I school and the big time, that
increased income, television and
scholarships would be too enticing for
him to resist, but Roger has a sense of
belonging and satisfaction that most of
us only dream about.
Rare Insight
It is a rare individual who can see
where he belongs, how his greatest sat-
isfaction
Roger Harring unabashedly rides his girl's coaster-brake
Schwinn, circa
1950, around the UW-L campus whenever the weather
permits. He lives
Only a few blacks from Mitchell Hall.
Roger Harring, in this picture from 1 995, is standing
with Craig Kusick Jr. Divi-
sion III Player-of-the-Year, winner of the
MelbergerAward. In 1 997 Kusick is play-
ing professional football with the Milwaukee Mustangs.
comes from the blend of his personal
attributes and those of the people with
whom he works. Each person fits into a
mileau of conditions to some degree of
perfection. Each individual seeks the ideal
blending. Rarely can one determine that
ideal accurately. It is all too often that a
person continues to seek, going past the
ideal, giving up the perfect fit, either
through greed, self-aggrandizement, or
egocentrism.
Not so with Roger Harring. Whether he is
smart enough to foresee the future, or
whether he is simply fortunate in recogniz-
ing his satisfaction, he remains in LaCrosse
at a Division III football school, pleasing
crowds on Saturdays in the fall, enjoying
the pleasant pace of small town living, rid-
ing his 1950s coaster brake Schwinn, and
bringing home trophies, even big, impor-
tant national trophies. It has never gone to
his head. He remains the same warm,
congenial, considerate man he has
always been.
53 UW-LaCrosse All-Americans In Brotherhood
Player
Dewey Stendahl
Byron Buelow
Jim Shattuck
David Becherer
John Stanek
Ron Myhra
Joel Williams
Nick Harring
Tim Murphy
Craig Hutchins
Craig Crest
Jim Byrne
Pos,
PK
DB
DB
DL
LB
RB
LB
OG
PK
DL
WR
DL
Tom Newberry
Bob Krepfle
Stan Johnson
Tom Sicklinger
Joe Weber
Kevin Yeske
Tom Newberry
Dale Gottschalk
Dale Lowney
Joe Mirasola
Phil Ertl
Pat Bushman
Ted Pretasky
OG
QB
WR
DE
LB
DB
OG
LB
RB
PK
DT
DB
RB
Tim Scheibe
Jerry Sydorowicz
Lee Wardall
Conrad Farner
Andy Pretasky
Fritz Leinfelder
Casey Campbell
Jon Wiltzius
John Janke
Scott Amond
Bill Schroeder
Craig Kusick
Craig Kusick
RB
CB
WR
QB
QB
Erik Halverson
OG
Mike Maslowski
Mike Maslowski
Erik Halverson
LB
LB
OG
Honor
NAIA Division I-First Team
Kodak AP Little All-American-First Team
NAIA Division I-Second Team
NAIA Division I-Second Team
NAIA Division I-Second Team
NAIA Division I-Second Team
NAIA Division I-First Team
Kodak AP Little All-America-First Team
NAIA Division I-Second Team
NAIA Division I-Second Team
NAIA Division I-Second Team
Kodak AP Little All-America-First Team
NAIA Division I-Honorable Mention
NAIA Division I-First Team
NAIA Division I-First Team
Kodak AP Little All-American-First Team
NAIA Division Il-First Team
NAIA Division Il-Second Team
NAIA Division Il-Honorable Mention
NAIA Division Il-Honorable Mention
NAIA Division Il-Honorable Mention
NAIA Division Il-Honorable Mention
NAIA Division Il-First Team
NAIA Division Il-First Team
NAIA Division Il-Honorable Mention
NAIA Division Il-Honorable Mention
NAIA Division II Honorable Mention
NAIA Division Il-Honorable Mention
NAIA Division Il-First Team
NAIA Division li-Honorable Mention
NAIA Division Il-Honorable Mention
NAIA Division Il-First Team
NAIA Division Il-Second Team
NAIA Division Il-Honorable Mention
NAIA Division 11-Honorable Mention
NAIA Division Il-Honorable Mention
NAIA Division Il-Honorable Mention
NAIA Division Il-Honorable Mention
NAIA Division Il-Second Team
NAIA Division 11-Honorable Mention
NAIA Division li-Honorable Mention
NAIA Division Il-Honorable Mention
Kodak AP Little All-American-First Team
NAIA Division Il-Honorable Mention
NAIA Division Il-Honorable Mention
Champion U.S.A. Division Ill-Honorable Men,
Kodak (AFCA Division Il)-First Team
Champion U.S.A. Division Ill-Honorable Men,
Football Gazette-First Team
Champion U.S.A.-Second Team
Football Gazette-First Team
Champion U.S.A. Second Team
Champion U.S.A. Honorable Mention
Football Gazette-Honorable Mention
Football Gazette-Third Team
Champion U.S,A,-First Team
Football Gazette-Second Team
Kodak (AFCA Division Ill-First Team
Champion U.S.A.-Second Team
Little Associated Press-Third Team
Football Gazette-First Team
Champion U.S.A.-Honorable Mention
Football Gazette-Honorable Mention
Kodak (AFCA Division Il)-First Team
Champion U.S.A,-Third Team
Football Gazette-Second Team
Football Gazette-Honorable Mention
Football Gazette-Honorable Mention
Football Gazette-Honorable Mention
Football Gazette-Honorable Mention
Melberger Award/Div. III Player of the Year
AFCA All-American-First Team
Hewlitt Packard All-American Third Team
Football Gazette All-American-First Team
American Football Quarterly-First Team
Hewlitt-Packard All-America-Second Team
AP Little All-American-Third Team
Hewlitt-Packard All-American-Honorable
Men.
AFCA All-American-First Team
Football Gazette All-American-First Team
(Offensive lineman of the year)
UW-L Players Who Were Drafted Or Free Agents
Player
Dewey Stendahl
Tony Christnovich
Greg Mattison
Gary Zauner
Bryon Buelow
Dave Saeger
Bill Coleman
Tom DuFault
Jim Shattuck
Kevin Potter
Ron Myhra
Joel Williams
Mike Williquette
Bob Christopherson
Craig Chrest
Tom Brazill
Jim Kildahl
Reggie Rabb
Doug Bercu
Jim Byrne
Don Kindt
Bob Krepfle
Stan Johnson
Tom Newberry
David Carl
Ted Pretasky
Terry Strouf
Greg Daniels
Jon Lauscher
Norris Thomas
Team (League)
Washington Redskins (NFL)
Washington Redskins (NFL)
Washington Redskins (NFL)
Houston Oilers (NFL)
Atlanta Falcons (NFL)
New York Jets (NFL)
Houston Oilers (NFL)
Detroit Lions (NFL)
Toronto Argonauts (CFL)
Chicago Fire (WFL)
Toronto Argonauts (CFL)
Toronto Argonauts (CFL)
Miami Dolphins (NFL)
Atlanta Falcons (NFL)
Philadelphia Eagles (NFL)
Green Bay Packers (NFL)
Green Bay Packers (NFL)
Green Bay Packers (NFL)
Cleveland Browns (NFL)
Michigan Panthers (USFL)
St. Louis Cardinals (NFL)
Kansas City Chiefs (NFL)
Denver Gold (USFL)
Baltimore Colts (NFL)
Washington Redskins (NFL)
Oklahoma Outlaws (USFL)
Pittsburgh Maulers (USFL)
New Jersey Generals (USFL)
Los Angeles Rams (NFL)
Oakland Invaders (USFL)
Chicago Bears (NFL)
Dallas Cowboys (NFL)
Chicago Bears (NFL)
Los Angeles Rams (NFL)
Green Bay Packers (NFL)
Phoenix Cardinals (NFL)
Philadelphia Eagles (NFL)
Minnesota Vikings (NFL)
Green Bay Packers (NFL)
New York Giants (NFL)
Winnipeg Jets (CFL)
Green Bay Packers (NFL)
San Diego Chargers (NFL)
Baltimore Ravens (NFL)
9
The Dynasty, The
People, including university students
are drawn to Western Wisconsin,
LaCrosse, and the University of Wiscon-
sin at LaCrosse for numerous reasons,
so it is difficult to determine exactly or
simply why UW-L should be capable of
drawing such star athletes as to create
a national powerhouse in football.
The appeal of the Wisconsin coulee
region is undeniable. The aesthetics of
Western Wisconsin are often noted in
tourist brochures and on television pro-
grams. Bluffs covered with lush trees, a
wide river with its myriad wildlife and
boating pleasures, views for miles over
a varied landscape, a seasonal beau-
ty that affects everyone, and a small
town nestled in the lap of rich growth all
add to the draw of people to the
LaCrosse panorama.
In the midst of this verdant Land is the
University of Wisconsin at LaCrosse, a
university with such appeal that several
years ago the Board of Regents put a
stop to student population growth in
order to force students to attend the
other universities in the Wisconsin sys-
tem. UW-L now remains at nine thou-
sand students, prohibited from expand-
ing with the town.
One of the strong attractions to the
university is the football team, with not
only a regional reputation, but a nation-
al reputation for quality. Head Coach
Roger Harring began in 1969 to build
onto a reputation which had been laid
during the previous two decades.
The University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse
has always been noted for its program
in physical education, since its incep-
tion as The Normal School in 1909, but it
wasn't until Harring arrived in 1969 that
the powerful dynasty began to take
shape. With a modest beginning of 5-5
the first year, only the true aficionado
could detect the subtleties indicating
what was to come. Harring was to grow
along with his teams, as the school's
syndrome as a winner began to shape.
Harring Works Magic
Players are drawn by the personality
of this little giant of a man. All players are
treated as individuals, as worthy, as
quality people who might need to be
honed and polished, but who definitely
have the ability to become great foot-
ball players. This belief is instilled into
each player, and each player grows
and improves because of this belief.
Every player believes that together with
his mates, he will become a member of
a great team, someone to be remem-
bered on long winter evenings.
Harring creates within his players a
camaraderie based on caring, shar-
ing, hard work, positive stroking, and
male bonding. This works positively to
the advantage of the team and to the
detriment of his opponents. Team
members express the same attitude
found in strong families, a unity, a pow-
erful incentive to protect, an unquali-
fied brotherhood built on mutual admi-
ration and selfless love. The creation of
this positive respect for one another is
what makes the UW-L football team so
solid.
A dynasty is built slowly, carefully, pos-
itively over many years. It becomes
more than wins and losses. It exudes a
mystique, an attitude, a belief in self, a
strong confidence. Notre Dame, Ohio
state, Alabama all have it, whatever it is
in its intangibility. Each fall it can be
sensed, smelled in the air with the burn-
ing leaves. It permeates the campus
and overwhelms young men with
bulging muscles.
Never A Losing Season
Roger Harring has never had a losing
season at UW-L in twenty-nine years.
That in itself is approaching the incredi-
ble. Is there another coach, at any level
of competition, who is without a losing
season over twenty-nine years? Other
teams in the Wisconsin State University
Conference have had runs of several
years in the top half of the standings,
and all have won the conference in at
least one year, but no other team
comes close to matching Roger's 24 of
29 in first or second. To call the football
program at UW-L a dynasty is not to
overestimate its position.
That Coach Harring will become leg-
endary after he leaves the university
goes without saying. His teams will be
hashed over by fans as long as there is
football. His records will be targets for
every football player to come to UW-L.
Future coaches will hesitate before
accepting a position at UW-L because
of the Harring legend. The legacy of
winning football, national champi-
onships, NFL players, and untouchable
records will be difficult for any future
coach to match, or perhaps even
approach, while at the same time it is
certainly a sturdy foundation upon
which to build the future.
Embellishing The
Mystique
Roger Harring works easily with other
coaches. His assistant coaches stay
with him loyally for many years. Two of
his coaches, Roland Christensen,
defensive coordinator, and Barry
Schockmel, defensive secondary
coach, have been with Roger for the
entire twenty-nine years. No doubt this
continuity is part of the reason for the
great success of the football team.
One can easily surmise howthe mix of
coaching personalities becomes more
and more coordinated over seasons
together. Each knows without asking
what the other is thinking and seeking
from his players. Each coach
Legend, The Legacy
becomes more confident, not only with
himself, but with the other coaches,
more certain that each is doing his job
as expected by everyone.
Each season a few football players
transfer to UW-L from other schools,
where they were either unhappy with
the coaching or unable to play enough
to satisfy themselves. Perhaps they are
benched behind some All-American,
and the promise for them is minimal.
Some of these players give up schol-
arships at a Division I or II school to
attend a Division Ill school with a winning
reputation, just to be part of a winning
team. The satisfaction achieved by win-
ning a championship is as great at a
Division III school as it is at a Division I
school.
The dynasty is augmented and
embellished through the creation of a
network of people, mainly alumni of
UW-L, who promote UW-L as the place
for some young player to matriculate if
he wants both a good education and a
chance to play winning football. Thus,
with the passage of more years, the net-
work grows bigger and more extensive,
until it includes hundreds of schools
around the North-Central area of the
U.S. Twenty-nine years has created an
extensive network.
Even students from UW-L who go out
to teach in high schools, although they
may not have played football them-
selves, may suggest to their students
that UW-L is the place to go to combine
athletics with an outstanding educa-
tional program.
UW-L Fortunate
That unseen aura, the mantra, the
karma that surrounds a champion, that
nervous attraction to charisma is evi-
dent around Coach Harring, his coach-
ing staff, the football team, and virtual-
ly the entire university campus each fall
as leaves drift effortlessly to earth, pom
pon girls twirl with obvious joy, and foot-
balls bound crazily in different direc-
tions.
Band members play a bit more
eagerly when a winning football team is
surrounded by the raucous clamor of a
filled stadium, and moms and dads
trumpet the feats of their sons, as if they
were winning a war for the rest of the
world, as if it meant something for their
future. It does! Foryears football exploits
will be warmed over once again. It's the
great American pastime, and a univer-
sity with a dynasty, a legend, and a
11
/
A 1995 picture of Roger Harring with three National
Championship rings, from 1985, 1992, and 1995, Chances
are that before Harring is finished
coaching he will need to include his left hand in the
picture, Photo by Cathy Acherman of the LaCrosse
Tribune.
FRONT ROW: Coach Bill Collar, Coach Rick Watson, Coach
Tom Brown, Coach Roland Christensen, Head Coach Roger
Harring, Coach Bill Terry, Coach
Barry Schockmel, Coach Bill O'Neill. SECOND ROW: Chuck
Schutte, Kurt Krueger, Larry Sibley, Larry Lee, George
Gianhros, Jim Dillenbeck, Jim Regan, Gary
Zauner, Tom Wilkins, Neil McNaughton, Chuck Keller, Mark
Horey. THIRD ROW: Bill Navarre, Pat Farrell, Tom Crowe,
Greg Lamprich, Pete Jipsen, Brent
Hanson, Bob Elkington, Bob Koskey, Gary Cepek, Jeff
Patz, Rick Menard, Bruce Beighley. FOURTH ROW: Floyd
Wells, Roger Puza, Ed Kotnik, Dennis Arms,
Tom Schultz, Jerry Hendley, Dale Kolmos, Dave Weigandt,
Steve Wage, Dan Tork, Steve Fleck, Byron Buelow. FIFTH
ROW: Phil Morgan, Brian Kopecky, Randy
Trollop, John Kuhn, Don Smiley, Phil Caravello, Jim
Chossek, Jim Stoltz, Gene Fladen, Steve Titcomb, Gary
Schmidt. SIXTH ROW: Gary Klug, Tom Mancuso,
John DeMerit, Chuck Gouge, Mike Foy, Tom Goeski, Dean
Baker, Tom Gorecki, Kelly Baldridge, Bob Wuetrich.
SEVENTH ROW: Craig Kusick, Dave Nelson,
Tony Gelina, Mike Gaborsky, Harry Hoskens, Bob Blaubain,
Jim Pokorny, Dale Baker, Howard Zielke. EIGHTH ROW: Greg
Mattison, Tony Christnovich, Dave
Olson, Dan Meinert, George Grbich, Dewey Stendahl, Dave
Stefan.
1969 - Beginning Of An Era
5-5 Belies Potential - Future
Roger Harring was the losing coach
in the first game of the Harring era of
UW-L football, a 34-20 loss to St. John's
University of Collegeville, Minnesota.
An inauspicious start, but the 1969
season was even at 5-5 in what might
easily have been 7-3 except for a
missed extra point against Superior,
and a game-ending play on the two
yard line against Platteville. That's typi-
cal of the exciting football of the
Harring era over twenty-nine years.
The 1969 season must be remem-
bered for the unusual number of re-
cords set by the team, which indicates
the defensive, yet wide open, aggres-
sive style of play under Coach Harring.
Dewey Stendahl attempted a record
fourteen field goals, completing a rec-
ord nine. Quarterback Chuck Gouge
attempted a record thirty-nine passes
in one game, completing a record
twenty. Tom Gorski carried the ball a
record 185 times in the season, and a
record thirty-two times in one game
against River Falls.
The LaCrosse State Indians pulled a
surprise on the Oshkosh Titans, ex-
pected to win the conference title,
when they upset them at night by a
score of 30-18. The Indians played like
champions, scoring ten points in the
fourth quarter, to put the icing on the
cake.
The Indians also stunned the St.
Norbert Knights, ranked fifteenth in the
NAIA, by beating them 17-14 for the
most impressive win of the season.
Although Whitewater, the eventual
co-champion for 1969, did beat the
Indians, the game was notable for
Dewey Stendahl's ninth fieldgoal of
the season, which set a National Asso-
ciation of Intercollegiate Athletics rec-
ord. After the twenty-eight yarder was
kicked, they were stopped by the offi-
cials, and Harring presented Stendahl
with the game ball.
1969 - 1997
Coach Harring inherited two
coaches from his predecessor, Bill
Vickroy. Roland Christensen and Bill
Terry were hold-overs and contributed
greatly to the success of the team,
while new coach Barry Schockmel be-
gan a career which is still growing
after twenty-nine years. Bill Terry was
replaced by his son Larry Terry in 1988.
Harring, Christensen, and
Schockmel have a total of 96 years of
coaching experience at UW-L, since
Christensen started at LaCrosse with
Bill Vickroy in 1960. The impact and
importance of this type of continuity is
frequently speculated upon, with the
conclusion generally being that the
interplay of coaching methods, once
congenial, continues to improve with
the passage of years together.
The first university coaching staff assembled
by Roger Harring in 1969 included front left to
right, Tom Brown, freshmen; Roland Christensen,
defense; Bill Terry, offensive line; Roger Harring,
head coach; rear, Dick Watson, freshmen; Bill
Collar, head freshmen; Barry Schockmel, defen-
sive backs; and Bill O'Neill, defensive line.
14
185 season carries by Tom Gorski
32 single game carries by Tom Gorski
39 attempted passes by Chuck Gouge
20 completed passes by Chuck Gouge
56 career conversions by Dewey Stendahl
326 kick-off return yards by Dan Tork
314 punt return yards by John DeMerit
14 field goal attempts by Dewey Stendahl
9 field goal completions by Dewey Stendahl
51 yard field goal by Dewey Stendahl
118 yards one game punt returns by John DeMerit
21 first downs vs. River Falls
134 rushing first downs one season
158 total first downs one season
241 attempted passes one season
116 completed passes one season
1434 passing yards one season
11:
f l a
Cassell Mackbee of the Minnesota Vikings joins Roger
Harring
at a banquet sponsored by the LaCrosse Quarterback Club.
The first game under the command of Coach Roger
Harring was against St. John's University and was the
first
annual Shriner's game. The Shrine game is still
conducted,
and the burn centers in various hospitals receive part
of the
proceeds, King Michael Talle is in the center of the
picture,
and Harry Weigert, Potentate of Zor Temple is on the
right,
along with Roger Harring.
A young Roger Harring displays high emotions of frustra-
tion in a losing cause, something which happened less
and
less frequently as the years went on.
ROW 1: Trainer John Eggart, Coach Lane Goodwin, Coach
Roland Christensen, Coach Barry Schockmel, Coach Bill
Collar, Head Coach Roger
Harring, Coach Sede Pearson, Coach Dan Steffan, Coach
Rick Watson, Coach Paul Mueller
