Titans' Legendary Basketball Coach Retires

Ted Van Dellen, who owns the fifth-most coaching victories in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) history, announced Thursday (March 29) his retirement as the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh head men's basketball coach.

Van Dellen guided the Titans to 358 wins and five National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) postseason appearances. The only WIAC coaches to compile more victories are UW-Eau Claire's Ken Anderson (631), UW-Whitewater's Dave Vander Meulen (440), UW-Eau Claire's Bill Zorn (397) and UW-Stout's Dwain Mintz (385). Robert Kolf lists second in UW-Oshkosh history with 243 wins.

"I truly have been blessed to be given the opportunity to work with so many quality young men during my 22 years at UW-Oshkosh," Van Dellen said. "It's every coach's hope that they in some way touch the lives of their players, but the really unique aspect of coaching is how these young men have touched my life."

Van Dellen's career winning percentage of .614 (358-225 record) includes 17 winning seasons in 22 years. He also coached the only three NCAA Division III All-Americans in school history with Tim Dworak (2002-03), D.J. Marsh (2009) and Dennis Ruedinger (1996).

"Coach Van Dellen has made a lasting impact on me as a player, coach and human being," said Ruedinger. "He taught me that striving for excellence and working hard to attain your goals isn't only applicable on the basketball court. These qualities should become a standard for how you achieve success in life.  I'm grateful for the opportunity I had to play for such an outstanding coach during my career at UW-Oshkosh."

From 1996-2009, Van Dellen led the Titans to a 267-114 record (.701 winning percentage) and 14 straight winning seasons. UW-Oshkosh captured the 2002 WIAC championship and qualified for the NCAA Division III Tournament in 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2003. The Titans placed second in the league standings in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2007.

"I congratulate Ted on an outstanding coaching career that has spanned three decades," said UW-Oshkosh Director of Athletics Darryl Sims. "Ted has been a coach and mentor to countless student-athletes while leading our men's basketball program to a level of success that we are all very proud of."

Van Dellen lifted UW-Oshkosh into national prominence with a combined 81-25 record from 1996-99. The Titans made their first-ever NCAA Division III postseason appearance with a 23-4 record in 1996, as Van Dellen was named WIAC Coach of the Year and College Sports magazine's NCAA Division III Coach of the Year. UW-Oshkosh also reached the national tournament the next two seasons, advancing to the second round in 1998.

Following an 18-9 campaign in 2001, the Titans compiled records of 24-6 in 2002 and 25-7 in 2003. UW-Oshkosh's WIAC basketball title in 2002 its first since 1978. The Titans advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in 2002 and the Elite Eight in 2003 for the best NCAA tournament runs in UW-Oshkosh history.

Van Dellen's postseason success includes WIAC Tournament championships in both 2002 and 2003. He finished with a 7-5 NCAA Division III postseason record. In 2003, Van Dellen led UW-Oshkosh to the Elite Eight with wins over the Milwaukee School of Engineering, Hope College (Mich.) and Randolph-Macon College (Va.).

UW-Oshkosh totaled at least 16 victories each year from 2005-09. Van Dellen's squad finished second in the 2007 WIAC standings with a 12-4 record and third in 2005 with an 11-5 mark. The Titans also placed fourth in the league in 2006, 2008 and 2009.

"Words cannot fully describe the total impact of Ted's loyal service to UW-Oshkosh," Sims said. "His competitive nature and excellence in the profession rank him among the finest coaches in WIAC history. He will always be remembered as a great representative of our men's basketball program, our athletics department and our university."

In the NCAA Division III, Van Dellen's teams won six statistical titles. His squad led the nation in field goal percentage in 2002 (52.3 percent) and 2003 (53.1). The 2003 Titans also ranked first in three-point shooting at 43 percent. UW-Oshkosh owned the best free-throw rate three times (1998, 2010, 2012), including the second-best accuracy (81.8) in NCAA Division III history this past season.

Van Dellen coached 16 players to a total of 25 All-WIAC selections. Both Dworak (2002-03) and Marsh (2009) were named the league's Player of the Year. He tutored six NCAA Division III All-West Region performers, including three-time selection Brad Clark (1998-2000). Joe Imhoff (1998) and Greg Schrimpf (2012) also collected the WIAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award under Van Dellen.

"I have an enormous amount of pride in what we accomplished during my coaching tenure at UW-Oshkosh, but I sincerely believe that now is the time to walk away," Van Dellen said.  "I want to thank all the loyal supporters, as well as my coaching staff. Without them the success we experienced would not have been possible," Van Dellen said.

Before becoming UW-Oshkosh's 12th head coach, Van Dellen was an assistant men's basketball coach with the Titans from 1985-90. He played four years of basketball at UW-Oshkosh and was the starting center on Titans' 1978 WIAC championship team. Van Dellen, a Berlin native, received both his bachelor's (1978) and master's (1985) degrees from UW-Oshkosh.

Van Dellen's retirement goes into effect on July 10. A national search for his successor will be conducted, with the expectation of having a new head coach announced by July 1.