Spoo Inducted Into UW-Oshkosh Hall Of Fame

The UW-Oshkosh Hall of Fame increased its roster to 163 members with Sunday's (May 1) inductions of Dave Luedtke ('86), Pat McDonald ('90), Christina Southward ('03), Holly Spoo ('99) and Richard Toby Bares. The induction ceremony was held in UW-Oshkosh's Reeve Memorial Union.

The UW-Oshkosh Hall of Fame was established in 1974 to give tribute and deserved recognition to former athletes, coaches and friends of the university.  It is also intended to enhance school tradition by honoring those people who have shown exceptional ability while on the UW-Oshkosh campus and since graduation.

Holly Spoo may have played only three seasons at UW-Oshkosh, but in two of those years the Titans booked a 16-0 WIAC record. During Spoo's first season in 1996, she was part of the 31-0 squad that captured the NCAA Division III Championship. To sum it all up, Spoo's basketball career was just about perfect.

UW-River Falls was lucky enough to have Spoo during her freshman season, when she scored 20 points per game and made the All-WIAC First Team. Spoo then took her talents to UW-Oshkosh and won 80 games over the next three seasons. That 1996 campaign concluded with a 66-50 victory over Mount Union College (Ohio) for the national title inside Kolf Sports Center.

Spoo started all 27 games in 1997, recording averages of 13 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. She also knocked down 35 three-pointers, dished out 78 assists and grabbed 43 steals to make the all-league squad. UW-Oshkosh continued its impressive winning streak by opening the season 10-0. During a victory over UW-Superior, Spoo tallied a career-high 29 points. UW-Oshkosh finished 23-4 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament.

In her senior campaign, Spoo became just the second Titan to win WIAC Player of the Year. She was also named a First-Team All-American, one of five UW-Oshkosh players to earn the distinction. Spoo topped the nation with 89 percent free throw shooting, while racking up 408 points and a career-best 93 assists. She also established the school record by sinking 37 consecutive foul shots. Though the Titans lost their first and last games of 1998, they captured all 26 in between.

Spoo's UW-Oshkosh career included 1,063 points, helping her rank as the 14th-leading scorer in WIAC history (1,582). With the Titans, she posted 235 rebounds, 231 assists, 127 steals and 94 three-point baskets.

One year after graduating, Spoo became an assistant women's basketball coach at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. She spent six years there while earning her master's degree in exercise science. Spoo later served as an assistant coach at Wayne State College (2005) and UW-Milwaukee (2006).

Helping high school players reach their potential, Spoo is currently the director of Recruit Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Impact Basketball Club. The New Richmond High School graduate lives in Burlington.