The Andersen Library Blog

Written by Jacob Ober

As we start Homecoming Week, let’s look back at how the campus celebrated 50 years ago. The theme for 1974’s homecoming was “New Images,” reflecting the university’s changing nature as it welcomed a new chancellor, increased enrollment, and a championship football team.[1] The festivities at Homecoming ’74 were highlighted by the nationally renowned jazz-rock band Blood, Sweat and Tears making an appearance on Thursday night, performing hit songs such as “You Make Me So Very Happy” and “Spinning Wheel,”[2] both of which peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1969,[3] as well as songs off their new album “Mirror Images,” reflecting the “new images” theme of homecoming. Soft-rock band Heartsfield also made an appearance, providing a mellow contrast to the more upbeat style of Blood, Sweat & Tears. 

The Homecoming Parade kicked off Saturday’s festivities. The organizing committee thought it to be the largest Homecoming Parade to date. [4] The UW-Whitewater football team took the field that afternoon, facing off against UW-River Falls at Warhawk (Perkins) Stadium. The result was a resounding 28-14 victory, highlighted by wide receiver Roger Gename’s 11 receptions, setting a new school record at the time.[5] 

Other festivities throughout the week included a bonfire, bed rally, a dance, and the annual “Yell Like Hell” contest.[7] In congruence with the official homecoming celebrations, the sorority Sigma Gamma Rho sponsored the annual “Black Homecoming” that featured a dance in the Badger Commons on Saturday. Karen Jarrart, basileus of the Sigma Gamma Rho chapter in Whitewater, was quoted as saying that she “hopes everyone will attend the homecoming because this will benefit future events for all black students.”[8] 

By all accounts, Homecoming ’74 at UW-Whitewater proved to be a big success. Students expressed positive sentiments about the celebrations, and in the spirit of “New Images,” Homecoming ’74 “offered an image that reflected the varied interests and contrasts of the student body.”[10]

The UW-Whitewater Archives team has created a self-guided campus history tour. With the Homecoming 2024 festivities right around the corner, it’s the perfect time to reminisce about your days on campus and learn about campus history. You can access the virtual tour experience at this link: https://arcg.is/abmrf0. 

Whether you traveled to campus for Homecoming or would like to explore campus from the comfort of your home, this virtual tour is accessible to all. It allows you to explore campus on your own time and pace. The tour experience includes a brief timeline of the university’s history, a photo gallery of Old Main, and campus maps to guide your exploration. You can read about a location’s history and view historical photos by selecting a purple pin marker on the map. 

We would appreciate your feedback about the tour experience. Please fill out this short survey to let us know how we can continue to improve the experience. We hope you enjoy your exploration of UW-Whitewater’s history! 

Written by Riley Smith

Today, the students and athletes at UW-Whitewater are fondly known as the Warhawks and are accompanied by a hawk mascot named Willie. Though, that was not always the case. Throughout the university’s early years, the student body had no real nickname or mascot to call their own. They did, however, have a school color- purple. “The Purple” was a common way to refer to school teams, whether athletic, for the football team, was referred to as “The Purple” in the 1934 Minneiska, the university’s yearbook, as well as other student organizations, such as the debate team.[1] Yet, as early as 1929, the football team also used the moniker of the “Quakers.”^[2] As students were trying to determine a mascot or symbol that represented them, the Quakers won out as the unofficial school mascot. It would be used in reference to the school’s athletic teams for the next couple of decades. 

Many stories exist as to how the name came to be. One story states that a traveling baseball team came to Whitewater to play a game and left their jerseys here, which had “The Quakers” printed on the back.^[3] A variation of said story claims the baseball team was bankrupt and unable to pay for a hotel, so they left the aforementioned jerseys as a form of payment.^[4] Another story is that a local team, named the Quakers, provided the jerseys.^[5] Regardless of how the name came to be, the student body would come to accept it as their own. It was not long before a mascot, who represented the new Quaker identity, started showing up to parades and other athletic events. The mascot’s face also soon appeared on signs at sporting events and on the homes of students and fans. 

Despite the new nickname and mascot’s popularity, the school did not officially recognize the symbol of the Quaker as a mascot. With growing dissatisfaction with the passive symbolism associated with Quakers, students and staff alike were interested in adopting a mascot that had a fighting spirit.^[7] In the late 1950s, a contest was held in hopes of bringing upon a name the school could officially adopt.^[8] Four students, August Revoy, Ron Hall, John Rabata, and William Jolly, came up with the name “Warhawks”.^[9] The name was then officially approved by the school’s president at the time, Robert C. Williams.^[10] While the student body is no longer known as the Quakers, both the name and mascot hold a unique place in UW-Whitewater’s history. 

Written by Jacob Ober

Warhawk baseball at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater has a long and storied history, dating back to the 1870s with the organization of the first baseball club on campus.[1] It wasn’t until 1957 that the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) organized the first regular baseball season between the member schools.[2] Whitewater was a co-champion of that first season, tying with Eau Claire for the title.  

Since 1977, the UW-Whitewater baseball team has qualified for the Division III National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament 25 times, advancing to the World Series eight times and coming away as World Series champions twice, in 2005 and 2014.[3] Through all the success of the baseball program at UW-Whitewater, they’ve called one place home: Prucha Field at James B. Miller Stadium.

Prucha Field, built in 1957, coinciding with the beginning of the organized baseball program, is named after professor Rudolph “Rudy” W. Prucha, who taught physics at the university from 1932-1967.[5]  Prucha was a highly respected professor, earning the first Excellence in Teaching Award in 1932, and again in 1965 shortly before his retirement. In addition to teaching physics, Prucha also took an interest in the university’s athletics, serving as the faculty athletic representative during his tenure at Whitewater.[6] Following his retirement, the Rudolph W. Prucha Memorial Scholarship for Physics Education was established in his honor, given to students on an annual basis who are pursuing a career in physics education.[7]

As the Warhawk baseball team gained prestige, Prucha Field required updates and improvements. During the tenure of James “Jim” B. Miller from 1987-2003, the stadium underwent major changes, adding new features such as batting cages, permanent dugouts, a press box, additional seating, and more.[9] During his sixteen years as UW-Whitewater’s head baseball coach, Miller and his Warhawk baseball team compiled a 416-226-4 record, making seven NCAA Division III appearances and one World Series appearance in 1989.[10] At the time of his retirement, Miller’s 416 wins were the most in program history, only surpassed by John Vodenlich, the current head baseball coach.[11] On May 7^th, 2011, Prucha Field was renamed to Prucha Field at James B. Miller Stadium in honor of Miller’s success.[12]

Today, Prucha Field at James B. Miller Stadium remains the home of Warhawk baseball. The stadium’s amenities have made it one of the premier venues in NCAA Division III baseball for it has served as the host of the NCAA Regional tournament nine times since 2004.[14] 
 

Written by Jacob Ober

Following the end of World War II, the United States experienced a population boom, and with it, an increase in enrollment at many higher-learning institutions, including UW-Whitewater. When the school was founded in 1868, just forty-eight students were enrolled, but by 1955, the number of students had increased to over 1,000. Due to the baby boom, a decade later, in 1965, over 6,000 students were in attendance.[1] During this time of rapid change and expansion, the first graduate school program was introduced in the summer of 1960. Thirty-two students first enrolled in the graduate program, and that number doubled to sixty-four in 1962.[2]

In August 1964, the university awarded its first-ever graduate degree, a master’s of science in teaching, to Alden Sidney Krumheuer.[4] A year later, in August 1965, eight more students were awarded master’s degrees. Due to the success of this new graduate studies program, in the Spring of 1966 three more master’s degrees were added to the program: a master of science in school business management, a master of arts in teaching, and a master of science in teaching with focus on elementary and junior high education. With these additions, the graduate studies program enrollment ballooned to 438 students in 1966.[5]

The addition of a graduate studies program and the awarding of its first degree in August 1964 signified a transition for the school and prompted a name change. Since 1951, the school had been known as Wisconsin State College – Whitewater, but with the addition of graduate studies, the school earned the title of university and changed its name to Wisconsin State University – Whitewater. Today, UW-Whitewater is one of thirteen main campuses in the UW System, all of which offer graduate studies programs. As of Spring 2024, 1,650 graduate students were enrolled at UW-Whitewater, over fifty times the number of graduate students enrolled in the first year of the program in 1960.[7]

[1] M. Janette Bohi, A History of Wisconsin State University-Whitewater, (Whitewater, WI: Whitewater State Foundation, Inc, 1967), 201.

[2] Ibid, 206.

[3] UW-Whitewater Archives and Area Research Center.

[4] The Royal Purple, August 4, 1964, 4.

[5] Bohi, A History of Wisconsin State University-Whitewater, 226.

[6] UW-Whitewater Archives and Area Research Center.

[7] “University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Enrollment Spring Semester, 10^th Day Enrollment,” Institutional Research, Assessment, and Planning, UW-Whitewater, April 2024, https://www.uww.edu/documents/ir/University%20Data/Enrollment/Spring%20Enrollment/Enrollment%20Spring%20-%20Enrollment%20Summary.pdf.

It was in 1914 when Herbert O. Hamilton, a member of the Normal School Board of Regents, helped gather 10,000 dollars for the Whitewater Normal School (now the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater) to build its first athletics field in replacement of an old farm.^[1] It was here that the university’s famed Warhawk athletic history began.

Today, the students and athletes at UW-Whitewater are fondly known as the Warhawks and are accompanied by a hawk-esque mascot named Willie. That was not always the case, however. After the athletics field was constructed, the student body had no real nickname or mascot to call their own. That is until the mid-1920s when the athletics teams began using the nickname “The Quakers.”^[2] A couple of stories exist as to how the name came to be. The first is that a traveling baseball team from Canada came to Whitewater to play a game and left their jerseys here – which had The Quakers printed on the back – and the Normal School students used the jerseys for their games. The other story is that a local team provided the jerseys.^[3] Regardless of how the name came to be, the student body accepted it quickly and lovingly. It was not long before a mascot, who represented the new Quaker identity, began showing up to parades and other spirit events. The mascot’s face also soon appeared on signs at sporting events and on the homes of students and fans. Furthermore, the football field was granted a new nickname, “Quaker Oatmeal Bowl”.^[4] 

Despite the new nickname and mascot’s popularity, the school did not officially recognize them. In the late 1950s, a contest was held in hopes of bringing upon a name the school could officially adopt.^[5] Four students, August Revoy, Ron Hall, John Rabata, and William Jolly, came up with the name “Warhawks.”^[6] The name was then officially approved by the school’s president, Robert C. Williams.^[7] While the student body is no longer known as “The Quakers,” both the name and mascot hold a special spot in UW-Whitewater’s history. 

Written by Jacob Ober

Please be aware this post contains content considered harmful, offensive, and inappropriate in contemporary settings. The University Libraries strive to create an accessible, welcoming, and accountable understanding of the historic record.

Founded in 1966, the University of Wisconsin-Rock County (now a satellite campus of UW-Whitewater) originally adopted the “Rebels” as the school mascot. In 1967, controversy erupted over a proposal to add the Confederate Flag as a symbol for the university. This issue began in May 1967, when the student senate voted in favor of adopting the flag and appropriating funding to purchase it.[1] An unnamed student proposed this on the basis that it would “boost morale and spirit” amongst students, as the official mascot of UW-Rock County was the rebel, and the Confederate Battle Flag represented the “rebellion” side of the American Civil War from 1861-65.[2]

Some students, such as an anonymous student who wrote to the UW-Rock County publication The Matrix, felt that the Confederate Flag was a “racist symbol” and proposing to adopt it as a school symbol was an “immature act.”[4] Others wrote that they could “see nothing wrong” with using the Confederate Flag as a school symbol, but nonetheless agreed that if a majority of students took offense to it, then it was their right to remove it as a school symbol.[5] By January 1968, the proposal was officially dismissed by the student senate.[6]

Despite dismissing the proposal to incorporate the Confederate Flag as a symbol, the school continued to refer to itself as the Rebels until the early 1980s. Throughout the 15 or so years UW–Rock was known as the Rebels, the school never introduced a formal logo for the mascot.  In 1982, Kurt Eisemann, a counselor at the Skills Development Center on campus, suggested changing the mascot from the Rebels to the Unicorns, as some teams were already referring to themselves as the Unicorns rather than the Rebels.[7] UW – Rock County eventually adopted the Unicorns as the mascot, which created further debate amongst the student body about the mascot and its representation, before becoming the Rattlers as we know them today.

[1] Gary Loofboro, “Do Flags Make the Bigot?,” The Matrix, May 25, 1967.

[2] “Confederate Flag History Reviewed,” The Matrix, October 12, 1967.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Gary Loofboro, “Do Flags Make the Bigot?,” The Matrix, May 25, 1967.

[6] “Confederate Flag Again in Question,” The Matrix, January 4, 1968.

[7] Pam Chalmers, “Unicorns vs. Rebels,” The Matrix, December 13, 1983.

[8] UW Rock County Unicorn, University of Wisconsin – Whitewater, Rock County, https://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/LUDDJQ7UPOMD484.

Written by Ashley Bowe

The history of the wrestling team goes back to the mid-1950s as part of a campus promotion and celebration. The presence of wrestling on campus started as a promotional event called “Campus Chaos”, which was a variety show of both boxing and wrestling that started in 1956.^[1] The event took off and was held annually by the sophomore class until 1960, with various names such as “Campus Catastrophe” or “Campus Confusion,” when the Veteran’s League took over sponsoring the event.^[2]

By the early 1960s, thanks to the success of the “Campus Confusion” event, the interest in wrestling on campus had grown. The university organized its first wrestling team for the 1961 -1962 season. During a time when the university had no officially recognized mascot, the wrestling team was initially known as the “matmen.”[3] The team had a remarkable start, going undefeated in its second season and finishing 3rd at the State Collegiate Tournament^[4].

Wrestling continued to grow as a sport throughout the rest of the 1960s. Cecil Austin was the first All-American wrestler for Whitewater and won the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) for his weight class during the 1966-1967 season.[6] In addition to Austin, two other teammates, John Bauman and Bob Schuldt, won the (WIAC) championship in their respective weight classes during that same season, making them the first three WIAC champions in school history[7] In total, through the 2023-2024 season, 102 Whitewater wrestlers have been named All-American, and 127 wrestlers have been crowned WIAC champions.

While UW-Whitewater’s wrestling team has never won the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) championship, the wrestling team has made 38 national championship appearances since 1981, finishing as high as second place, falling to Wartburg, in 2014.[9] Wrestling at Whitewater has come a long way from its beginnings as an exhibition as part of a campus variety show to a battle for the title of national champion.

^[1] Minneiska, 1956, UW-Whitewater Archives and Area Research Center, https://jstor.org/stable/community.29916417.

^[2] Mary Janette Bohi, “Toward New Frontiers: The Search for Excellence,” in A History of Wisconsin State University Whitewater, 1868-1968 (Whitewater, Wisconsin: Whitewater State University Foundation, Inc., 1967), 224.

[3] “Matmen to Meet Marquette JV’s,” The Royal Purple, February 27, 1962.

^[4] Minneiska, 1963, UW-Whitewater Archives and Area Research Center,  https://jstor.org/stable/community.29916418.

[5] Minneiska, 1963, UW-Whitewater Archives and Area Research Center, 197,  https://jstor.org/stable/community.29916418.

[6] “Wrestling All-Americans,” Wrestling, https://uwwsports.com/sports/2024/1/29/wrestling-all-americans.aspx; Minneiska, 1967, UW-Whitewater Archives and Area Research Center, 128, https://www.jstor.org/stable/community.30048827.  

[7] “Wrestling Conference Champions,” Wrestling, https://uwwsports.com/sports/2024/1/29/wrestling-wiac-champions.aspx;  “Wrestling Tri-Captains Finish On Top,” The Royal Purple, March 16. 1967.

[8] “Wrestling Tri-Captains Finish On Top,” The Royal Purple, March 16. 1967.

[9] “Wrestling NCCAA Championship History (Team),” Wrestling,” https://uwwsports.com/sports/2024/1/29/wrestling-ncaa-tournament.aspx; Christopher Clapper, “Warhawks finish as runner-up,” The Royal Purple, March 19, 2014, https://www.jstor.org/stable/community.35002010.   

Written by Jacob Ober

In 2008, the UW-Whitewater Warhawks softball team made their longest postseason run since 1987 by advancing to the NCAA Division III World Series. This would mark the 13^th overall appearance for the Warhawks softball team in the NCAA Division III tournament.[1] The Warhawks defeated defending national champion DePauw University in back-to-back games with final scores of 2-1 and 6-2 in the regional round, moving them forward to the championship round. Head Coach Brenda Volk said, “This team is amazing…There is not just one individual that we rely on. It seems like every game someone different steps us with a big hit or a big play. Every single person on the field and in the dugout has contributed to our success this year and it is a great feeling.”[2]

At the start of the championship round, the Warhawks would lose 5-4 to New York-Cortland before notching four straight wins to earn a spot in the World Series Title Game.[4] The Warhawks advanced thanks to a 2-1 victory over Louisiana College, the number one-seeded team in the tournament. They were led by a stellar performance from starting pitcher Jessica Stang, co-winner of the 2008 WIAC Pitcher of the Year Award, who went the full 7 innings and only allowed one run on seven hits. After falling behind 1-0 in the bottom of the 6^th inning and down to their final three outs, the Warhawks roared back in the top of the 7^th and took a 2-1 lead thanks to a 2-run home run by right fielder Suzanne Gersich, her 12^th of the year.[5]  In securing the victory, the Warhawks earned their spot in the World Series Title Game.

Unfortunately, the Warhawks’ remarkable run would end in the final game, where they lost to UW-Eau Claire 4-3 in extra innings. Despite getting out to a 3-1 lead in the fifth inning on a home run by Gersich, UW-Eau Claire would strike back to tie the game in the bottom of the 7^th, sending the game into extra innings. In the bottom of the 9^th, UW-Eau Claire slugger Jill Janke hit a 1-1 pitch over the fence for a walk-off home run, ending the Warhawks’ season in heartbreaking fashion.[7] However, the 2008 Warhawks softball team would be a team to remember, as they set numerous school records, including most runs scored in a season (319), most home runs (68), most RBIs (275), most total bases (751), and most strikeouts (337) and strikeouts per game (6.74).[8] Individually, center fielder Amy Gahl set a record for most hits in a season (70), a record that would stand for almost a decade before being broken by Mallory Klotz in 2017, who recorded 71 hits.[9]

The Warhawks would return to the NCAA Division III Championship in 2014, although they failed to qualify for the World Series Title Game. No Warhawk softball team has made it to the World Series game since the record-breaking 2008 team.  

[1] Mike Daly, “Warhawks eliminate No. 1 team to advance to final 8,” The Royal Purple, May 14, 2008.

[2] Sara Kuhl, “Quest for national championship titles continues for softball, baseball team,” University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Athletics, May 12, 2008, https://www.uww.edu/news/archive/2008-05-softball-baseball-playoffs.

[3] “Warhawks Earn Spot in World Series Title Game,” University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Athletics, May 19, 2008, https://uwwsports.com/news/2008/5/19/softball_05192008_louisiana.aspx.

[4] “2008 Softball Schedule,” University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Athletics, https://uwwsports.com/sports/softball/schedule/2008.

[5] “Warhawks Earn Spot in World Series Title Game,” University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Athletics, May 19, 2008, https://uwwsports.com/news/2008/5/19/softball_05192008_louisiana.aspx.

[6]“Warhawks Finish Second in NCAA Division III Tournament,” University of Wisconsin Whitewater Athletics, May 19th, 2008, https://uwwsports.com/news/2008/5/19/softball_05192008_eauclaire.aspx.

[7] Ibid.

[8] “Softball Season Records,” University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Athletics, https://uwwsports.com/sports/2024/5/2/softball-season-records.aspx.

[9] Ibid.

[10] “2007-08 athletics year in review,” The Royal Purple, August 27, 2008.

Written by Riley Smith

 John A. “Jack”  Heide was hired at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, then called Whitewater State Teachers College, in 1948, where he took on the role of English Department Chair.^[1] During the 1950s and 1960s, Heide greatly expanded the English department, eventually making it the largest department on campus at the time. Heide was a big proponent of keeping class sizes small, even the typically larger required freshman courses, to aid student/professor relationships.^[2] His dedication to students extended outside of the classroom. In 1949, Heide organized a student writing club called the Wits and sponsored a student literary magazine named The Tower, a precursor to the Muse, UW-Whitewater’s current literature and arts magazine.^[3]

The Wits club was known as an informal writing club, in which all students were invited to meet and discuss various literary topics, including members’ writings.^[5] In the same year the club began, they published the first edition of The Tower to exhibit club members’ writings. The opening paragraph of the first edition reads, “In presenting this magazine, it is the intention of the club to give the public a chance to read samples of the types of creative writings at which club members have been working during the year.”^[6] The magazine could be bought for a small fee.^[7] The fee was then used to raise money for guest speakers to attend campus events; as Chair of the University Convocation Committee, Heide was in charge of planning said events. ^[8] While anyone could be a member of Wits, The Tower’s staff was hand-picked by the Wits club members.^[9]

Eventually, the Wits club began hosting writing competitions where winning students would receive a cash prize of $5, later bumped up to $10, and a feature in The Tower.^[11] At first, four categories were made available for submission: one-act play, fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.^[12] In the 1960s, when the cash prize grew to $10, three more categories were added: essay, two-dimensional art, and three-dimensional art.^[13] When these contests began, The Tower provided a way to highlight the writing and artistic talents of all students, not just the Wits club members.

Sadly, in April of 1968, Heide passed away from smoke inhalation during an accidental house fire. Weeks later, devastated by the loss, the UW-W campus dedicated the new humanities building to Heide.^[14] The last edition of The Tower, in 1968, was also dedicated to his memory.^[15]

You can browse issues of The Tower online at https://www.jstor.org/site/uww/.  

^[1] Richard C. Haney, Campus Cornerstones, University of Wisconsin– Whitewater: biographical sketches of the people for whom buildings & facilities are named (Whitewater, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin– Whitewater, 1997), 59.

^[2] Ibid., 59.

^[3]  Ibid., 59.

[4] Haney, Campus Cornerstones, 58.

^[5] “Literary Club Discusses Art,” Royal Purple, Sept. 10, 1963.

^[6] “The Word Before,” The Tower, 1949, 3.

^[7] “Wits Plan To Publish New Literary Magazine,” Royal Purple, May 17, 1949.

^[8] Haney, “Campus Cornerstones,” 59.

^[9] “Wits Club to Choose TOWER Staff Tonight,” Royal Purple, March 14, 1961.

[10] Lee Ashton and John Leslie, The Tower, 1949.

^[11] “Wits Contest Ends April 20,” Royal Purple, April 17, 1956.

^[12] “Wits Contest Winners Told,” Royal Purple, May 8, 1956.

^[13] “Winners of Wits Contest Are Chosen,” Royal Purple, May 8, 1962.

^[14] Haney, “Campus Cornerstones,” 59.

^[15] The Tower, 1968, 43.