UWEC Athletics Hall of Fame
Steve Blodgett earned NAIA First Team All-American honors and was a prolific scorer on Wally Akervik’s 1984 national championship hockey team. The 1981 Wisconsin state prep Player of the Year and Eau Claire North’s all-time leading scorer until 2017, Blodgett still ranks high on many Blugold career offensive categories. He was a four-year letterman between 1981 and 1985, playing in 111 games with 133 points scored on 67 goals and 66 assists. He was a freshman on the first Blugold team to qualify for nationals in 1982. Then as a junior, he earned All-Tournament honors as the Blugolds beat Roger Williams College, 10-5, and Michigan-Dearborn, 6-1, for the national title. He was an alternate captain his senior season while earning WSUC and NCHA First Team recognition. The NCHA was considered a power conference at that time with the likes of current Division I teams Bemidji State, St. Cloud State and Mankato State as members.
Blodgett graduated from UWEC with a Business Administration-Marketing degree in 1986. He spent five years with Target Corporation in Fargo, North Dakota (1986-91), five years with Famous Footwear in Madison (1991-96) and five years with Pleasant Company/American Girl in Eau Claire (1996-2001) in management positions before joining the Department of Workforce Development for the state of Wisconsin. At the time of his induction, he had been the District Director in Eau Claire since 2001. Three times between 2011-18, the Eau Claire office was awarded the State of Wisconsin Employment Office of the Year for Service to Veterans by The American Legion. In 2017, the office was awarded the National Employment Award for Outstanding Employment Service Office of the Year presented by The American Legion. Blodgett was a volunteer hockey coach at various levels from 1995 to 2015 including mini-mites, mites, squirts, pee wees, bantams and midget. He coached clinics, house teams and travel teams at all levels. He served as a Blugold assistant to Ian Perrin one year and also has been an assistant at North High School. He has also been a volunteer coach at various levels of soccer and baseball. He served as a member of the Projects with Industry Business Advisory Council through the UW-Stout Vocational Rehabilitation Institute. At the time of his induction, he served and had been a member of the West Central Workforce Development Board for 17 years.
