Allen, Briwa and Sims To Join WIAC Hall of Fame
Ken Allen, Helen Briwa and Ralph Sims – three legendary personalities in the history of the UW-Oshkosh athletics program – will be inducted into the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Hall of Fame July 23 at SentryWorld in Stevens Point.
The 27-member class for 2022 will join a prestigious conference Hall of Fame that includes 87 members.
In announcing the 2022 class, WIAC Commissioner Danielle Harris noted how difficult the selection process is given the 109-year history and incomparable success of the conference.
"The selection process is always challenging given the success of this conference over its history, Harris said. "It remains our intention to continue to induct future Hall of Fame classes every three years with the goal of recognizing those student-athletes, coaches, administrators, officials and others whose contributions and achievements have solidified the WIAC's status as the most accomplished Division III conference in NCAA history."
Ken Allen served as UW-Oshkosh’s head men’s gymnastics coach from 1969-82 and 84-92, leading the Titans to seven National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics championships (1973, 1974, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981 & 1982) and three National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II titles (1980, 1981 & 1982).
UW-Oshkosh also won a pair of Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles under Allen, who received NCAA Division II Coach of the Year honors three times (1980, 1981 & 1982) and NAIA Coach of the Year recognition on five occasions (1973, 1978, 1980, 1981 & 1982). He coached athletes to 42 NAIA, 23 NCAA Division II and 13 WIAC event titles.
Allen began his tenure at UW-Oshkosh by taking over a men's gymnastics program that was only in its fourth year of existence. In 1973, after nearly four years of laying the foundation, Allen's hard work began to show dividends as he led the Titans to WIAC and NAIA championships.
The NAIA title won by Allen's squad was the first national championship claimed by any UW-Oshkosh program. UW-Oshkosh repeated as both conference and national champion the following year and began to establish itself as one of the premier men's gymnastics programs in the country.
Allen was an assistant coach for the USA men’s gymnastics team at the 1977 World University Games and head coach for the East Team at the 1978 National Sports Festival. In 1983, Allen was an assistant coach for the Switzerland National Team. He was a men’s gymnastics judging assistant for the 1984 and 1996 Olympic Games as well as a men’s gymnastics judge for the 1985, 1991 and 1997 World Championships.
Allen received the United States Gymnastics Federation Distinguished Service Award in 1987 and was named the National Association of College Gymnastics Coaches Honor Coach of the Year in 1996.
Allen was inducted into the National Gymnastics Judges’ Hall of Fame in 1996, UW-Oshkosh Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999 and USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2008. In 2012, he was selected the WIAC Men’s Gymnastics All-Time Coach in conjunction with the conference’s Centennial Celebration.
Allen began his gymnastics career at Lincoln High School in Jersey City, N.J. After working for a few years and serving three years in the U.S. Army, Allen enrolled at Montclair State University (N.J.). He was a member of the school's gymnastics program and served three years as team captain. He was the squad's Most Valuable Gymnast his senior season.
Allen earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education and health from Montclair State University in 1966 and master’s degree in biomechanics from the University of Wisconsin in 1968. He then taught a few classes at Ripon College before landing a teaching and coaching position at UW-Oshkosh. Allen taught physical education classes at UW-Oshkosh through the 1999-2000 academic year and served as chair of the school's Physical Education & Health Promotion Department from 1997-2000. He was named the 1973 winner of the UW-Oshkosh Distinguished Teacher Award.
UW-Oshkosh hosted five national meets during Allen's tenure, including the 1975 NAIA and 1981 NCAA Division II championships.
Allen resides in Oshkosh with his wife, Missy. They are the parents of one son and one daughter.
Helen Briwa is the only person in UW-Oshkosh history to serve as the school's women’s director of athletics.
Briwa held the position from 1971-88 and during that time UW-Oshkosh's seven women's programs combined to win three national championships and 18 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles.
Briwa grew up when the concept of participating in women's collegiate athletics was simply a dream. In college, the Hudson, N.Y., native participated at the highest level of field hockey, lacrosse, basketball, softball and tennis offered to women. Those teams operated on a weekly sign-up, practice and competition basis. As a field hockey player, Briwa made the Mohawk Association First Team and Northeast Region Second Team. In lacrosse, Briwa's team qualified for regional and national tournaments.
Briwa brought her competitive drive and passion for women's athletics to UW-Oshkosh in 1968. Shortly after, UW-Oshkosh women were competing for collegiate glory on courts, in fields, in pools, and on tracks across Wisconsin as well as the country.
In 1970, Briwa was a member of a three-person committee that drafted the constitution for the then-called Wisconsin Women’s Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The conference was formed the following year and Briwa was named UW-Oshkosh's Women's Director of Athletics. Briwa was a member of the Search and Screen Committee that selected the WWIAC’s first commissioner. She served as the league's President in 1982 and Past President in 1983.
Briwa also assisted in the formation of the Midwest Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women and served as the organization’s commissioner from 1971-73.
Briwa was head coach of numerous sports at UW-Oshkosh, including women’s badminton (1974, 78-79), women’s field hockey (1968-92), softball (1971-72, 76), women’s track & field (1969, 74-77) and women’s volleyball (1968-73). She was named the WWIAC Field Hockey Coach of the Year in 1981.
Briwa retired as a professor in UW-Oshkosh's Physical Education Department in 1994. She received a Special Recognition Award from the WWIAC in 1989 and was inducted into the UW-Oshkosh Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006.
Briwa earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Skidmore College (N.Y.) in 1953, master’s degree in physical education from Smith College (Mass.) in 1956 and doctorate degree in physical education and guidance from The Ohio State University in 1966.
Briwa resides in Oshkosh, where she continues to serve as a member of the UW-Oshkosh Athletics Hall of Fame Committee, Badger Dachshund Club and Dachshund Club of America.
Ralph Sims was a member of the UW-Oshkosh men’s basketball team from 1975-78. He collected National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics All-America First Team honors in 1978 after receiving Third Team recognition in 1977.
Sims was a three-time All-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference First Team member and chosen as the league’s Player of the Year in both 1977 and 1978. Sims was also named to the National Collegiate Athletic Association Pizza Hut All-Star Game Ballot and College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-America Second Team in 1978.
Sims finished his career with a school-record 2,303 points – the third-highest total in WIAC history. He ranks first in the conference with 963 career field goals made, third with 1,784 career field goals attempted and fifth with a 22.3 career scoring average.
Sims established several school records as a Titan, including a mark of 29 straight games with 20-plus points from February 21, 1975 to December 2, 1977.
Sims led the WIAC in scoring with an average of 28.0 points per game in 1977. The following year he helped UW-Oshkosh to an 18-10 record and the WIAC championship by averaging 20.8 points per contest. Sims scored 37 points against UW-La Crosse on February 18, 1978 to clinch the outright WIAC title for the Titans. His single-game scoring best was a 44-point performance against Northland College in the first of the NAIA District 14 Tournament on March 6, 1978. Sims currently ranks ninth in UW-Oshkosh history with 717 career rebounds.
Sims attended Waukegan (Ill.) East High School and enjoyed a basketball career that helped set the tone for what was to follow at UW-Oshkosh. During his senior season at Waukegan East Sims led the conference in scoring and received All-State third team honors.
Sims earned a bachelor’s degree in radio-tv-film and master’s degree in counselor education from UW-Oshkosh in 1978 and 1980, respectively. Sims followed his playing career with coaching positions at Oshkosh North High School (head boys freshman basketball coach) and Allendale School in Illinois (assistant boys varsity basketball coach).
Sims was inducted into the UW-Oshkosh Athletics Hall of Fame in 1990 and the NAIA District 14 Hall of Fame in 1994. In 2012, he was selected to the WIAC Men’s Basketball All-Time Team in conjunction with the conference’s Centennial Celebration.
Sims passed away on April 14, 1995. He was surived by his wife, Tina, and daughter, Brook.
Information on purchasing tickets for the 2022 WIAC Hall of Fame Banquet will be provided later.
2022 WIAC Hall of Fame Class
UW-Eau Claire: Alex Hicks, Mike Ratliff, Kristi (Griggs) Walston
UW-La Crosse: Pat Healy, Patti (Franckowiak) Krautscheid, Martha Stephens
UW-Oshkosh: Ken Allen, Helen Briwa, Ralph Sims
UW-Platteville: Merrill Brunson, Paul Conlin, Deb Schulman
UW-River Falls: Jill Crandall, Gary "Stump" Eloranta, Rich Melzer
UW-Stevens Point: Dick Bennett, Jack Bennett, Jordan Zimmermann
UW-Stout: Dale Evans, Kelsey (Duoss) Steinhagen, Mark Thomas
UW-Whitewater: Dianne Jones, Andre McCoy, Kris Russell
WIAC Office: Becky Blank, Tom Fiedler, Gary Karner
UW-Oshkosh's Previous WIAC Hall of Fame Inductees
2012: Casey Edwards, Deb Vercauteren, Jarrod Washburn
2015: Jim Gantner, Melissa Mueller, Russ Tiedemann
2018: Terry Jorgensen, Tim Jorgensen, Mary (Leivian) Taylor