WIAC Hall Of Fame Spotlight: Deb Vercauteren, UW-Oshkosh
To commemorate 50 years of sponsoring women's championships during the 2020-21 academic year, the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference is highlighting female member of its Hall of Fame.
The WIAC Hall of Fame was established in 2012 to provide recognition of those individuals who have made a significant contribution to the conference and to help preserve the storied history of the WIAC and its member institutions. The WIAC Hall of Fame shall serve as a source of celebration, inspiration and nostalgia, as well as a means of introducing the future to the past. Inductions into the WIAC Hall of Fame have occurred every three years.
Today's spotlight features UW-Oshkosh's Deb Vercauteren, who was inducted into the WIAC Hall of Fame in 2012.
Vercauteren achieved unprecedented success as head coach of the UW‑Oshkosh women's cross country and track & field teams. She won a total of 18 NCAA Division III titles while coaching cross country from 1981-2010 and track & field from 1982-2009.
In cross country, Vercauteren led the Titans to four Division III championships (1987, 1988, 1991, 1996) and 15 WIAC titles. She was named National Cross Country Coach of the Year in 1995 and 1996.
Vercauteren coached UW-Oshkosh to eight Division III outdoor track & field titles (1990, 1991, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2004, 2006, 2007) and six Division III indoor track & field crowns (1994, 1995, 1996, 2004, 2005, 2006). Vercauteren, who was selected as the National Outdoor Coach of the Year in 2004 and the National Indoor Coach of the Year in 2006, led her track & field teams to a total of 21 WIAC titles.
Vercauteren's athletes combined for 58 individual national titles, along with 331 All-America finishes and 12 Academic All-America honors.
In 2005, the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association selected Vercauteren as its NCAA Division III Cross Country Silver Anniversary Coach. In 2007, Vercauteren was inducted into the organization's Hall of Fame. One year later, the association named the NCAA Division III Women's Program of the Year Award in her honor. The award is presented annually to the best women's cross country and track & field program in Division III.
In 2012, Vercauteren was selected as the WIAC All-Time Coach in both women's cross country and women's track & field in conjunction with the WIAC Centennial Celebration.
Vercauteren received a bachelor's degree from UW-Stevens Point and master's degree from the University of Wisconsin. The Ashwaubenon High School graduate lives in Omro with her husband, John Zupanc.