Wisconsin–Stout Blue Devils football
College football team
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The Wisconsin–Stout Blue Devils football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of Wisconsin–Stout located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The team competes at the NCAA Division III level as a member of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC). The Blue Devils play home games at Don and Nona Williams Stadium in Menomonie, Wisconsin. The stadium opened in 2001 and seats 4,500 people.[2][3] The team's head coach is Clayt Birmingham, who has served in that position in 2010.[4][5]
15th season, 66–85 (.437)
| Wisconsin–Stout Blue Devils football | |
|---|---|
| |
| First season | 1911 |
| Athletic director | Duey Naatz |
| Head coach | Clayt Birmingham 15th season, 66–85 (.437) |
| Location | Menomonie, Wisconsin |
| Stadium | Don and Nona Williams Stadium (capacity: 4,500) |
| NCAA division | Division III |
| Conference | WIAC |
| Colors | Navy and white[1] |
| All-time record | 348–533–33 (.399) |
| Playoff record | 0–1 (.000) |
| Bowl record | 1–1 (.500) |
| College Football Playoff appearances | |
| NCAA Div. III: 1 (2000) | |
| Conference championships | |
| WIAC: 5 (1921, 1941, 1949, 1965, 2000) | |
| Rivalries | Wisconsin–Eau Claire Blugolds |
| Website | stoutbluedevils.com/football |
Head coaches
| Coach | Tenure | Record |
|---|---|---|
| No coach—club sport | 1911 | 1–1 |
| Earl Quigley | 1912–1914 | 7–8 |
| Parks Bailey | 1915–1916 | 1–7 |
| Student coaches | 1917 | 2–2 |
| No team | 1918 | |
| George F. Miller | 1919–1927 | 20–27–6 |
| Sylvester E. Paulus | 1928–1929 | 2–10–2 |
| Earl Burbridge | 1930–1934 | 6–26–1 |
| Mush Crawford | 1935–1937 | 1–17–2 |
| Ray C. Johnson | 1938–1947 | 15–29–8 |
| Tony Storti | 1948–1951 | 20–9–2 |
| Jack Wink | 1952–1955 | 6–23–3 |
| Joe Gerlach | 1956–1957 | 4–11–1 |
| Bob Bostwick | 1958–1962 | 12–25–3 |
| Max Sparger | 1962–1969 | 22–38–3 |
| Sten Pierce | 1970–1976 | 19–50 |
| Lyle Eidsness | 1977–1979 | 15–15 |
| Bob Kamish | 1980–1985 | 28–36–1 |
| Rich Lawrence | 1986–1992 | 24–46–1 |
| Ed Meierkort | 1993–2003 | 55–55 |
| Todd Strop | 2004–2006 | 14–15 |
| Duey Naatz | 2007–2009 | 17–13 |
| Clayt Birmingham | 2010–present | 66–85 |
Championships
Conference championships
Wisconsin–Stout has won the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) championship 5 times.[6]
| Year | Coach | Overall record | WIAC record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1921 | George F. Miller | 5–0–2 | 3–0 |
| 1941† | Ray C. Johnson | 5–2 | 3–1 |
| 1949† | Tony Storti | 6–2 | 4–2 |
| 1965 | Max Sparger | 7–1–1 | 6–0 |
| 2000 | Ed Meierkort | 10–1 | 7–0 |
† Co-champions
Undefeated regular seasons
Wisconsin–Stout has completed the regular season undefeated twice, once in 1921, and again in 2000 before losing in the playoffs.[7]
| Year | Coach | Regular season record | Final record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1921 | George F. Miller | 5–0–2 | 5–0–2 |
| 2000 | Ed Meierkort | 10–0 | 10–1 |
Postseason
NCAA Division III playoffs
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | First Round | Saint John's (MN) | L 19–26 | 10–1 |
Bowl games
| Year | Bowl | Coach | Opponent | Result | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Isthmus Bowl | Clayt Birmingham | Wheaton (IL) | L 32–35 | 6–5 |
| 2025 | Washington University | W 31–23 | 6–5 |
Ranked teams
Starting in 1999 the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) began publishing rankings for Division III football.[8] In 2003, D3football.com started publishing its own rankings for Division III football.[9] Since the inception of both polls, Wisconsin–Stout has been ranked one time in the AFCA Coaches Poll and has never been ranked in the D3football.com poll to end the season. Additionally, while not being ranked in the Top 25 to end the season, the Blue Devils have received votes (RV) three times in the AFCA Coaches Poll, and three times in the D3football.com poll.
| Year | D3 | AFCA | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | N/A | 9 | 10–1 |
| 2001 | N/A | RV | 6–3 |
| 2002 | N/A | RV | 7–3 |
| 2009 | RV | RV | 8–2 |
| 2024 | RV | NR | 6–5 |
| 2025 | RV | NR | 6–5 |
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".[10] The Blue Devils played at the Metrodome six times, and had a 3–3 record.[11]
| Date | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|
| November 18, 1984 | Northern State | W 24–23 |
| November 21, 1987 | Bemidji State | W 45–6 |
| November 12, 1994 | Southwest Minnesota State | L 14–35 |
| November 17, 1996 | Winona State | W 50–43 |
| November 16, 1997 | Southwest Minnesota State | L 21–30 |
| November 14, 1999 | Southwest Minnesota State | L 23–43 |
| November 11, 2000 | Minnesota Duluth | W 17–15 |
Notable players
NFL draftees
| Year | Round | Pick | Overall | Player | Team | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | 7 | 24 | 183 | Dick Erickson | Kansas City Chiefs | C |
| 1970 | 13 | 13 | 325 | Gary Inskeep | New York Giants | T |
| 1971 | 12 | 24 | 310 | Reggie Holmes | Minnesota Vikings | DB |
| 2002 | 4 | 17 | 115 | Tony Beckham | Tennessee Titans | DB |
Other former players
- Frank Haege
- Jeff Hazuga
- Bob McRoberts
- Bob Raczek
- Dustin Tervelt
