A UW Oshkosh—Fond du Lac campus tradition swung into its third year, raising an estimated $4,000 to $5,000 towards UWO-FDL athletics on Friday, Sept. 6, according to UWO-FDL Athletic Director Jeremiah Hoffmann.

The Falcon Classic Golf Outing also inducted two ex-Faclon athletes, Bernie Jones and Scott Wittchow, into the UWO-FDL Athletic Hall of Fame.

The event was co-sponsored by the UW-Fond du Lac Foundation and the Fond du Lac Campus athletics program.

Hoffmann said proceeds from the event went to an athletics “wish list,” which includes outdoor soccer nets, removable barrier mats, an updated sound system in the gym, trophy cases/wall of fame, golf team bags, indoor soccer goals and player uniforms.

“Some of the proceeds will go to these wish list items while some will also help us run our athletic department,” Hoffmann said. “With shrinking budgets on our campuses, fundraising has become very important.”

The outing started at noon. Golf cart, driving-range and hall of fame banquet were all included in the player and team fees.

Hoffmann was pleased with attendance at the outing as 44 golfers came out to support UWO-FDL athletics, including Chancellor Andrew Leavitt.

“​It was great to see the support,” he said. “Last year we only had 28 golfers, so having 44 this year was fantastic. We also greatly appreciated the chancellor coming to town and spending the day with some of our alumni and supporters.”

Hoffmann estimates that about 60 supporters attended the hall of fame induction dinner at South Hills Golf and Country Club in Fond du Lac to recognize Jones and Wittchow.

Jones moved to Fond du Lac from Springfield, Illinois in 1973 and enrolled at UWO-FDL in 1984 as a non-traditional student.

At UWO-FDL Jones played both basketball and golf, competing with athletes that were 20 years younger than him.
Jones continued his studies and golf carrier at UWO, where he graduated with a business degree.

He later returned to UWO-FDL as a business manager and golf coach, before passing in 1990.

Wittchow attended UWO-FDL from 1969 through 1971 where he played basketball for coach Dick Knar.

During his two-year basketball career at UWO-FDL, Wittchow averaged 12.5 points and 12.8 rebounds.

In his sophomore year, Wittchow averaged nearly 17 points and 13 rebounds per game and lead UWO-FDL basketball to a North Division Championship.

Hoffmann said the UWO-FDL Athletic Hall of Fame was started in 2010, with one induction: Knar.

“There have been no inductions since then,” he said. “This was the first time we had the HOF with the golf outing.”
Overall, Hoffmann believes it was a successful event, describing it as an “overall fantastic day.”

“We saw growth from 2018 and we are very excited to have added the hall of fame component to the event,” he said.