UWEC Athletics Hall of Fame
When Ken Anderson retired in 1995 after 27 years as the Blugold head men’s basketball coach, he ranked as one of the winningest basketball coaches at any senior college in the country. His presence on the Blugold sideline forced coaches throughout the Wisconsin State University Conference to step up their programs to compete with him and thus establish the conference as the premier conference at its level in the nation.
A UWEC alum, Anderson returned to his alma mater in 1968 after 12 years as a successful coach in the Wisconsin prep ranks at Auburndale, Plymouth, Superior and Wausau. He immediately established the Blugolds as a winner and the school enjoyed 27 consecutive winning seasons under his tutelage. Anderson compiled a 631-152 career record, an .805 winning percentage, at UWEC. He took the Blugolds to 14 conference and 14 NAIA District 14 championships and made 15 trips to the NAIA Nationals in Kansas City. There, his teams were national runner-up in the 32-team tournament in both 1972 and 1990. Twenty-one times during his tenure, the Blugolds won 20 or more games and twice, they won 30 games. His post-season record was an amazing 69-23 (41-7 in district playoffs and 28-16 in the NAIA national tournament).
He was recognized as the NAIA National Coach of the Year three times (1972, 1980 and 1981) and was inducted into the NAIA Basketball Hall of Fame, the District 14 Hall of Fame and the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. On the national level, Anderson brought renown to the institution when he coached the United States team to the gold medal at the 1979 World University Games in Mexico City. He also coached in the 1978 National Sports Festival in Colorado Springs and was a member of the ABA-USA Games Committee which selects players for international competition such as the Pan-American Games and the Olympics.
Anderson was responsible for the establishment of two tournaments—the Blugold Tip-Off and the Eau Claire Holiday Classic-that were held on campus each year. The Holiday Classic became nationally-regarded because of the high caliber teams that were brought together in one tournament from all parts of the country. Anderson was also able to use the university setting to develop thousands of high school basketball players through his Badger Basketball Camp.
