Kermit "Doc" Weiske '50 was one of the first 'larger than life' figures in the history of Ripon College athletics. Nicknamed "Mr. Basketball", Weiske competed in football and track & field for the Redmen, but was best known for his remarkable play on the hardwood, where he was named All-Conference four times, including as a First Team selection during each of his final three seasons. He would later serve as Ripon's Head Men's Basketball Coach for 16 years across two different stints, winning five Midwest Conference Championships and qualifying for the NCAA Tournament for the first two times in program history. The school's first-ever 1,000-point scorer, Weiske was a member of Ripon's inaugural Athletics Hall of Fame class in 1980.
"Doc was unique and there will never be another quite like him," said legendary men's basketball coach Bob Gillespie, who succeeded Weiske as Ripon's Head Coach for the next 32 years. "I really believe he is Ripon College basketball, which I've said for the last 40 years and I'd say again 100 years from now. He's the one who really got things going and the great tradition that Ripon's men's basketball program has is all due to Doc."
Weiske arrived at Ripon in the Fall of 1946 from nearby Berlin High School. After scoring 76 points during his freshman campaign, Weiske scored more than 300 in each of the next two seasons. He then saved his best for last, setting a single season school record with 433 points as a senior which still ranks 33rd in program history. He also held Ripon's career scoring record at the time of his graduation with 1,188 points, which stood for 28 years and still ranks 18th in program history, more than 70 years after his final game in a Ripon uniform. In the last game of his storied career, Weiske dropped 34 points against Lawrence to set a new record for Ripon's home court.
After earning a bachelor's degree in physical education from Ripon, Weiske went on to receive his master's from the University of Wisconsin. Two years after graduating from Ripon, he caught on with the Harrisburg Capitols of the Eastern Professional Basketball League (EPBL). In his one season of professional basketball, Weiske scored a team-best 277 points for the Capitols. From 1950-58 Weiske also began gaining coaching experience which would eventually lead him back to Ripon. In eight years as the Head Boys Basketball Coach at Fort Atkinson (Wis.) High School, Weiske went 93-33, leading his team to undefeated Badger Conference seasons in his final two years at the helm. He led Fort Atkinson to the number one ranking and a runner-up finish in the 1957 Wisconsin State Tournament.
Weiske returned 'home' to Ripon College in 1958 as an assistant professor of physical education, head basketball coach, head golf coach and assistant football coach through 1966, and returned again from 1972 until his retirement in 1980. As a coach, Weiske led Ripon's basketball team to five Midwest Conference Championships (1963-65, 1978 and 1980) and two NCAA Division-III Tournament appearances (1978 and 1980), while compiling a career coaching record of 203-148, which places him second in program history for career victories. After suffering through losing seasons in his first two years as head coach, Weiske led Ripon to winning seasons in each of his final 14 years with the team. He coached Ripon to a 29-game home winning streak from 1970-72, which still stands as the longest such streak in program history, while two of his teams still rank in the top 10 in school history for most single season victories.
Starting in 1966, Weiske worked in the insurance industry for many years, including as owner and president of Weiske & Associates Inc. He was elected to the Ripon College Alumni Association Board in 1967 and to the Board of Trustees from 1985 to 2006, before becoming an honorary Life Trustee in 2007. His many College honors include the Athletic Booster Award (1978), Distinguished Alumni Citation (1980) and Medal of Merit (1991). He also received the Wisconsin Basketball Association's "Friend of Basketball" (1989) and the Badger Boys State Special Service Award (1979). In addition to fundraising for Ripon College's athletic programs over the years, Weiske also served as Ripon area chairman for the College's 125th Anniversary Annual Fund Campaign in 1975 and as national chairman of the Alumni Fund in 1968-69 and 1969-70. He is a charter member of Ripon College's Partners in the Legacy.
"I loved Doc like a second father and despite the fact that I had a long tenure as Ripon's basketball coach and coached many great players, I always felt that he was the heart and soul of the program," Gillespie said. "Doc supported me and the team by regularly dropping in at practice and was always present in the front row for games. He continued to have a great relationship with all the players after his retirement, which I think was obvious to anyone attending games, as it was tradition for each player to cross the court during starting lineup introductions in order to shake Doc's hand before each game.
Weiske passed away in 2016 at the age of 86, but his legacy has been preserved in many ways at Ripon College. The gymnasium in recently-renovated Willmore Center was renamed to bear his name, while the red bleachers in Doc Weiske '50 Memorial Gymnasium has one black seat in the front row across the court from the team benches. That is and always will be Doc's seat. Ripon's main athletics fundraiser, the annual golf scramble which takes place each summer during Alumni Weekend, has also been renamed in his honor.
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