Wisconsin–Eau Claire Blugolds football
American college football team
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The Wisconsin–Eau Claire Blugolds football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Wisconsin–Eau Claire competes at the NCAA Division III level and is a member of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC).
First season1917
Head coachRob Erickson
3rd season, 7–23 (.233)
3rd season, 7–23 (.233)
LocationEau Claire, Wisconsin
StadiumCarson Park
(capacity: 6,500)
(capacity: 6,500)
| Wisconsin–Eau Claire Blugolds football | |
|---|---|
| |
| First season | 1917 |
| Head coach | Rob Erickson 3rd season, 7–23 (.233) |
| Location | Eau Claire, Wisconsin |
| Stadium | Carson Park (capacity: 6,500) |
| NCAA division | Division III |
| Conference | WIAC |
| Colors | Blue and gold[1] |
| All-time record | 409–474–34 (.465) |
| Playoff record | 3–2 (.600) |
| College Football Playoff appearances | |
| NCAA Div. III: 2 (1998, 2007) | |
| Conference championships | |
| WIAC: 9 (1922, 1948, 1956, 1963, 1964, 1981, 1983, 1998, 2001) | |
| Rivalries | Wisconsin–Stout Blue Devils Wisconsin–La Crosse Eagles |
| Website | blugolds.com/football |
Championships
Conference championships
Wisconsin–Eau Claire has won the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) championship 9 times.[2][3]
| Year | Conference | Overall Record | Conference Record | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1922† | WIAC | 5–1 | 2–1 | George Simpson |
| 1948 | 6–1 | 5–1 | Ade Olson | |
| 1956† | 7–1 | 7–0 | ||
| 1963 | 7–0 | 6–0 | Jim Rice | |
| 1964 | 7–2 | 7–1 | ||
| 1981 | 9–1 | 8–0 | Link Walker | |
| 1983 | 8–2 | 7–1 | ||
| 1998† | 10–3 | 5–2 | Bob Nielson | |
| 2001† | 8–2 | 5–2 | Todd Hoffner |
† Co-champions
Postseason appearances
NCAA Division III playoffs
The Blugolds have made two appearances in the NCAA Division III playoffs, with a combined record of 3–2.[4]
| Season | Coach | Playoff | Opponent | Result | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Bob Nielson | Regionals | Central (IA) | W 28–21 | 10–3 |
| Quarterfinals | Saint John's (MN) | W 10–7 | |||
| Semifinals | Rowan | L 19–22 | |||
| 2007 | Todd Glaser | First Round | St. Norbert | W 24–20 | 9–3 |
| Second Round | Bethel (MN) | L 12–21 |
List of head coaches
| Coach | Tenure | Seasons | Wins | Losses | Ties | Pct. | Conf. championships | Playoffs/bowls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| O. L. Loop | 1917 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 | ||
| William C. Phillips | 1919 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | .700 | ||
| George Simpson | 1920–1924 | 5 | 20 | 6 | 2 | .750 | 1 (1922) | |
| Erwin C. Gerber | 1925–1927 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 3 | .500 | ||
| Bill Zorn (a) | 1928–1940 | 13 | 28 | 47 | 14 | .393 | ||
| William C. Phillips | 1941 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | .143 | ||
| Bill Zorn (b) | 1942 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | .000 | ||
| Cliff Fagan | 1944–1946 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 2 | .647 | ||
| Ade Olson | 1947–1956 | 10 | 42 | 34 | 3 | .551 | 2 (1948, 1956) | |
| James J. Rice | 1957–1967 | 11 | 41 | 48 | 3 | .462 | 2 (1963, 1964) | |
| Link Walker | 1968–1986 | 19 | 104 | 84 | 3 | .552 | 2 (1981, 1983) | |
| Jim Lind | 1987–1991 | 5 | 22 | 27 | 1 | .452 | ||
| Greg Polnasek | 1992–1995 | 4 | 11 | 28 | 0 | .282 | ||
| Bob Nielson | 1996–1998 | 3 | 22 | 11 | 0 | .667 | 1 (1998) | 1 (1998) |
| Todd Hoffner | 1999–2005 | 7 | 42 | 28 | 0 | .600 | 1 (2001) | |
| Todd Glaser | 2006–2015 | 10 | 40 | 62 | 0 | .392 | 1 (2007) | |
| Dan Larson | 2016–2018 | 3 | 7 | 23 | 0 | .233 | ||
| Wesley Beschorner | 2019, 2021–2022 | 3 | 8 | 22 | 0 | .267 | ||
| Rob Erickson | 2023–present | 3 | 7 | 23 | 0 | .233 |
Year-by-year results
| National champions | Conference champions | Bowl game berth | Playoff berth |
| Season | Head coach | Association | Division | Conference | Record | Postseason | Final ranking | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Conference | |||||||||||||
| Win | Loss | Tie | Finish | Win | Loss | Tie | ||||||||
| Wisconsin–Eau Claire Blugolds[5] | ||||||||||||||
| 1917 | O. L. Loop | NCAA | — | WIAC | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9th | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | |
| 1918 | – | – | ||||||||||||
| 1919 | William C. Phillips | 3 | 1 | 1 | T–4th | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | — | ||||
| 1920 | George Simpson | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2nd | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1921 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7th | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | — | |||||
| 1922 | 5 | 1 | 0 | T–1st | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1923 | 4 | 2 | 0 | T–5th | 3 | 1 | 1 | — | — | |||||
| 1924 | 5 | 2 | 0 | T–6th | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1925 | Erwin C. Gerber | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3rd | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1926 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 8th | 0 | 2 | 2 | — | — | |||||
| 1927 | 2 | 2 | 0 | T–5th | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1928 | Bill Zorn | 0 | 5 | 0 | 9th | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1929 | 3 | 1 | 1 | T–3rd | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | — | |||||
| 1930 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 6th | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | — | |||||
| 1931 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 8th | 1 | 3 | 1 | — | — | |||||
| 1932 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 6th | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1933 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 9th | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1934 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 4th (North) | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | — | |||||
| 1935 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3rd (North) | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | |||||
| 1936 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2nd (North) | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | — | |||||
| 1937 | 2 | 4 | 1 | T–3rd (North) | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | — | |||||
| 1938 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 4th (North) | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1939 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 3rd (North) | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1940 | 0 | 5 | 3 | T–4th (North) | 0 | 3 | 2 | — | — | |||||
| 1941 | James Barnes | 0 | 5 | 2 | 5th (North) | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | — | ||||
| 1942 | Bill Zorn | 0 | 6 | 0 | 5th (North) | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1943 | – | – | ||||||||||||
| 1944 | Cliff Fagan | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | — | — | |||||||
| 1945 | 2 | 4 | 0 | – | — | — | ||||||||
| 1946 | 3 | 2 | 2 | T–4th (North) | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | — | |||||
| 1947 | Ade Olson | 2 | 6 | 0 | 5th (North) | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1948 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1st | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1949 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 6th | 2 | 3 | 1 | — | — | |||||
| 1950 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 9th | 1 | 4 | 1 | — | — | |||||
| 1951 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 6th | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1952 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 8th | 0 | 5 | 1 | — | — | |||||
| 1953 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 5th | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1954 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 3rd | 5 | 2 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1955 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 4th | 5 | 2 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1956 | NAIA | — | 7 | 1 | 0 | T–1st | 7 | 0 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1957 | James J. Rice | 3 | 5 | 0 | 5th | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1958 | 3 | 5 | 0 | T–5th | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1959 | 2 | 5 | 1 | T–7th | 2 | 4 | 1 | — | — | |||||
| 1960 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 5th | 4 | 3 | 1 | — | — | |||||
| 1961 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 7th | 3 | 5 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1962 | 5 | 3 | 0 | T–3rd | 5 | 2 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1963 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1st | 6 | 0 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1964 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1st | 7 | 1 | 0 | |||||||
| 1965 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 7th | 2 | 6 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1966 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 8th | 1 | 7 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1967 | 3 | 6 | 0 | T–7th | 2 | 6 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1968 | Link Walker | 3 | 4 | 2 | 5th | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | — | ||||
| 1969 | 5 | 4 | 0 | T–3rd | 5 | 3 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1970 | Division I | 6 | 4 | 0 | T–2nd | 5 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1971 | 6 | 4 | 0 | T–4th | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1972 | 3 | 7 | 0 | T–6th | 2 | 6 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1973 | 5 | 5 | 0 | T–4th | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1974 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 5th | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1975 | 4 | 6 | 0 | T–5th | 3 | 5 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1976 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 6th | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1977 | 5 | 6 | 0 | T–5th | 3 | 5 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1978 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 3rd | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1979[a] | 3 | 7 | 0 | T–6th | 3 | 5 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1980 | 3 | 8 | 0 | T–7th | 2 | 6 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1981 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1st | 8 | 0 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1982 | 6 | 4 | 0 | T–2nd | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1983 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1st | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1984 | Division II | 8 | 3 | 0 | 4th | 5 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1985 | 5 | 4 | 1 | T–5th | 3 | 4 | 1 | — | — | |||||
| 1986 | NCAA | Division III | 4 | 6 | 0 | T–5th | 3 | 5 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1987 | Jim Lind | 6 | 4 | 0 | T–3rd | 5 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1988 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 7th | 3 | 5 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1989 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 5th | 5 | 3 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1990 | 2 | 8 | 0 | T–8th | 1 | 7 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1991 | 2 | 7 | 1 | T–8th | 1 | 6 | 1 | — | — | |||||
| 1992 | Greg Polnasek | 4 | 5 | 0 | 6th | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1993 | 4 | 6 | 0 | T–4th | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1994 | 2 | 8 | 0 | T–7th | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1995 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 8th | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1996 | Bob Nielson | 5 | 5 | 0 | 5th | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1997 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4th | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1998 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 1st | 5 | 2 | 0 | Playoff berth | — | |||||
| 1999 | Todd Hoffner | 2 | 8 | 0 | T–6th | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2000 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 4th | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 2001 | 8 | 2 | 0 | T–1st | 5 | 2 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 2002 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2nd | 5 | 2 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 2003 | 5 | 5 | 0 | T–4th | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 2004 | 7 | 3 | 0 | T–2nd | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 2005 | 6 | 4 | 0 | T–2nd | 5 | 2 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 2006 | Todd Glaser | 3 | 7 | 0 | T–6th | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2007 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 2nd | 5 | 2 | 0 | Playoff berth | 12 | |||||
| 2008 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 3rd | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 2009 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 4th | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 2010 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 7th | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 2011 | 5 | 5 | 0 | T–4th | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 2012 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 4th | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 2013 | 2 | 8 | 0 | T–6th | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 2014 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 8th | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 2015 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 8th | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 2016 | Dan Larson | 2 | 8 | 0 | 8th | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2017 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 8th | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 2018 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 6th | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 2019 | Wesley Beschorner | 3 | 7 | 0 | 7th | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2020 | – | |||||||||||||
| 2021 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 7th | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 2022 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 7th | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 2023 | Rob Erickson | 2 | 8 | 0 | 7th | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2024 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 7th | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 2025 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 7th | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | — | |||||
- Originally went 5–5, forfeited two non-conference wins for use of ineligible player.
Notable former players
Notable alumni include:
