RELEASED:  Wednesday, October 18, 2006

UW-La Crosse to Add Five to Wall of Fame

La Crosse, Wis.--Four former University of Wisconsin-La Crosse student-athletes and a successful, long-time coach will be inducted into the university’s Wall of Fame during Homecoming activities.

The athletes include three track stars from the late ’80s and early ’90s — David Coates, Jr., 1991-94; Bill Schroeder, 1990-93; and Christopher Schumacher, 1987-1990 — and three-sports letter winner Fritz Pongratz, 1958-1961. Richard Pein, swimming coach from 1979-1987 and 1990 to the present, will be inducted as a coach. 

The Wall of Fame pays tribute to former athletes and coaches for their exceptional ability and enhancement of school tradition.

This year’s inductees will be honored during a brunch at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 22, in the Cleary Alumni & Friends Center. Tickets are $15. Reservations are due noon Wednesday, Oct. 11, at the UW-L Alumni Association Office, (608) 785-8490.
               
Brief biographies of this year’s inductees:

David J. Coates, Jr.
David Coates, Jr., didn’t let growing up in a town dominated by football tackle his aspirations of being a track star. The Green Bay native sprinted to letters in track all four years (1986-89) at Southwest High School and brought that success to the stellar UW-L program. Coates lettered on the Eagles’ indoor and outdoor teams from 1991-94, helping bring home national indoor titles all four years and outdoor championships from ’91-’93. He was a 21-time conference champion, an 18-time All-American and five-time national champion. He set 17 school records and ran the fastest NCAA III Fully Automatic Timing mark for the 200 meters (20.83) and tied the NCAA III meet record for the 200 meters (20.87). Coates says his biggest athletic accomplishments are being inducted into the NCAA III Track & Field Hall of Fame and the UW-L Wall of Fame. Coates, a 1997 graduate, is a communication specialist with AT&T Cingular Wireless in Green Bay where he lives with his wife Paula (Bersch), ’97, and their two children, Michalah (12) and Alexandria (11).      

Fritz Pongratz
Fritz Pongratz played football, baseball and basketball on campus from 1958-1961, lettering in all three sports. Pongratz was named all-conference in football from 1958-1960, as well as the Staff Loveland Most Valuable Player in 1958 and a Wilkinson Little All-American in 1960. He helped the baseball team earn conference titles in 1959 and 1960. Pongratz says his biggest athletic accomplishment was signing as a free agent with the Ottawa Roughriders in the Canadian Football League. He was a four-sport letter winner at Tomah High School from 1953-55. The 1961 UW-L graduate was the chief of kinesiotherapy at the Tomah VA Medical Center from 1962-1993. He lives in Tomah and has one son, Randy, a 1992 UW-L graduate.

Bill Schroeder
He’s known to National Football League fans for his years as a wide receiver with the Green Bay Packers and other NFL teams, but Bill Schroeder calls his performance in track and field during college as his biggest athletic accomplishment. Schroeder earned six All-American honors in as many events in one outdoor meet in 1993, setting NCAA III records and helping the team win a national championship.  He lettered in track and field from 1990-93, years that the team won indoor and outdoor national titles. He played football in the fall of his senior year, 1993, lettering and catching the eye of NFL scouts. He was drafted in the sixth round by Green Bay and played with the Packers in the 1994 and 1996-2001 seasons. The Sheboygan native also played with the New England Patriots, Detroit Lions and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Schroeder, a 1994 graduate, is a performance enhancement lead with Aurora Bay Care Health in Green Bay. He and his wife, Shelly (Rud), ’94, have a daughter, Mara (6), and a son, Luke (3).

Christopher “Shoe” J. Schumacher
Christopher Schumacher excelled in football and track and field from 1987-1990, earning letters in both sports all four years. On the gridiron, “Shoe” helped the team earn the second place NAIA title and the conference title in 1989. In track and field, he helped the team run a streak of four straight conference titles and NCAA III championships in the indoor in 1987, and both indoor and outdoor in 1988. Schumacher says his biggest athletic accomplishment was placing third as a freshman in the 1987 NCAA III indoor championships. It was his personal best jump and helped the team win its first of what was to become many national titles. Schumacher has propelled the men’s and women’s track and field program at Illinois Wesleyan University since 1997, producing 71 All-Americans through the 2006 season. He and his wife, Amy, live in Bloomington, Ill., with their daughter, Kienna (12), and son, Keondre (8).

Richard L. Pein
Rich Pein took over the men’s swimming program in 1979, guiding it to a 10th-place NAIA finish. He hasn’t slowed down since, helping the men place among the top-20 nationally in 11 of his 25 seasons. Pein added the women’s program coaching duties in 1985. He has coached the women to three NCAA III top-12 finishes, including a school best — a fifth-place showing in 2003-04. Also, the women captured four straight conference titles, a school record. Pein has been named conference coach of the year for the men four times and the women eight times. He was named the NCAA III Women’s Swimming National Coach of the Year in 2003-04. Pein, an assistant professor in exercise and sport science, holds a bachelor’s from Ohio University, a master’s from Illinois State, and a doctorate from the University of Tennessee.

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