UWEC Athletics Hall of Fame
Jeff Lund, a 6-2 sharpshooting guard, hit 49 percent of his field goals in the days before the 3-point line as a three-year starter, scoring 922 points with 373 assists, while playing from 1974-78. The runner-up as Wisconsin’s prep basketball Player of the Year in 1974 and a second-team All-State quarterback in football at Antigo, Lund started on three Blugold teams that won two conference championships and produced an overall record of 67-16. Those talented Ken Anderson teams were roadblocked from advancing to the NAIA tournament in Kansas City by the powerhouse UW-Parkside teams that made four straight appearances in the national tournament from 1975-78.
Lund was part of a freshman recruiting class that also included Guy Rossato, Charlie Novak and Tom Ebbers. He played alongside Hall of Famers Ken Kaiser, Tim Valentyn, Dennis Blunk and Gib Hinz for at least two seasons. A consistent performer, Lund dished out over 100 assists and shot 49 or 50 percent from the field in each of his three years as a starter. He averaged 10.6, 11.9 and 10.6 points per game in each of those seasons as well. He still shares a conference and school record for single game field goal percentage, hitting all 11 of his attempts from the field in a game against UW-Superior in 1976. His senior season assist average of 5.1 and his career assist average of 4.1 per game are among the best in school history. During Lund’s career as a starter, the Blugolds were 38-10 in conference play and 29-6 in non-conference play against a predominance of teams that are currently NCAA Division I or II programs such as Armstrong State, Valparaiso, UW-Green Bay, St. Cloud State, Mankato State, Southwest Texas, South Carolina State, Northern Michigan, North Dakota State and Augustana, South Dakota among others. His Blugold awards include being named to the All-Conference team twice, four All-Tournament selections, team captain as a senior and JV MVP his freshman season. He also received honorable mention in the balloting for Academic All-American.
Since 1983, the 1978 UWEC business management major, has been an agent/owner of McCormick Klessig & Associates, an independent insurance agency in Antigo. He has maintained his association with the sport in which he excelled at UWEC, serving the Antigo basketball program as an assistant varsity, JV, freshmen and middle school coach. The Antigo Basketball Patronage Award is named after him and he was an inaugural member of the Antigo Sports Hall of Fame. He started the Antigo Basketball Youth Program and has been a volunteer youth basketball and football coach. His professional expertise was utilized as a former member of the Mutual of Wausau Insurance Advisory Board. His community involvement has included the Elks Club, Optimist Club and Chamber of Commerce board.
