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From the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference -- 

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, the defending conference champion and winner of 13 of the last 16 titles, has been picked to capture the 2022 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) football championship, according to a preseason poll conducted by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors.

The Warhawks, ranked fourth nationally in NCAA Division III preseason polls conducted by D3football.com, Lindy’s Sports and College Football America, have won 38 conference titles.  

UW-La Crosse is slotted for second in the WIAC predictions and enters the season ranked No. 10 by Lindy’s Sports, No. 12 by D3football.com and No. 14 by College Football America. The Eagles own 33 first-place conference trophies. 

UW-River Falls, pegged for third in the conference race, represented the WIAC in the inaugural Culver’s Isthmus Bowl a season ago and registered a 48-27 triumph over Washington University-St. Louis (Mo.). The Falcons are ranked No. 16 by Lindy’s Sports and No. 18 by D3football.com.  

UW-Oshkosh begins the 2022 season ranked No. 19 by D3football.com, No. 22 by Lindy’s Sports and No. 25 by College Football America. The Titans are picked for fourth in the league standings. 

The remaining order in the conference predictions features: UW-Platteville; UW-Stout; UW-Eau Claire; and UW-Stevens Point. 

The 2022 campaign welcomes three new head coaches into the conference with Peter Jennings at UW-Oshkosh, Ryan Munz at UW-Platteville and Luke Venne at UW-Stevens Point. Jennings was most recently the offensive coordinator at UW-Whitewater from 2018-21, while Munz completed his 15th season as UW-Platteville’s offensive coordinator and fifth season as associate head coach in 2021. Venne spent the last 14 years as a full-time assistant coach at UW-Oshkosh and the last six as offensive coordinator. 

The 2022 season is set to kick-off Sept. 1 when UW-Platteville travels to Michigan Tech University. The conference slate will commence Oct. 1. 

The WIAC will be represented in the Culver’s Isthmus Bowl for the second consecutive season against an opponent from the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin – the highest-placing team in each conference’s standings that isn’t selected for the NCAA Division III Championship. This year’s event will be held at Bank of Sun Prairie Stadium in Sun Prairie, Wis., on Nov. 19. 

2022 Preseason Predictions
Voted on by WIAC Head Coaches and Sports Information Directors
                                       2021 Record 

1.  UW-Whitewater     (13-1 overall, 7-0 WIAC 

2.  UW-La Crosse         (9-3, 6-1) 

3.  UW-River Falls        (9-2, 5-2)

4.  UW-Oshkosh           (6-3, 4-3)

5.  UW-Platteville         (4-6, 3-4)

6.  UW-Stout                 (5-5, 2-5)

7.  UW-Eau Claire         (3-7, 1-6)

8.  UW-Stevens Point  (2-8, 0-7)

Team Capsules 

UW-Eau Claire 

Head Coach:  Wesley Beschorner; 3rd season at UWEC; 6-14
Letterwinners Returning/Lost on Offense:  36/11
Letterwinners Returning/Lost on Defense:  37/9
Letterwinners Returning/Lost at Kicker:  1/2
Starters Returning/Lost on Offense:  6/5
Starters Returning/Lost on Defense:  6/5
Starters Returning/Lost at Kicker:  1/1

Returning All-WIAC:  Seth Mitchell, Sr., OL (2021-Second); Joe Swanson, Sr., TE (2021-Honorable) 

Notable Returning Offensive Players:  Isaac Garside, So., WR; Harry Roubidoux, So., QB; Ivan Ruble, Jr., RB; Jake Thompson, So., OL 

Notable Returning Defensive Players:  AJ Firminhac, Sr., DL; Branden Huwe, Jr., DB; Ryan Kuechle, Sr., DB; Noah Nephew, So., LB 

Notable Returning Special Teams Players:  Will Adair, Sr., Returner; David Antoine, Jr., Returner 

UW-La Crosse 

Head Coach:  Matt Janus; 2nd season at UWL; 9-3
Letterwinners Returning/Lost on Offense:  41/15
Letterwinners Returning/Lost on Defense:  37/18 
Letterwinners Returning/Lost at Kicker:  4/3
Starters Returning/Lost on Offense:  9/2
Starters Returning/Lost on Defense:  7/4
Starters Returning/Lost at Kicker:  1/1

Returning All-WIAC:  Elijah Alt, Sr., DB (2021-First); Connor Berry, So., OL (2018-Second); Mike Bertoia, Jr., OL (2021-First); Alex Bongers, Sr., OL (2019-Honorable, 2021-Honorable); Trevar Helland, Sr., DB (2021-Honorable); Will Josten, Jr., TE (2021-Honorable); Jack Kelly, Jr., DL (2021-Honorable); Cameron Sorenson, Jr., WR (2019-Honorable); AJ Spychala, Sr., LB (2021-Second); Joey Stutzman, Jr., RB (2019-Second, 2021-First) 

Notable Returning Offensive Players:  Ryan Beirne, Sr., WR; Noah Coleman, Jr., OL; Cade Garcia, Sr., QB; Jack Studer, Jr., WR 

Notable Returning Defensive Players:  Jack Anderson, Jr., DL; Ryan Daines, Jr., LB; Josh Dorschner, Sr., DL; Cade Osborn, Jr., DB 

Notable Returning Special Teams Players:  Ryan Beirne, Sr., K; Brant Bohman, Jr., RB; Sawyer Schick, Sr., LS 

UW-Oshkosh 

Head Coach:  Peter Jennings; 1st season at UWO; 0-0
Letterwinners Returning/Lost on Offense:  18/8
Letterwinners Returning/Lost on Defense:  21/11
Letterwinners Returning/Lost at Kicker:  1/1
Starters Returning/Lost on Offense:  8/3
Starters Returning/Lost on Defense:  6/5
Starters Returning/Lost at Kicker:  1/1

Returning All-WIAC:  Kobe Berghammer, Jr., QB (2019-Newcomer of the Year, 2021-Honorable); Tory Jandrin, Sr., LB (2019-Honorable, 2021-First); Brandon Kolgen, Sr., DL (2019-Second, 2021-Second); Peter MacCudden, Jr., RB (2021-Honorable); Carson Raddatz, So., DB (2021-Honorable); Kyle Scharenbroch, Sr., DB (2021-First); Tony Steger, Jr., WR (2021-Honorable) 

Notable Returning Offensive Players:  Terrell Carey, Sr., WR; Pep Flores, Sr., WR; Cody Staerkel, So., QB; Trae Tetzlaff, So., WR 

Notable Returning Defensive Players:  Brody Milz, Jr., LB; Jared Saad, Jr., DB; Jhe’Veon St. Julien, So., DL; Jared Tenpas, Sr., DL 

Notable Returning Special Teams Players:  None 

UW-Platteville 

Head Coach:  Ryan Munz; 1st season at UWP; 0-0
Letterwinners Returning/Lost on Offense:  23/9
Letterwinners Returning/Lost on Defense:  24/11
Letterwinners Returning/Lost at Kicker:  1/2
Starters Returning/Lost on Offense:  9/2 
Starters Returning/Lost on Defense:  10/1
Starters Returning/Lost at Kicker:  1/1

Returning All-WIAC:  Tyler Bacon, Sr., DL (2021-Second); Blake Bury, Jr., OL (2021-Second); Austin Guy, Sr., WR (2021-Second); Andrew Schweigert, Sr., K (2019-Second, 2021-Honorable); Sam Smith, Sr., LB (2021-Honorable); Brandt Stare, Sr., WR (2021-Honorable); Aidan Tyk, Sr., DB (2021-Honorable) 

Notable Returning Offensive Players:  Jimmy Durocher, So., WR; Evan Gates, Sr., RB; Lucas Petersen, Jr., WR; Ben Wilson, Sr., WR 

Notable Returning Defensive Players:  Justin Blazek, Sr., DL; Dayne Friday, Sr., DB; Colton Ingram, Sr., LB; Samuel Tausz, Sr., DB 

Notable Returning Special Teams Players:  Blaise Watters, Jr., WR 

UW-River Falls 

Head Coach:  Matt Walker; 14th season (11th at UWRF); 54-77 (overall) / 32-69 (UWRF)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost on Offense:  18/9
Letterwinners Returning/Lost on Defense:  22/9
Letterwinners Returning/Lost at Kicker:  1/1
Starters Returning/Lost on Offense:  5/6
Starters Returning/Lost on Defense:  7/4
Starters Returning/Lost at Kicker:  1/1

Returning All-WIAC:  Dylan Brown, So., DB (2021-Honorable); Michael Brown, So., DB (2021-Second); Drew Hahn, Jr., DL (2021-Honorable); Cade Henry, Jr., K (2021-Honorable); Alex Klecker, Jr., OL (2021-Second) 

Notable Returning Offensive Players:  Kaleb Blaha, So., QB; Andy Groebner, Sr., WR; Tim Oeun, So., RB; Jager Reissmann, Jr., WR 

Notable Returning Defensive Players:  Aaron Borgerding, So., DB; Jake Halsey, Sr., DL; Frank Hartman, Sr., DL; Dominique Turner, Sr., DB 

Notable Returning Special Teams Players:  Kaleb Blaha, So., Returner 

UW-Stevens Point 

Head Coach:  Luke Venne; 1st season at UWSP; 0-0
Letterwinners Returning/Lost on Offense:  16/18
Letterwinners Returning/Lost on Defense:  7/21
Letterwinners Returning/Lost at Kicker:  2/0
Starters Returning/Lost on Offense:  6/5 
Starters Returning/Lost on Defense:  4/7 
Starters Returning/Lost at Kicker:  2/0

Returning All-WIAC:  Victor Ponterio, Sr., K (2018-Second); Nick Retterath, Sr., OL (2021-Honorable); Carter Unger, Sr., P (2021-Second) 

Notable Returning Offensive Players:  Joe Aguilera, Jr., WR; Devin Baldridge, Sr., TE; Nathan Schmidt, Sr., TE 

Notable Returning Defensive Players:  Larry Boh, So., DB; Dakota Carriveau, Sr., DE; Malik Smith, Sr., DE; Reese Wiggins, Sr., DB 

Notable Returning Special Teams Players:  None 

UW-Stout 

Head Coach:  Clayt Birmingham; 12th season at UWST; 45-64
Letterwinners Returning/Lost on Offense:  28/5
Letterwinners Returning/Lost on Defense:  26/4
Letterwinners Returning/Lost at Kicker:  1/1 
Starters Returning/Lost on Offense:  10/1
Starters Returning/Lost on Defense:  10/1 
Starters Returning/Lost at Kicker:  1/1

Returning All-WIAC:  Sean Borgerding, Sr., QB (2018-Honorable, 2019-Honorable, 2021-Honorable); Arthur Cox, Sr., WR (2021-First/All-Purp., 2021-Second/WR); Jacob Foss, Jr., OL (2021-Second); Cannon Griner, Jr., DB (2021-Second); Scott Gustafson, Sr., DL (2021-Second); Levy Hamer, Sr., WR (2018-Honorable/All-Purp., 2018-Second/WR, 2019-Second, 2021-First) 

Notable Returning Offensive Players:  Jesus Ambriz, Jr., OL; Parker Fossum, Sr., WR; Luke Parzyck, So., OL; Matt Pomietlo, So., RB 

Notable Returning Defensive Players:  Nick Arguedas, Sr., DB; Mason Priebe, Jr., DB; Nate Rewald, So., LB 

Notable Returning Special Teams Players:  Luke Cool, So., PK; Tyler Nichols, Sr., LS 

UW-Whitewater 

Head Coach:  Kevin Bullis; 7th season at UWW; 69-10
Letterwinners Returning/Lost on Offense:  42/12
Letterwinners Returning/Lost on Defense:  43/6
Letterwinners Returning/Lost at Kicker:  1/2
Starters Returning/Lost on Offense:  2/9
Starters Returning/Lost on Defense:  7/4
Starters Returning/Lost at Kicker:  0/2

Returning All-WIAC:  Reed Farrington, So., DL (2021-Honorable); Kyle Gallagher, Sr., DL (2021-First); Egon Hein, Jr., DB (2021-First); Tyler Holte, Sr., WR (2021-Honorable); Dain Hudson, Sr., KR/PR (2021-Second); Kyle Koelblinger, So., DB (2021-Second/Newcomer of the Year); Ryan Liszka, Sr., LB (2021-First); Shane McGrail, Sr., LB (2021-Second) 

Notable Returning Offensive Players:  Brendan Cavanaugh, Sr., OL; Sam DeLany, Sr., WR; Jaylon Edmonson, Sr., RB; Evan Lewandowski, Sr., QB 

Notable Returning Defensive Players:  Justin Allen, Jr., DL; Matt Burba, So., DL; Niko Lemke, Jr., DL; Thomas Wojnowski, Jr., DB 

Notable Returning Special Teams Players:  Nate Custer, Jr., K/P; Jaylon Edmonson, Sr., KR/Special Teams