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Wisconsin–Whitewater Warhawks football

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The Wisconsin–Whitewater Warhawks football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The team competes in NCAA Division III and is a member of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC). Wisconsin-Whitewater's first football team was fielded in 1889. The team plays its home games at the 13,500-seat Perkins Stadium in Whitewater, Wisconsin. Jace Rindahl has served as the head coach for the Warhawks since 2023, taking over for eight-year head coach Kevin Bullis.[2][3]

Wisconsin–Whitewater Warhawks football
First season1889; 135 years ago (1889)
Athletic directorRyan Callahan
Head coachJace Rindahl
2nd season, 16–6 (.727)
StadiumPerkins Stadium
(capacity: 13,500)
LocationWhitewater, Wisconsin
NCAA divisionDivision III
ConferenceWisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC)
Playoff appearances20 (1 NAIA Div. II, 19 NCAA Div. III)
Playoff record59–13 (.819)
Claimed national titles6 (NCAA Div. III)
Conference titles39
RivalriesWisconsin–La Crosse Eagles
Wisconsin–Oshkosh Titans
Mount Union Purple Raiders
Consensus All-Americans125
ColorsPurple and white[1]
   
MascotWillie Warhawk
Websiteuwwsports.com

History

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The Warhawks compete in the WIAC conference of NCAA Division III football. In the 2005 and 2006 seasons, they finished the year undefeated in regular season play, losing only in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowls of 2005 and 2006 to the University of Mount Union (then Mount Union College), under former coach and UW-Whitewater alum Bob Berezowitz (UW-Whitewater 1967), who had quarterbacked the UW-Whitewater team as the runner-up in the 1966 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics playoffs.

Lance Leipold era (2007–2014)

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Following the 2006 season, Berezowitz retired, and alum and former assistant Lance Leipold (UW-Whitewater 1987) was named Warhawk head coach. The Warhawks opened the 2007 season with a victory, then suffered their first regular-season defeat since 2004, 26-16 to NCAA Division II's St. Cloud State. The Warhawks followed this up by going undefeated through the remainder of the season. After finishing the regular season with a 9-1 record and a third consecutive 7-0 WIAC record, the UW-Whitewater Warhawks entered the NCAA Division III playoffs for the third consecutive time. The Warhawks won four home playoff games, including a Dec. 8 repeat home victory over Mary Hardin-Baylor 16-7 in the semi-finals, to earn their third straight trip to the NCAA Division III Championship Game, the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl in Salem, Virginia, and set up their third championship game against Mount Union College. On December 15, 2007, the Warhawks beat Mount Union 31-21 to win the Division III title and close the 2007 season 14-1. Warhawk running back Justin Beaver won the John Gagliardi Trophy for his performance both on and off the field.

The Warhawks entered the 2008 playoffs with one loss after a last-second loss to UW-Stevens Point that ended UW-Whitewater's WIAC win streak at 27 games. Despite having to travel for some of their playoff contests, the Warhawks won four playoff games, earning a spot in the Stagg Bowl after a 39-13 victory over Mary Hardin-Baylor. On December 20, 2008, the Warhawks lost to Mount Union 31-26 in their fourth consecutive Stagg Bowl matchup.

The Warhawks ran the table in 2009 with a perfect record of 15-0, defeating Mount Union in the Stagg Bowl 38-28 to claim their second national title in three years. The string continued in 2010, including a sixth straight WIAC title and ending with UW-Whitewater’s third NCAA III championship in four years, with a 31-21 win over Mount Union in the Stagg Bowl to finish 15-0 and run the NCAA's (all divisions) leading win streak to 30 games. Once again, in 2011, they ran the regular season undefeated, winning their seventh straight WIAC title. They then went on to face Mount Union in the Stagg Bowl for the seventh straight season and won their third straight title, their fourth in five years, to finish 15-0 again. They raised their win streak to 45 games, which is just 2 behind Oklahoma's historic Division I streak and is fourth behind Mount Union's separate 55 and 54-game winning streaks in all of college football.

In 2013, the Warhawks faced off with the Purple Raiders of Mount Union in the Stagg Bowl for the eighth time in nine seasons. UW-Whitewater, led by junior quarterback Matt Behrendt, would go on to win by a final score of 52-14 and secure their fifth National Championship and fourth undefeated season under coach Leipold.[4]

On December 19, 2014, the Warhawks and Mount Union met again in the Stagg Bowl; the Warhawks won the NCAA DIII Football title over the Raiders, 43-34. This was Leipold's final game as Warhawks head coach, as he had already been announced as the new head coach at Division I FBS school Buffalo.[5]

Kevin Bullis era (2015–2022)

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Kevin Bullis was introduced on February 4, 2015, as the 21st head coach of the Warhawks.[6] The former UW-Whitewater assistant had spent eight years as the defensive line coach and run defense coordinator. The Warhawks finished the 2015 season as runner-up in the WIAC behind UW-Oshkosh, whom they lost 10-7 on October 10. The Warhawks got revenge against the Titans, beating them 31-29 in the 3rd round of the NCAA DIII Playoffs. The Warhawks would go on to lose the next week, 36-6, to the Mount Union Raiders in the NCAA DIII Semifinals. The Warhawks finished the season 12-2.

In 2016, the Warhawks won their 35th conference title on the way to a perfect regular season. The season highlight was a come-from-behind 17-14 victory over the UW-Oshkosh Titans. The game set the DIII on-campus attendance record with 17,535 people in attendance. The record was broken on October 14, 2022. The Warhawks perfect season ended in round 3 of the NCAA DIII playoffs, losing to John Carroll University, the same team that three weeks earlier ended Mount Union's 117 regular season win streak, by a score of 31-14.

In 2017, the team started the season 0-2 for the first time since 2001. After a WIAC season-opening loss to UW-Oshkosh, their record fell to 1-3. The Warhawks then rattled off six straight victories, giving them a final record of 7-3. The substandard season left the Warhawks out of the playoffs for only the second time since 2005.

In 2019, the Warhawks went 9-1 in the regular season, winning the WIAC. In the playoffs, they beat Monmouth (ILL) 35-10, then Wartburg 41-28 at home in the first two rounds of the Division III football playoff. For the quarterfinals, UW-Whitewater had to travel to Belton, Texas, to play Mary Hardin-Baylor. The Warhawks beat the Crusaders 26-7. For the semifinal game, UW-Whitewater played another home game against St. Thomas (MINN), winning 35-32 on a go-ahead field goal with 2:10 left in the game.[7] This win clinched the Warhawks 10th appearance in the Stagg Bowl, second most all-time in Division III history.[8] The team would go on to lose to North Central in the 2019 Stagg Bowl. [9]

Two years later, in 2021, the team made it to the conference semifinals but lost to Mary Hardin-Baylor, who went on to win the Stagg Bowl. It was their only loss of the season, as they went 10-0 in the regular season and also won three playoff games. [10]

The 2022 season came to an end after a 33-28 loss against Aurora in the first round of the playoffs. The Warhawks went 8-3 in the regular season.[2] After the end of the season, head coach Kevin Bullis announced his retirement. Bullis had been involved with Whitewater football for 15 years and was head coach for the last 8.[11] Early in 2023, defensive coordinator Jace Rindahl was named head coach.

Jace Rindahl era (2023–present)

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In the 2023 season, the Warhawks went 9-1 in their first year under Rindahl, their only loss being to UW-La Crosse due to a last second field goal (37-34).[2] On October 7, the DIII on-campus attendance record was broken with 20,113 people attending the game against UW-La Crosse.[12] They made it to the quarterfinals in the playoffs with 42-14 and 49-42 wins over Bethel and Wheaton respectively, before falling to Warburg College 31-28.[13]

Championships

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The Warhawks have won six national championships in 20 playoff appearances, including 19 in Division III and one in NAIA. All six championships came in an eight-year span and were won by defeating Mount Union under head coach Lance Leipold.[14]

Season Coach Record Location vs. Score
2007 Lance Leipold 14–1 (7–0) Salem, Virginia Mount Union 31–21
2009 Lance Leipold 15–0 (5–0) Salem, Virginia Mount Union 38–28
2010 Lance Leipold 15–0 (7–0) Salem, Virginia Mount Union 31–21
2011 Lance Leipold 15–0 (7–0) Salem, Virginia Mount Union 13–10
2013 Lance Leipold 15–0 (7–0) Salem, Virginia Mount Union 52–14
2014 Lance Leipold 15–0 (7–0) Salem, Virginia Mount Union 43–34

Notable former players

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Drafted

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Year Round Pick Overall Player Team Position
1966 8 2 112 Vilnis Ezerins Los Angeles Rams RB
1967 15 19 386 Dennis Williamson Cleveland Browns DB
1970 12 11 297 Greg Jones Denver Broncos RB
1971 12 20 306 Kirk Behrendt Los Angeles Rams T
1972 10 12 246 Lon Kolstad San Diego Chargers LB
2007 7 39 249 Derek Stanley St. Louis Rams WR
2021 3 34 98 Quinn Meinerz Denver Broncos OG

Undrafted

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Year Player First signed with Position
1986 Lance Leipold — HC
1993 Matt Turk Green Bay Packers P
1998 Derrick LeVake Cincinnati Bengals T
2012 Matt Blanchard Chicago Bears QB
2015 Jake Kumerow Cincinnati Bengals WR
2022 Max Meylor Green Bay Blizzard QB

References

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  1. ^ "Colors | University of Wisconsin–Whitewater". Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c "UW-Whitewater". d3football.com. Retrieved 2014-12-06.
  3. ^ Bentley, Drake. "Jace Rindal named 22nd head coach of UW-Whitewater football". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2023-06-05.
  4. ^ Reischel, Rob (31 May 2014). "Wisconsin-Whitewater Is N.C.A.A. Division III Champion in Three Sports". New York Times. Retrieved 2023-06-05.
  5. ^ Quinn, Jeff. "Buffalo Hires Lance Leipold as Football Coach". USA Today. Retrieved 2023-06-05.
  6. ^ "UW-Whitewater names new head football coach".
  7. ^ "2019 Football Schedule". University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Athletics. Retrieved 2022-02-14.
  8. ^ "List of NCAA Division III Football Championship appearances by team", Wikipedia, 2021-12-28, retrieved 2022-02-14
  9. ^ "North Central beats Wisconsin-Whitewater in Stagg Bowl, wins 2019 DIII football championship | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved 2022-02-14.
  10. ^ Haudricourt, Tom. "Mary Hardin-Baylor dominates UW-Whitewater, 24-7, in a Division III college football semifinal to advance to the Stagg Bowl". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
  11. ^ "Bullis announces retirement from UWW". d3football.com.
  12. ^ "Warhawks Set Attendance Record During Family Fest". University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Athletics. 2023-10-07. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  13. ^ "2023 Football Schedule". University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Athletics. Retrieved 2023-12-03.
  14. ^ "National Playoff Appearances". University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Athletics. Retrieved 2024-08-19.
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