UW Athletics Director Pat Richter announced in a press conference Tuesday afternoon the hiring of new men's hockey Head Coach Mike Eaves.
Eaves was a UW forward from 1974 to 1978 and was selected from a pool of six candidates.
For Eaves and his wife, Beth, this move represents a homecoming of sorts.
\As we come back to this university, we have fond memories of what life was like here,"" Eaves said.
Eaves is only the fourth hired men's hockey head coach at Wisconsin since 1964.
While Richter's list of coaching candidates included current assistant coaches Pat Ford and Mark Johnson, both of whom were strong choices, he said he thought Eaves was best suited to keep the strong tradition of Wisconsin hockey going.
""We believe Mike Eaves is the best person to build upon the past successes the program has enjoyed under [former] coaches John Riley, Bob Johnson and Jeff Sauer,"" Richter said.
Outgoing Head Coach Jeff Sauer understood the difficult choice that Richter made.
""[Richter] had a good pool of coaches to choose from,"" Sauer said. ""No matter who the person was that was selected, they were all good people, they are all people that I know.""
What may have separated Eaves from the rest of the other candidates was his diverse coaching background.
He has an extensive knowledge of hockey through his many coaching experiences, ranging from high school to the professional level. Along with stints as a head coach of St. Mary's High School in Shattuck, Minn., and the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League, Eaves had coaching stints at St. Cloud State and UW-Eau Claire.
Eaves has also had experience at the professional level as an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers.
Eaves played in the National Hockey League for eight seasons with the Minnesota North Stars and Calgary Flames after graduating from UW-Madison.
Despite Eaves' many experiences, Richter pointed to some qualities of Eaves, the player, that were not as tangible as experience.
""I think he is characterized by something I saw when he was nominated for the Masterson Trophy,"" Richter said. ""And that trophy is awarded to the person that is emblematic of sportsmanship, perseverance and dedication to the game of hockey.""
At Wisconsin, Eaves was a first-team all-American as a junior and senior, is the Badgers' career scoring leader with 267 points (94 goals, 173 assists) and guided Wisconsin to the 1977 National Collegiate Athletic Association Championship.
He was also named one of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's ""Top 50 Players in 50 Years"" as part of the league's celebration of its 50th anniversary.
Eaves has two sons, Ben, who completed his sophomore year as a hockey student-athlete at Boston College, and Patrick, who played for his father on the United States Under-18 Team and will attend Boston College on a hockey scholarship next fall.
