UWEC Athletics Hall of Fame
Darrell Souhrada is the school’s all-time leading rusher in football with 4,373 yards, helping the Blugolds to conference championships in 1998 and 2001 when he was the conference Player of the Year. At 5-foot-9, 195 pounds, Souhrada is not one of the biggest backs to don a Blugold uniform but the Riceville, Iowa native rates as the most productive. He finished with the most yards rushing and most rushing touchdowns in school history. He was a very consistent performer with great power and breakaway speed. As evidence of those athletic traits, Souhrada qualified for the Iowa state track meet in the 100-meter dash and shot put in 1997 and was All-State as a running back and linebacker at Riceville High. He came within 60 yards of having four 1,000-yard seasons at Eau Claire, getting 977 as a freshman and 969 as a sophomore. He then set a school single season mark with 1,588 yards as a junior. He closed out with 1,038 yards as a senior despite missing the first three games of the season with an injury. While setting the school standard with 53 career TDs, he only once scored three touchdowns in a game. Only three times did he produce 190 or more yards in a single game. That said, he set a school record with 51 carries against Platteville in the 2000 season while gaining 303 yards, the second most in school history. Attesting to his breakaway ability, Souhrada owns the longest run from scrimmage in school history, a 94-yard jaunt against Stout, and five of the top eight longest runs.
He was a freshman on the 1998 Blugold team that was quarterbacked by Sean Hoolihan and advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA playoffs. Counting all playoff games that year, Souhrada lost the team rushing title to B. J. Jones, 979 to 977. Both the 1998 and 2001 Blugold teams tied for first in the conference race, the first with Bob Nielson as head coach and the second with Todd Hoffner at the helm. The 1998 team set a school record for wins in a season with 10 and the Blugolds were 26-17 overall and 16-12 in conference play during Souhrada’s career. Souhrada was a three-time First Team All-Conference pick and the conference co-Player of the Year in 2001. He was also named to the WIAC’s All-Centennial football team in 2012. He earned AFCA All-Region First Team honors in 2000 and 2001 after getting Third Team recognition in 1999. A two-year team captain and three-year team offensive MVP, Souhrada was named to the USA Football All-American Second Team in 2000.
Souhrada, a two-time Blugold Super Six Award winner, graduated in 2002 with a degree in management information systems. At the time of his induction, he was self-employed as a commercial real estate broker and real estate property investor in Bettendorf, Iowa. He had been involved in the real estate field and building the family real estate business since 2003.
