RIPON, Wis. - Dick Bennett '65 is one of Ripon College Athletics' most well-known names. But before he was taking University of Wisconsin to the NCAA Division-I Final Four, while amassing nearly 500 career coaching victories at four different schools, Bennett was a three-sport star for the Ripon Redmen. Interesting enough, the only sport Bennett didn't earn All-Conference honors in was basketball, while earning All-Conference recognition in both football and baseball. He was inducted into the Ripon College Athletics Hall of Fame in 1984. Although Bennett had a lot of individual success, his career can also be summed up by one word: Winner. He helped Ripon win seven Midwest Conference Championships across his three different sports during his four-year career.

"My athletic experience at Ripon was everything I wanted, as it was one of the few schools that I was able to compete in football, basketball, and baseball. The success we experienced provided all the motivation I needed," Bennett said. "I chose to attend Ripon because I knew I wanted to coach basketball, but I was recruited to play football and baseball by John Storzer and (Kermit) 'Doc' Weiske '50 — who are still two of my heroes. My athletic dreams overshadowed my educational dreams, but it didn't take long for me to really appreciate the liberal arts approach. It enabled me to study literature and associated kinds of courses, and it opened up a whole new area in life for me."

A Physical Education major, Bennett was a first generation college student. In what was arguably his best sport, Bennett was named All-Conference in football three times, including a First Team selection during his senior season. He still ranks second in school history for longest pass reception, catching a 96-yarder against Monmouth from fellow Ripon Hall of Famer Jack Ankerson '64 in 1962. One crowning moment of Bennett's storied career was helping Ripon win the 1963 MWC Football Championship, which is the last undefeated team in school history. Although he was a halfback (and returner), Bennett caught 65 passes for 1,148 yards and 13 touchdowns during his final three seasons, while leading the MWC with 11 total touchdowns as a senior. That helped him be voted Team Most Valuable Player at the end of that season, in which he also served as Team Captain. The Redmen went 21-2-1 during his final three years on the football team, but one lasting memory of his playing days didn't happen on the field.

"While returning to campus after a big win one day, the entire team began chanting very loudly: 'We are the Redmen. The mighty, mighty Redmen. Everywhere we go, People want to know, Who we are, So we tell them. We are the Redmen. The mighty, mighty Redmen!' We got louder and louder until we were practically screaming by the end. It was just a great group of guys completely together after winning a football game!"

As a third baseman, Bennett also helped Ripon's baseball team become a winner, capturing the conference championship three times (1962, 1963, and 1965). During that final championship season, as a senior, Bennett was third on the team in batting average (.325), en route to First Team All-Conference honors.

On the basketball court, Bennett was a guard who played in all 65 of Ripon's games during his final three seasons, as the Redmen won three consecutive MWC Championships to close out his career. Although there were many coaches that stood out during Bennett's tenure at Ripon, there are two that remain at the forefront.

"Coach Storzer and Coach Weiske were wonderful coaches and great people, and my love for both remains evergreen. Both coaches were years ahead of their time in philosophy, motivation, and practice," Bennett said. "Many of my former teammates and I still spout 'Storzerisms', as old as we are, and I'm sure they all remember 'a pregnant fox in a forest fire.'

Upon graduation, Bennett coached basketball at five high schools around the state of Wisconsin, before landing the head job at UW-Stevens Point, where he took the Pointers from a 9-17 team to a 28-4 record and an appearance in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) National Championship game. He was named NAIA District IV Coach of the Year in 1985. From there, he coached UW-Green Bay, taking them from a 5-23 record in his first season to a 22-8 record and an appearance in the NCAA Division-I Tournament for the second consecutive year in his final season. He was named District Coach of the Year twice at UW-GB (1992 and 1994) and earned Midwest Coach of the Year honors in 1994. Bennett then took over a Wisconsin program that finished 17-15 in his first season at the helm, before taking them to a 22-14 record and an appearance in the NCAA Division-I Final Four in 2000 - a first for the school in more than 50 years. His coaching career ended with a three-year tenure at Washington State, as Bennett compiled a career college coaching record of 489-307. He was named to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007.

Born in Pittsburgh, but raised in Clintonville, Wis. Bennett currently resides in Nekoosa, Wis. He has passed his coaching legacy on to two of his children. Bennett's son, Tony, is head coach at University of Virginia, which won the NCAA Division-I National Championship in 2019. His daughter Kathi has served as head women's basketball coach at Marycrest College; UW-Oshkosh, where her team won the 1996 National Championship and she was named Coach of the Year; University of Evansville; Indiana University; and Northern Illinois University. She has also served as an assistant coach at UW-Madison and Edgewood College.


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