If this article was only a list of the accolades, records and championships that the UW-Whitewater Hall of Fame 2024 class is responsible for, this article would be longer than it actually is. The 2024 Warhawk Hall of Fame class is made up of a dozen of some of the most memorable people to represent the purple and white.
Whether their induction into the hall of fame was a long time coming or about as quickly as possible, it’s clear that every Warhawk in this class was struck by the great honor.
At the banquet dinner, when the inductees were officially enshrined into the hall of fame, Ricky Spicer showed the emotion behind this honor more than any other. Spicer was a guard on the men’s basketball team from 1987-90. He was the first Warhawk men’s basketball player to earn First Team All-American honors and guided the team to its second national title. The current record holder for career assists and steals, Spicer was struck with emotion at the banquet.
“I’m very sensitive with this,” Spicer said. “I’d like to recognize my coaches… Coach Vander Meulen, what an amazing man, a husband, coach. When I had a tryout with the Bucks he was at every practice. When my father passed away he was there. When my brother passed away he was there. He was there for me every step of the way. Gave me another opportunity to be up here. I’d like to thank him for that.”
All of the inductees had their fair share of thanks to give: coaches, teammates and their families. These Warhawks made it clear that their success was not just because of their individual efforts. There is also a humbleness that was clear throughout.
“I definitely feel like a girl among gods and goddesses,” softball legend Suzanne Gersich Huss said. “I very much do not feel like I deserve a spot at the table amongst the other inductees so congratulations to you as well.”
Huss was part of the Warhawk softball team from 2006-09. She still sits atop the UW-W recordbook for RBIs (170) and home runs (37).
“I didn’t really like to run the bases very much so I just wanted to hit them over so I wouldn’t have to run them,” Huss said.
She is joined by her fellow outfielder in this hall of fame class, Amy Gahl-Sweeney. Both members of the ‘09 class, this tandem was electric around the diamond. Gahl-Sweeney still stands in the top 10 of eight major categories.
“[I want to thank] my mom, who would talk about playing sports with the neighborhood boys as a kid, that taught me that it was OK to be a strong female athlete,” Gahl-Sweeney said.
She, like all others, thanked her teammates for helping her get here. But she had to give a special thanks to Huss.
“I would not be up here without you either. Suz currently holds the record for RBIs and I hold the record for runs scored, so I literally would not be standing here if she didn’t hit me in constantly,” Guhl-Sweeney laughed. “So thank you for making this happen for me.”
They weren’t the only set of teammates being honored. Jace Rindahl, current football head coach, was inducted into the hall of fame along with his teammate, kicker Jeff Schebler. Rindahl and Schebler are part of an elite group of football players from Whitewater to have been named All-Americans by three different organizations.
The possibly the most notable inductee is 1990 graduate Bob Wickman. He was a pitcher for the Warhawks and was drafted by the Chicago White Sox, kickstarting his 15 year MLB career. He is the only player in UW-W baseball program history to have his number retired.
“I think a person who does need a lot of recognition is [coach Jim Miller’s] wife Carrol. Carrol has done so much else for the program behind the scenes,” Wickman said. “First of all with myself, three weeks before school was supposed to start I finally committed to come to Whitewater and somehow I got my classes, somehow I got a place to stay. I know if it wasn’t for her, I don’t think I’d have been figured out where I was going to stay, where I was going to go.”
Wickman followed his brother Bill to play at Whitewater because “I never wanted to play against him.” Rightfully so, given that Bill is also in the Warhawk Hall of Fame.
The lone coach in the class is 22-year men’s basketball head coach Pat Miller. Miller retired after the 2022-23 season as one of the winningest coaches in Division III history, with his winning percentage of 72.2 percent. He is the fastest coach in WIAC history to win 100 games. Miller led his team to two national championships and one other Final Four. To him, it’s the bigger picture of those titles that stands out.
“The other thing that I love being a part of is the Trifecta in 2014,” Miller said. “It demonstrated the strength of what this program can be when there’s synergy and everybody’s onboard and we’re all doing the right things. We won the national championship in football, basketball, baseball and even though it’s trifecta gymnastics won the national championship as well. It just showed the potential and the power of the program.”
The newly inducted hall of famers are an incredible addition to an already special group. These inductees are now enshrined in the main hall of the Williams Center:
Amy Gahl-Sweeney (softball), Beth Proeber (track and field), Bob Stone (basketball), Bob Wickman (baseball), Cassie Uttech Schroder (volleyball), Jace Rindahl (football), Jeff Schebler (football), Pat Miller (coach, basketball), Ricky Spicer (basketball), Suzanne Gersich Huss (softball), Tiffany Morton (basketball), Ray Jacobsen (Warhawk supporter).
