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University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire

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UWEC Athletics Hall of Fame

Andrea (Bussler) Thompson

  • Class
    1991
  • Induction
    2004
  • Sport(s)
    Softball
Andrea Bussler was a four-year starter at catcher for Blugold coaches Bonni Kinne, Deb Allyn and Bruce Finke from 1988-91, leading the Blugolds to their first conference championship in 1991. At the time of her induction, Bussler ranked third on the school's all-time RBI list with 110. She was a three-time team MVP, three-time All-Conference pick and a Second Team All-American in 1991.

Bussler played on Blugold teams that were 96-64 overall including a then school-record 28-12 mark in 1991. She batted .320 for her career with a .369 on base percentage and .400 slugging percentage. She struck out only 15 times in more than 500 career at bats and never committed an error as a backstop during her senior season. Following her graduation from UWEC in December, 1991, the Brownton, Minnesota native earned a Masters of Arts Degree in Communication, Business and Sports Studies from Oregon State. In 1995, she accepted a position as the Coordinator for Intramural Sports at the University of Maryland.  She worked herself up to Associate Director for Facilities, overseeing the construction of the $45 million Campus Recreation Center. At the time of her induction, she had supervision responsibilities for 22 acres of outdoor recreation space and over 400,000 square feet of indoor facilities, including the addition of the historic 12,000 seat Cole Fieldhouse on the Maryland campus.  At the time of her induction, she and her husband Byron were parents of two children.  
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