Students on campus spend plenty of time debating the merits of players in all sports, but sometimes the men and women that call the shots from the bench get overlooked. Here are four coaches to know for next year.
Mike Eaves—Men's Hockey
Coming off a season which saw the Badgers finish national runners up, Coach Mike Eaves will look to continue the success he has found at the helm of the Men's Hockey program entering his eighth year behind the bench.
During the first seven seasons under Eaves the Badgers have finished in the top three of the WCHA five times, and made two Frozen Four appearances. The high point of Eaves' tenure was the 2005-'06 campaign in which he led the Badgers to their sixth national championship with a 2-1 win over Boston College.
Eaves was also a very accomplished player during his career as a Badger. Recruited by legendary hockey coach ""Badger"" Bob Johnson, Eaves played from 1974-'78 in Madison and remains Wisconsin's all time career scoring leader with 267 points (94 goals, 173 assists). Eaves also won a national title as a player, and was twice named an All-American.
After an eight-year career in the NHL with the Minnesota North Stars and Calgary Flames, Eaves bounced around the coach ranks before returning to his alma mater as the third Wisconsin hockey coach of the modern era before the 2002-'03 season.
Chandelle Schulte—Softball
Chandelle Schulte is entering her sixth season as the head coach of the UW softball team. She surpassed the 300-win mark as a collegiate coach and is only the second head coach in the history of the Wisconsin softball program.
Next season, Schulte will look to build on the teams strong finish from last year. While the program has struggled in recent years they now have a nucleus of young players that they will look to build on.
Before arriving at Wisconsin Schulte was the head coach at College of Charleston for four years. During her time there she led the Cougars to two regular season conference titles, a conference tournament appearance and an NCAA regional appearance. She was also at the helm for the team's school and conference record 53 wins in 2005.
Before coaching at College of Charleston, Schulte coached at Charleston Southern University from 1999-2001 where she won the Big South Coach of the Year. Before that she was an assistant at Florida State from 1996-'99. She began her coach career at Concordia University in Ann Arbor, Mich. There she was named WHAC Coach of the Year and guided the team to a runner-up finish at the NCAA World Series.
Editor's Note: Since this article's publication, the Athletic Department has announced it will not be renewing Schulte's contract for next year.
John Trask—Men's Soccer
John Trask was tabbed to be the sixth coach in the history of the Wisconsin men's soccer program on Jan. 20. Trask has been coaching at the highest levels of national and international soccer for nearly 20 years, and comes to Wisconsin after spending the past five seasons as the head coach of the University of Illinois-Chicago.
Trask is regarded to be one of the best coaches in the game of soccer and has spent 14 years at the collegiate ranks, and even has five seasons of Major League Soccer coaching experience. During his time at UIC he developed the program into a conference powerhouse, winning three Horizon League titles and qualifying for the NCAA tournament three straight seasons from 2006 to 2008. Trask was awarded Horizon League Coach of the Year in both of those years.
A native of Milwaukee, Trask, who was a four year letter winner at Indiana, spent five seasons as an assistant in the MLS with the Miami Fusion from 2000-'01, D.C. United from 2002-'03 and FC Dallas for the 2004 season before his tenure at UIC.
Lisa Stone—Women's Basketball
Lisa Stone is entering her eighth season at the helm of the Wisconsin women's basketball team, after guiding the Badgers to a berth in the NCAA tournament this past March. That was the team's first berth in the tournament since 2002, and only the seventh appearance in school history. For that season, her peers named Stone Big Ten Coach of the Year.
Stone has led the Badgers to four straight winning seasons, which includes two 20-win seasons. She ranks in the top 30 of active Division I coaches in winning percentage with a .687 mark and a 25-year coaching record of 487-222.
Prior to her arrival in Madison, Stone was the head coach at Drake University. Before that she built the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Blugolds into a D-III powerhouse. In her 12 seasons at Eau-Claire she led the Blugolds to 11 20-win seasons and 11 appearances in the Div. III NCAA tournament, including the national title game in 1997.
