Athletic Aesthetic

Upward Direction

as he begins second academic year, UWEC athletic director dedicated to making Blugolds winners

Luc Anthony |

Dan Schumacher, UWEC athletic director
Dan Schumacher, UWEC athletic director

My earliest memories of the UW-Eau Claire Blugolds are from my latter elementary school days. I went to my first football game purely as a fan – thus far, still the only one – in sixth grade. Meanwhile, the men’s basketball team’s games were regularly shown live on WEAU-TV, and you felt the disappointment when they kept coming up short at the NAIA Championships in Kansas City. Many of us Chippewa Valley residents cared about the Blugolds.

Despite plenty of significant success over the last decade – including softball, men’s hockey, and men’s track and field titles – a good amount of that caring slipped away. One would think a sizeable NCAA Division III school with 20 teams would warrant significant passion in the sixth-largest Wisconsin metro area. Thankfully, one person who is returning that passion is the Blugold athletic director, Dan Schumacher.

Schumacher took over in 2014, coming from similar jobs at Chicago State and Illinois’s Lewis University, plus time at his Winona State alma mater. Since his arrival and in opportunities to interview and talk to him through my radio media role, I feel a palpable sense of purpose and change, a desire to make Blugold sports matter to the Chippewa Valley – and college athletics at-large. With his second academic year underway as AD, I wanted to get his take on the state of the Blugolds.

“I tell anyone that will listen, UWEC can be the Stanford or Northwestern of NCAA Division III. You can be a nationally recognized academic and athletic university. You can do both.” – Dan Schumacher, UWEC athletic director

That state is moving the right way, but with work to be done, involving in-depth collaboration with the coaches and the sports themselves. “Each sport has different needs and the key to building a total program (all 20 sports) is finding a way to balance and satisfy the needs without hurting other sports at the same time,” Schumacher said.

The aforementioned track and field national championship from earlier this calendar year counts as Schumacher’s biggest surprise on the job – really only when you consider the lack of a true home facility for the team. “(The) track program travels to other places to compete, so winning a national title using a practice track is a tribute to the entire track program,” he said. This speaks to the biggest challenge facing Schumacher: recruiting and those potential players’ key attraction to high-quality facilities (since Division III does not allow for athletic scholarships). “Basically, if you are not getting paid to play,” he said, “DIII student-athletes want to play in the best facilities that give them the best chance to play and win!”

UW-Whitewater is the behemoth of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, the program all others strive to emulate (yes, their facilities are first-rate). As Schumacher sees the situation, several steps are being taken to reach their echelon: additional facility improvement, efficient operational modifications, the new deal with Nike and Eastbay to use the gear most high schoolers (i.e., potential future Blugolds) are wearing, and recruiting methods – all while keeping the premier academic reputation of UW-Eau Claire. “I tell anyone that will listen, UWEC can be the Stanford or Northwestern of NCAA Division III,” he said. “You can be a nationally recognized academic and athletic university. You can do both.”

AD Schumacher wants you to be part of the experience. The Carson Park football tailgating scene – as I have witnessed this season – has been jacked-up in his tenure, a high-quality tailgate the way Wisconsinites would expect.
You may read this and say, “Sure, but the football team just got smashed by St. Thomas.” Schumacher knows your sentiment, and he hears what you’re saying. “Blugold Athletics needs to get better, the changes and focus from our coaching staff will make all the difference at the end of the day,” he said. “I guarantee … nobody will out-work us and I hope that our impression, to the most casual fan, will see a blue-collar work ethic and championship results.”

Coming out of a chat with Schumacher, you get so excited about the Blugolds’ future that you immediately want to throw on pads and a uniform and run out onto a field, even if you’re sitting in an office. Maybe I won’t be much of a direct help to the teams, being a slightly built 37 year old (albeit with all my athletic eligibility remaining). However, there are plenty of high school recruits hearing the same message – the ones who may well make UW-Eau Claire the enduring envy of the DIII landscape.


Here’s the full Q&A between Volume One columnist Luc Anthony and UW-Eau Claire Athletic Director Dan Schumacher:

Luc Anthony, Volume One: What is the state of the UW-Eau Claire athletic department a year into your tenure?

Dan Schumacher: I feel we are heading in the right direction collectively, but much work is still ahead. Working with each individual sport and head coach over the past year has really allowed me an in-depth perspective that identifies the deficiencies and also the positive aspects of those sports. Each sport has different needs and the key to building a total program (all 20 sports) is finding a way to balance and satisfy the needs without hurting other sports at the same time. I look forward to the coming years of Blugolds athletics and what we can collectively achieve.

What is the most-pleasant surprise – and biggest unexpected challenge – that you have observed/experienced running the athletic program?

A national championship for men’s indoor track in my first year was a great surprise. In many ways it’s such a tribute to the coaches and student-athletes for what they accomplished. Currently, we do not have a competition track to host track meets. We are road warriors as a track program travels to other places to compete, so winning a national title using a practice track is a tribute to the entire track program. Biggest challenge: how competitive NCAA Division III recruiting is. I have had many years of experience at DI and DII where recruiting wars are fierce. DIII is as competitive as any of the divisions. The reasons for competition isn’t because of big scholarship offers, in fact, DIII can’t offer athletic based scholarship aid. DIII is about facilities, state-of-the-art facilities. If a student-athlete is not receiving athletic aid as they are pursuing their athletic career at DIII they want to choose a school where facilities sway their decision to attend. Basically, if you are not getting paid to play, DIII student-athletes want to play in the best facilities that give them the best chance to play and win! At DIII it’s all about the student-athlete experience, top-notch facilities is the biggest part of that.

What was the biggest success story of the past year – a project, an outreach program, a change in direction for a team – that you oversaw?

The biggest success story … tough question. Actually it’s not related to the job but … my family’s transition to the Chippewa Valley has been a success in itself. My family is my number one priority Moving a family with one in college, another in high school, and another in junior high was a challenge, but after a year and a few months the family is happy and supports the best decision as a family we have made. My wife and I love everything the quality life the Chippewa Valley presents to our family. Having the family happy and settled is the success story that has made my job on campus an easier transition.

In terms of program structure/recruiting/facilities/branding, what all has been accomplished – and remains to be accomplished – to make UW-Eau Claire on par with the likes of Whitewater in the WIAC, or St. Thomas in the MIAC?

It comes back to my answer on “biggest unexpected challenge” … UW-Whitewater and St. Thomas, who Blugold Athletics goes head to head with recruiting, have the best facilities in DIII. We are currently evaluating all of our facilities and offerings to see if improvements can be made in the short term but also have a plan long term. We have made operational structure changes that will accelerate the process of improvement with better focus on results and efficiencies. We have signed a five-year deal with Nike/Eastbay which aligns our brand with an internationally recognized brand of apparel and footwear that 83 percent of high school student-athletes prefer to wear. I will continue to be personally involved weekly, monthly with recruiting practices and high impact recruiting practices. It has been my (AD) practice to do so at all the divisions I have competed and led. A lot has been accomplished in the past year and I feel the bar is being raised both academically and athletically by our most recent overall recruiting class. I tell anyone that will listen, UWEC can be the Stanford or Northwestern of NCAA Division III, you can be a nationally recognized academic and athletic university. You can do both.

When the 2015-16 academic year is complete, what will be the biggest change in impression among the public in how they view the UW-Eau Claire Blugolds?

I don’t know if it will be a change but we will continue to be a leader academically in the WIAC and regionally. Blugold Athletics will see greater diversity of our teams, which will make us stronger as an overall program. The public has many views and expectations. I do hear and listen to them. Blugold Athletics needs to get better, the changes and focus from our coaching staff will make all the difference at the end of the day. I guarantee … nobody will out-work us and I hope that our impression, to the most casual fan, will see a blue-collar work ethic and championship results.

What is your message to the casual sports fan of the Chippewa Valley who follows the Packers and Badgers, maybe their (or their kids’) high school team, but doesn’t have a connection to the Blugolds? How do you get them to become a ticket/merchandise-buying fan?

The focus currently, for example, is our football game atmosphere. It’s college football Saturday! The same experience you get at the Badger game can be felt at Carson Park on a Saturday evening. The smells of brats/hotdogs on the grill, music, laughter, high fives, bookstore, school colors, marching band, kids running and throwing the football around, hours before the game starts. Why drive two hours to have that fun and experience when you can do that a few minutes away with the local team? It’s cheaper than the Badger game that is for sure! But it really is hard to compare the two, let alone the Packers … But we are really trying to get fans to experience a great time at our games at a reasonable price and a family orientated atmosphere. I hope fans and community will give it another look and try the Blugold Athletic experience. That includes all 20 of our sports! Go Blugolds!