Wisconsin–River Falls Falcons football

Wisconsin–River Falls Falcons football
First season1895 (1895)
Athletic directorCrystal Lanning
Head coachVacant
LocationRiver Falls, Wisconsin
StadiumRamer Field
NCAA divisionDivision III
ConferenceWIAC
ColorsRed and White
   
All-time record526–419–48 (.554)
Playoff record6–3 (.667)
Bowl record2–0 (1.000)
National championships
ClaimedNCAA Div. III: 1 (2025)
College Football Playoff appearances
NCAA Div. III: 3 (1995, 1996, 2025)
NAIA Div. I: 1 (1979)
Conference championships
WIAC: 19 (1915, 1916, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1933, 1938, 1947, 1958, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1998, 2025)
Websiteuwrfsports.com/football

The Wisconsin–River Falls Falcons football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of Wisconsin–River Falls located in River Falls, Wisconsin. The team competes at the NCAA Division III level and is a member of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC). The school first fielded a football team in 1895. The Falcons wear red, white, and black. Ramer Field, where the Falcons play their home games, was the host of the Kansas City Chiefs' training camp from 1992 to 2008.

History

Mike Farley (1970–1988)

The Falcons were most successful under coach Mike Farley (1970–1988), as he led the Falcons to a 117–71–3 record, with eight conference championships. In 1979 Farley coached the falcons to the NAIA National playoffs, the first time a Falcon football team had ever competed at the national level. Farley was named the WIAC Coach of the Year after the 1986 season. In 1979 and 1986 he was named the American Football Coaches Association Region 6 Coach of the Year, and the NAIA District 14 Coach of the Year in 1975, 1979 and 1985. He coached 91 players to All-WIAC honors, with three Falcons earning WIAC Player of the Year. Farley was inducted into the UWRF Athletic Hall of Fame in 1989, the Wisconsin Football Coaches Hall of Fame in 1994, and the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Hall of Fame on August 4, 2012.[1]

John O'Grady (1989–2010)

John O'Grady is the longest tenured UWRF coach with 22 seasons. He was a linebacker for the Falcons from 1972 to 1975.[2] He previously coached at Kent State University, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and Miami University. O'Grady won the conference championship in 1998 and advanced to the NCAA Playoffs twice (1995 and 1996). He had a career record of 105–112–3. O'Grady was named the 1995 WIAC Coach of the Year and was inducted into the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) Hall of Fame on April 5,in 2008.[2]

In 2009 the Falcons finished the season at 3–7 (1–6 in WIAC). In 2010, the Falcons finished the season at 1–9 (1–6 in WIAC).

Matt Walker (2011–2025)

Matt Walker was previously the head football coach at DePauw University (2006–09) where he compiled a 22–8 overall record. His teams finished 13–7 in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference and placed second in the final conference standings in 2007 and 2008. From 2000 to 05 Walker was an assistant coach with DePauw and coached running backs and wide receivers. In 2010, he was an assistant coach at Butler University. Walker was a two-sport athlete (baseball and football) at DePauw (1999). In 2011, the Falcons finished the season at 1–9 (1–6 in WIAC). In 2012, they finished the season 2–8 (2–4 in WIAC) and finished in sixth place.

Head coaching history

Wisconsin–River Falls has had at least 21 head coaches in their history.[3] The head coaches for the seasons 1895–1898, 1900–1901, and 1910 are unknown. No teams were fielded for the 1902–1908 seasons.[4] Additionally no team was fielded in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Coach Seasons Term Wins Losses Ties Win % Conference titles Playoff appearances
Warren P. Knowles 1 1899 5 2 1 .688 N/A N/A
Jesse H. Ames 1 1909 1 2 0 .333 N/A N/A
E. W. Castle 1 1911 6 1 1 .813 0 N/A
Bert Swenson 9 1912–1920 38 16 8 .677 2 N/A
Herman Hayward 2 1921, 1923 6 6 1 .500 0 N/A
H. G. Anderson 1 1922 3 3 1 .500 0 N/A
Otto Eggebrecht 2 1924 7 0 0 1.000 1 N/A
Ted Cox 2 1925–1926 11 1 1 .885 2 N/A
Basil Stanley 1 1927 5 1 1 .786 0 N/A
Carl Klandrud 5 1928–1932 22 10 2 .676 0 N/A
Osborne Cowles 3 1933–1935 13 6 2 .667 1 N/A
Emmett Lowery 6 1936–1941 23 16 4 .581 1 N/A
Gerald Manion 3 1942–1944 8 6 0 .571 0 N/A
George Schlaugenhauf 7 1945–1951 25 22 7 .528 1 N/A
Phil Belfiori 5 1952–1956 29 9 1 .756 0 N/A
Fran Polsfoot 5 1957–1961 21 20 3 .511 1 N/A
Gwynn Christensen 8 1962–1969 28 38 7 .432 0 0
Mike Farley 19 1970–1988 117 71 3 .620 8 1
John O'Grady 22 1989–2010 105 112 3 .484 1 2
Matt Walker 14 2011–2025 67 80 0 .456 1 1 (2 bowl games)

Championships

Conference championships

The Falcons won the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) championship 19 times.[5][6]

Year Coach Overall record WIAC record
1915 Bert Swenson 6–1–1 5–0
1916 6–1–1 5–0
1924 Otto Eggebrecht 7–0 4–0
1925 Ted Cox 5–1–1 4–0
1926 6–0 4–0
1933† Osborne Cowles 4–1–1 2–1–1
1938† Emmett Lowery 6–1 4–0
1947† George Schlaugenhauf 7–1 4–0
1958 Fran Polsfoot 7–2 6–1
1975† Mike Farley 8–2 7–1
1976† 7–3 6–2
1979 9–2 7–1
1980† 8–2 6–2
1984† 8–2 7–1
1985 8–1–1 6–1–1
1986† 8–2 7–1
1987† 7–3 6–2
1998† John O'Grady 7–3 5–2
2025 Matt Walker 14–1 6–1

† Co-champions

National championship

Wisconsin–River Falls won the 2025 NCAA Division III football championship, defeating North Central (IL) 24–14 in the Stagg Bowl.[7]

Year Coach Division Opponent Result Record
2025 Matt Walker NCAA Division III North Central (IL) W 24–14 14–1

Postseason games

NCAA Division III playoffs

The Falcons have made three appearances in the NCAA Division III playoffs, with a combined record of 6–2.

Year Round Opponent Result Record
1995 Regionals Central (IA) W 10–7 9–3
Quarterfinals Wisconsin–La Crosse L 14–28
1996 Regionals Wisconsin–La Crosse L 0–44 9–2
2025 Second Round Chapman W 58–7 14–1
Third Round Saint John's (MN) W 42–14
Quarterfinals Wheaton (IL) W 46–21
Semifinals Johns Hopkins W 48–41
Championship North Central (IL) W 24–14

NAIA Division I playoffs

The Falcons have made one appearance in the NAIA Division I playoffs, with a combined record of 0–1.

Year Round Opponent Result Record
1979 Quarterfinals Angelo State (TX) L 7–31 9–2

Bowl games

The Falcons have a 2–0 bowl record after participating in the Culver's Isthmus Bowl in 2021 and 2022.

Year Bowl Coach Opponent Result Record
2021 Isthmus Bowl Matt Walker Washington University W 48–27 9–2
2022 W 31–24 7–4

Ranked teams

Starting in 1999 the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) began publishing rankings for Division III football.[8] In 2003, D3football.com started publishing its own rankings for Division III football.[9] Since the inception of both polls, Wisconsin–River Falls has been ranked two times in the AFCA Coaches Poll and three times in the D3football.com poll to end the season. Additionally, while not being ranked in the Top 25 to end the season, the Falcons have received votes (RV) three times in the AFCA Coaches Poll and two times in the D3football.com poll.

Year D3 AFCA Record
2021 20 22 9–2
2022 RV RV 7–4
2023 24 RV 7–3
2024 RV RV 7–3
2025 1 1 14–1

Border Battle

From 1984 to 2000 the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, home to the Minnesota Vikings and Minnesota Golden Gophers, hosted games in November between WIAC teams and Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) teams at the NCAA Division II level in what came to be known as the "Border Battle".[10] The Falcons played at the Metrodome seven times, and had a 5–2 record.[11]

Date Opponent Result
November 18, 1984 Southwest Minnesota State L 24–35
November 12, 1994 Northern State W 48–14
November 17, 1996 Minnesota State–Moorhead W 28–21
November 16, 1997 Northern State W 31–7
November 14, 1998 Bemidji State W 45–14
November 13, 1999 Winona State W 29–20
November 10, 2000 Bemidji State L 20–23

Facilities

From 1991 to 2009 UWRF was host to the Kansas City Chiefs organization.[12] In 2006 the Chiefs won the UWRF outstanding service award for their ties to the community and dedication and respect to the university.[13] As many as five other National Football League teams used campuses across Wisconsin and Minnesota for training camp, in what was known as the Cheese League.

Notable former players

References

  1. ^ "Send Congratulations to Coach Mike Farley". UWRFsports.com. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
  2. ^ a b "John O'Grady - Head Coach". UWRF.edu. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
  3. ^ "UWRF Football All-Time Coaching Records". University of Wisconsin River Falls Athletics. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
  4. ^ "Year-By-Year Results". University of Wisconsin River Falls Athletics. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
  5. ^ "Football Team Champs (PDF) - Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference" (PDF). wiacsports.com. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  6. ^ "All-Time WIAC Finishes". University of Wisconsin River Falls Athletics. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  7. ^ Choroser, Philip (January 5, 2026). "UW-River Falls wins D3 football national championship". www.weau.com. Retrieved January 5, 2026.
  8. ^ "Polls". AFCA. Retrieved January 11, 2025.
  9. ^ "D3football.com Top 25 history".
  10. ^ Stoner, Don (November 11, 1999). "Breaking the five-way tie".
  11. ^ "Football Year By Year Results (PDF) - Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference" (PDF). wiacsports.com. Retrieved May 10, 2025.
  12. ^ "Kansas City Chiefs Training Camp Locations". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 11, 2025.
  13. ^ [email protected] (November 30, 2006). "Kansas City Chiefs receive Outstanding Service Award". Republican Eagle. Retrieved January 11, 2025.
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