University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Titans

There’s a reason why Ted Van Dellen has led the UW-Oshkosh men’s basketball program since 1990. He provides stability and success, booking a winning record in 17 of his 21 years at the helm.

UW-Oshkosh tallied at 16-plus victories in 13 of those seasons, including five of the past seven campaigns. Van Dellen has moved into elite territory among his peers, with his 354 career wins ranking fifth all-time in the WIAC.

Van Dellen, who earned the WIAC’s Coach of the Year award in 1996, has made sure his success is transferred along to his players. Five Titans have earned a total of seven All-America distinctions under Van Dellen’s guidance, including two who were named All-Region Player of the Year. UW-Oshkosh has also earned three WIAC Player of the Year Awards and 24 all-league first team mentions since Van Dellen arrived.

In 21 seasons, Van Dellen has firmly established himself as one of the premier coaches in the NCAA Division III. His rise in the coaching profession began in 1996 when he escorted his sixth UW-Oshkosh squad to a 23-4 record, a second-place finish in the WIAC and an appearance in the second round of the NCAA Division III Championship.

Since then, the Berlin native guided the Titans to four additional NCAA Division III postseason visits, two WIAC Tournament titles and a WIAC championship. UW-Oshkosh has also placed second in the conference four times, with the last occasion coming in 2007. Van Dellen propelled that squad to a 21-6 overall record, including a 12-4 mark in WIAC play.

In 2003, Van Dellen led UW-Oshkosh to a 25-7 record (the most wins in school history) and to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division III Championship (the furthest NCAA postseason advancement in school history). The Titans, who led the nation in both field goal percentage and three-point field goal percentage, qualified for the NCAA Division III Championship after capturing the WIAC Tournament with successive road wins over UW-Stevens Point and UW-Whitewater.

During the 2002 campaign, Van Dellen coached UW-Oshkosh to a 24-6 record, WIAC regular season and tournament titles and a spot in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Division III Championship. The WIAC regular-season and tournament titles were the first for Van Dellen as UW-Oshkosh's head coach.

Van Dellen, the winningest coach in UW-Oshkosh's 113-year history, enters the 2011-12 season with a 354-204 overall record.

Also the school’s Director of Sports Camps, Van Dellen became the university’s 12th men's basketball coach in 1990 after serving as an assistant coach with the Titans from 1985-90. During his first year in charge, Van Dellen guided UW-Oshkosh to a 16-10 record. That figure represented the Titans' best mark since 1978, when they posted an 18-10 mark and won the WIAC championship with him as the team's starting center.

Van Dellen received his bachelor's degree and master's degree from UW-Oshkosh in 1978 and 1985, respectively. He earned three varsity letters in basketball at UW-Oshkosh and also received All-WIAC honorable mention status as a senior, when the Titans won the league championship and were one victory away from reaching the NAIA Tournament. One of Van Dellen's most memorable games as a player came during the 1976-77 season, when he scored 20 points and grabbed 20 rebounds in an 81-77 loss to Carthage College.

* - Written November 10, 2011