University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Athletics Hall of Fame members J.P. Fisher, a 1962 graduate, Nancy Nelson, 1970 and Ed Schwager, 1932, will be inducted into the 2015 class of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Hall of Fame this summer.
Thirty new members, including former coaches, student-athletes, administrators and supporters of the conference’s nine member schools and the league itself, will be part of the second induction class, which will be recognized at the WIAC Hall of Fame Banquet on Aug. 1 at UW-Platteville.
The WIAC established its Hall of Fame as part of the conference’s 100-year anniversary celebration, which took place during the 2012-13 academic year.
Fisher was a two-time All-American, three-time all-state and three-time all-conference selection as a member of the men’s basketball team from 1958-62. A four-year letter-winner and leading scorer, Fisher finished his career as the program’s all time leading scorer and is currently third in career scoring. He led the Warhawks to a conference championship in 1961-62, and was an All-American in baseball in 1962.
Fisher served as a teacher and coach at Elkhorn High School until his retirement, and is married with three children. An active volunteer in the community, Fischer has served as a public address spotter at football games for 50 years.
Nelson is widely regarded as one of the greatest female athletes in UW-Whitewater history. She earned 13 letters during her time as a Warhawk – four in women’s basketball, four in golf, two in volleyball, two in softball and one in women’s tennis. She was a three-time team most valuable player and two-year captain in leading the women’s basketball team to a 32-5 record over four seasons, and was named to the Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities list in 1970.
Following her UW-Whitewater career, Nelson was a No. 1 draft choice of the now-defunct International Women’s Professional SoftballAssociation in 1979 and was named the league’s MVP the same season as a member of the St. Louis Hummers. She continued to compete in softball and golf, was a Big Ten volleyball official and served as a volunteer for the Red Cross. She currently resides in Wauwatosa.
Schwager was a student-athlete, and eventually a coach and administrator, at UW-Whitewater. He was a three-year letter winner and three-time all-conference honoree for both the football and men’s basketball teams. Schwager also led the men’s basketball team in scoring three times and was a captain in 1929-30. As a coach, he claimed conference titles in football (1950), men’s basketball (1942-43) and baseball (1957, 1958). Schwager also served as head track and field coach for seven years during his tenure as director of intercollegiate athletics, a position he held from 1942-71.
Schwager served in the Navy in World War II from 1942-46 and was a member of the Whitewater American Legion and Lions club. He also served as chairman of the American Red Cross water safety committee. Schwager died in 1992.
