Jim Purtill Inducted into Hall of Fame
Greg Stanley
Issue date: 5/6/09 Section: Sports
In his first year of eligibility, Jim Purtill has been inducted into the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Purtill is the nineteenth college coach to enter the WFCA Hall of Fame and the fourth from the Midwest Conference.
"Any time you get recognition it's a great compliment to the program," Purtill said. "It's the success of the program that gets you those things."
The football program has been nothing but successful since Purtill took over 10 years ago. The program has an overall record of 91-16 under Purtill and has lost only five conference games. The team has won eight conference championships in 10 years and has appeared in the NCAA playoffs seven times.
"There are three phases to any successful program: good coaches, good players and good team morale. And in order for those things to happen, you have to have an institution that's attractive for both coaches and potential student athletes."
As for what his induction will mean to the future of the program, Purtill believes recruits "won't give one hoot."
"It's not something kids care about, and it's not something we're going to advertise," he said. "We'll spend five to six hours with recruits and never once do we talk about coach Purtill. We talk about the quality of the school and hopes for the future of the program. [The induction] is a nice little pat on the back and it's nice to be recognized. Really it's a compliment to the 400-500 people in the operation, between coaches and coaches' wives, the players, the trainers and the institutional support from the president to admissions and financial aid, and housing to the cafeteria."
Purtill is the nineteenth college coach to enter the WFCA Hall of Fame and the fourth from the Midwest Conference.
"Any time you get recognition it's a great compliment to the program," Purtill said. "It's the success of the program that gets you those things."
The football program has been nothing but successful since Purtill took over 10 years ago. The program has an overall record of 91-16 under Purtill and has lost only five conference games. The team has won eight conference championships in 10 years and has appeared in the NCAA playoffs seven times.
"There are three phases to any successful program: good coaches, good players and good team morale. And in order for those things to happen, you have to have an institution that's attractive for both coaches and potential student athletes."
As for what his induction will mean to the future of the program, Purtill believes recruits "won't give one hoot."
"It's not something kids care about, and it's not something we're going to advertise," he said. "We'll spend five to six hours with recruits and never once do we talk about coach Purtill. We talk about the quality of the school and hopes for the future of the program. [The induction] is a nice little pat on the back and it's nice to be recognized. Really it's a compliment to the 400-500 people in the operation, between coaches and coaches' wives, the players, the trainers and the institutional support from the president to admissions and financial aid, and housing to the cafeteria."
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