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The basketball community is mourning the loss of longtime Cuba City boys basketball coach and WBCA Executive Director Jerry Petitgoue, who died on Saturday at the age of 84.

Petitgoue spent 60 years coaching high school basketball, including 52 years as the head coach at Cuba City, compiling an overall head coaching record of 1,027 wins and 249 losses. He led the Cubans to 29 conference championships and 12 state tournament appearances, including state titles in 1981, 1991 and 1998.

For many years, Coach Petitgoue served as a color analyst on WIAA Boys Basketball State Tournament broadcasts (when his teams weren't competing), and was a fixture in both Madison and Green Bay. Health issues prevented Petitgoue from attending this year's boys basketball championships for the first time in more than 60 years.

Petitgoue was inducted into the WBCA Hall of Fame, the University of Dubuque Hall of Fame, and was recognized by the National Federation of State High School Associations as its Boys Basketball Coach of the Year award after the 2019-20 season. In 2023, following his retirement at Cuba City, the Wisconsin State Assembly named Petitgoue as its Hometown Hero Award.

The Tri-State Basketball Camp operated by Petitgoue was a must for many young high school basketball players for many years.

Petitgoue was actively involved in the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association for many years, serving as Executive Director for three decades, helping oversee the growth of the association into one of the largest and most admired in the country. The numerous banquets, including Hall of Fame, All-State, and All-Star Game, are the envy of states around the country, and Jerry enjoyed working with his wife and WBCA Executive Secretary Joan Petitgoue to promote those events. The WBCA has grown to more than 4,500 members with its Fall Clinic welcoming in hundreds every year.

Below is service and visitation information for Coach Petitgoue:

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, June 14, 2025 at St. Rose of Lima Church, Cuba City, Wisconsin with Rev. David Flanagan officiating. Burial will be in St. Michael’s Cemetery, Galena, Illinois. Visitation will be held from 3-8:00 p.m. Friday, June 13 at the Cuba City High School Gymnasium. Visitation will also be held Saturday from 9-10:45 a.m. at St. Rose of Lima Church, prior to the service. Casey-McNett Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Cuba City, Wisconsin, is assisting the family.

Travis Wilson serves as the WisSports.net General Manager, Football Editor, and contributing writer for other parts of the site. Wilson was selected as part of the Sports 40 Under 40 list by Coach & AD Magazine and the National High School Athletic Coaches Association for 2019. The Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) named Travis the 2015 recipient of the Dave McClain Distinguished Service Award. He currently serves on the WFCA Executive Board and is a member of the Executive Board of the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association. A graduate of Richland Center High School and Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Travis was a three-sport athlete in high school (football, baseball, basketball), inducted to the Richland Center High School Hall of Fame in 2023, and currently resides in Reedsburg. You can follow him on Twitter at @travisWSN.