On Friday Feb. 6, at 12 p.m. Eagles fans young and old adorned Pine Street outside of Hetzel Fieldhouse to cheer on the teams featured in the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse inaugural championship parade. The parade brought the community together in celebration of the recent UWL athletics post-season accomplishments.
Leading the charge was the UWL football team who advanced to the third round of the NCAA Div. III playoffs after a 7-2 regular season. Following was the Eagles women’s soccer team boasting a 19-3-1 regular season, advancing to the second round of the NCAA Div. III Championship.
Finally, the UWL men and women’s cross country teams rounded out the squads. The women’s team placed 12th in the NCAA Div. III championships. The men’s cross-country team brandished their second straight NCAA. Div. III championship, their first back-to-back title win in the program’s history and fifth win overall.
Apart from throwing candy, the parade provided the opportunity to cherish the culture that UWL athletics creates.
“It’s awesome to see how many La Crosse sports teams have so much success, it’s infectious when so many teams are doing so well…I feel like everyone’s so nice at these events where we can all just get together,” commented fourth year cross country runner Will Aurit.
Establishing this successful norm does not come easy, especially since the men’s cross country team faced newfound pressures on their quest for back-to-back titles. Despite the added expectations, the team was able to use their momentum to live up to their lofty goals.
“Knowing that we had already won a national title last year there was added pressure, but we came in with more confidence and reminded ourselves like hey we did this last year but that doesn’t guarantee a win again this year,” said fourth year runner Grant Matthai prior to the parade.
Coaching also played a pivotal role in repeating championship seasons. Women and men’s cross country Head Coach Derek Stanley was awarded the 2024 and 2025 U.S Track & Field and Cross-Country Association NCAA Div. III Coach of the Year. His messages helped create a strong team bond both on and off the courses.
“Since my time here Coach Stanley has always emphasized this idea of family that I think that’s really shown in how our program operates…There are guys who don’t make the team who still sick around and train, guys who aren’t on the team who still hangout we do a lot of stuff outside of running and I think that’s what makes our program special,” said Matthai.
The team shared their bond with the campus community by displaying their Eagle spirit throughout the parade route. Other members of UWL and the La Crosse community joined in on the route. The La Crosse Fire Department and Police Department escorted the athletes who were joined by UWL ROTC and various athletics sponsors.
The parade was greeted by attendees of local Emmerson Elementary. Dozens of children packed the sidewalk showcasing wide smiles and enthusiastic yells in response to the parade’s festivities.
“I guess you kind of forget what it’s like to be a kid and how much they love parades and candy. They were just screaming and hollering, it was fun and that was probably the best part,” commented Aurit.
The route continued onto campus where the parade and spectators were treated with hot cocoa at the Student Union. Along the route sponsors and teams treated onlookers with frisbee’s, Bubbl’rs, and t-shirts from a t-shirt cannon. The parade continued through campus, looping around Drake Hall towards Hoeschler Tower. Finally, the festivities concluded back where they started at Hetzel Fieldhouse.
