Thursday, February 1

• Panel Discussion 4:00 p.m

"Athletes, Character and Leadership "

Jack Bennett ’71

Jack Bennett’s nine-year career as head coach of men’s basketball at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP) had been written almost like a storybook, and his final two seasons were a perfect supplement to that tale.

   

During those two years, Bennett’s teams captured a pair of NCAA Division III national championships and set school records for victories, winning 29 games each year. The “winningest” coach in UWSP history, Bennett fashioned a 200-56 career record through nine seasons, and his .781 winning percentage ranks third all-time in WIAC history behind UW-Eau Claire’s Ken Anderson and UW-Platteville’s Bo Ryan. He is one of three coaches ever to lead a team to back-to-back national championships.

He was the Basketball Times national Coach of the Year in 2004-05 and the Molten/D-III News national Coach of the Year in 2003-04. Bennett had been recognized as the WIAC Coach of the Year in 2000 and 2003. During Bennett’s tenure, the Pointers made five NCAA tournament appearances and four trips to the “Elite Eight,” making appearances in 1997 and 2000 before their title runs the past two years. Bennett was a part of two conference titles as an assistant at UW-Eau Claire, and he compiled a 280-119 career high school record in 19 seasons with championships at Park Falls, Marinette, Rhinelander and Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln.

    

Bennett comes from one of the state’s most well-known basketball families. His brother, Dick, coached 28 collegiate seasons and took the University of Wisconsin to three NCAA tournaments and a Final Four after experiencing national success himself in Stevens Point. Jack’s niece, Kathi, is the former head women’s coach at Indiana University, and his nephew, Tony, is now the head coach at Washington State. His son, Nick, also joined the coaching ranks this year as a member of the coaching staff at Marquette.

    

Bennett attended Ripon College and graduated in 1971. He was an outstanding athlete who played football, basketball and baseball at Clintonville High School and signed a contract with the Washington Senators (now Texas Rangers) out of high school. He played two seasons of minor league baseball in Geneva, N.Y., in the Class A New York-Penn League.