UWRF celebrates athletic, academic success at spring 2026 Opening Meeting

 

UWRF celebrates athletic, academic success at spring 2026 Opening Meeting 

Jan. 21, 2026 – The University of Wisconsin-River Falls is kicking off the 2026 spring semester on a high note. Fresh off the Falcon football team’s first-ever NCAA Division III National Championship win Jan. 4 and home to the reigning back-to-back national champion women’s hockey team, the university had a lot to celebrate at its opening meeting for faculty and staff on Jan. 20. 

While UWRF was celebrating success on the field and the ice, coaches of both teams said they never let their champion athletes forget that they are students first.

“It starts before we ever talk about winning a game,” said Head Football Coach Matt Walker. “Truly, our number one goal is to earn a degree.” 

Walker noted that coaching staff check in with first year student-athletes at least once a week to monitor grade progress and make sure the students know where to get help if they need it. 

The two teams boast players from more than 40 different majors across nearly every academic department at UWRF. Besides classes and sports, many hold down jobs and participate in other campus activities. That can be a lot to keep up with, but the coaches, faculty and staff all play roles in supporting student-athlete success.

Jodee Schaben, an assistant professor of health and human performance, is one of two faculty athletic representatives at UWRF. In that role, Schaben acts as a liaison between the Athletic Department and academics, helping with academic integrity and supporting the student experience and overall well-being. Schaben said faculty can help by seeing every student as a unique individual with a different history, support system and experiences. Relationships are also key to supporting student success.

“If I can get to know my students and have them know that not only do I care about them as a student, but I'm invested in some of the things that they're doing outside of their classroom, whatever that might be, it makes the communication process so much easier,” Schaben said. “And when you can have that open communication and trust with your students, it really helps facilitate their success.”

Student-athletes on both winning teams do well in the classroom. The football team has had a cumulative GPA above 3.0 for six straight semesters and women’s hockey players earned a team GPA of just over 3.6 during the fall semester. But championships, and even GPA, are not the goals that Head Women’s Hockey Coach Joe Cranston sets for his players.

“We’re looking for good kids and we’re looking for hard workers, that’s the underlying theme,” Cranston said. “You put in the hard work and you get in that culture where it isn’t so much looking at a certain GPA or winning a national championship. It’s simply coming in, working really hard and doing your best.”

As a member of the campus community, Schaben said Falcon pride has centered around more than just winning trophies.

“I think it's about how we compete,” Schaben said. “It is with the utmost sportsmanship and integrity, and those are qualities people want to be a part of.”

And it hasn’t just been the campus that has rallied around the Falcon teams. Coach Walker has noted again and again that the most memorable part of his experience after winning a nationally-televised championship game, was the bus ride down Main Street in River Falls the next day.

“It felt like half the town was out celebrating us getting back,” Walker said.

Photo: UW-River Falls academic and athletics staff discuss creating a balance between success in the classroom and in athletics during UWRF’s spring 2026 opening meeting on Jan. 20. UWRF is home to the reigning NCAA Division III football and women’s hockey national champions. Pictured: Jodee Schaben, an assistant professor of health and human performance and faculty athletics representative; Matt Walker, head football coach; and Joe Cranston, head women’s hockey coach.