Dettwiler resigns as UW-L football coach

Eagles were 16-34 under Dettwiler

Joel Dettwiler has announced his resignation from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse football team.

The Eagles were 3-7, 2-5 in the WIAC last season, wrapping up a five-year 16-34, 12-23 career for Detwiler. Dettwiler, hired in February of 2011, was UW-L’s 12th head football coach.

“There are countless aspects to running a collegiate football team and they are widely varied,” said Kim Blum, who was hired as athletic director in March of 2015, in a statement. “Coach Dettwiler’s work ethic in managing these is second to none. He has brought a strong commitment to academics and teaches the value of giving back to the community to our student-athletes.

“We will launch the search for our next head football coach as soon as possible.”

Along with being head coach, Dettwiler, an Oregon, Wis., native, was also the Eagles’ defensive coordinator the last five seasons. Before that, he was an assistant coach at Wartburg College (Iowa) from 2004-10.

Under Dettwiler, UW-L had 40 all-WIAC selections, including eight first-team choices.

A 1997 graduate of the UW-Platteville, Dettwiler served as an assistant coach and director of football operations for the Pioneers (2002-04), coaching the defensive backs and linemen.

At UW-Platteville, Dettwiler was a defensive back and named team captain in 1995. 

Dettwiler earned his undergraduate degree in civil engineering at UW-Platteville and his Master’s degrees at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1999 (civil engineering) and at UW-Platteville (education) in 2002.