The Office of the Athletic Director was created in 1949, with Herman Kluge serving as the
first director. Between 1949 and 1966, the athletic director coordinated the Athletic
Department, intercollegiate sports, club sports, and intramurals, and administered the
physical education program. The athletic director has been responsible for coordinating the
athletic program, promoted athletics program by maintaining contacts with the media,
recruiting players, and fundraising. The athletic director administered the physical
education program until 1966, when it became a separate department.
Between 1980 and 1983, UWM divided the duties of the director between two associate
directors.
The Wisconsin State Normal School was founded in 1885. From the beginning the school
offered physical education as part of the curriculum and also extracurricular athletic
activities.
Physical education courses were offered to train students to provide physical training
for their own pupils when they became teachers. According to the Annual Catalog (1903-1904) the students were also schooled in the development
of "kindergarten games." Physical education has been a requirement or an elective in the
teacher training curriculum throughout the twentieth century. The physical training
curriculum from 1885 to 1949 was administered by the Physical Training or Physical
Education Department.
The university's catalogs suggest extracurricular athletics first started in 1885 as
activities of student clubs and societies, administered by an Office of Student Life and
Recreation and funded by student fees. The clubs and societies competed against local
sports clubs and in some instances area colleges.
According to the February 8, 1974 UWM Post, President L.D.
Harvey began the first formal program of intercollegiate athletics at the Milwaukee Normal
School. By 1895 basketball was the most popular intercollegiate sport, and by the early
twentieth century "basketball" and the "athletic program" were synonymous at the school.
The years 1901-1915 produced several state championships for men's basketball and
consistently outstanding women's basketball teams.
The popularity and support for intercollegiate sports, especially basketball and
football, increased when the Milwaukee State Teachers College was established in 1927.
According to the May 25, 1954 Wisconsin State Times, the
football "Green Gulls" had some success, winning several Wisconsin State Conference
football titles between 1929 and 1949. The team consistently placed players on the
All-Conference team.
The basketball team also enjoyed success, winning several Wisconsin State Conference
championships between 1928 and 1955. The team enjoyed rivalries with Carroll College and
the Oshkosh State Teachers College. Games were played at the Baker Fieldhouse, which was
built in 1931. Tennis, cross country, track, wrestling, and golf were other
intercollegiate sports provided by the State Teachers College.
Football was discontinued in 1975 because of high expenses and a long string of losing
seasons. Men's sports, such as soccer, basketball, cross country, golf, swimming, tennis,
and track, have become mainstays, competing at the NCAA Division I level from 1973 to 1980
and 1989 to the present. Men's basketball remains the most popular sport at UWM. Women's
athletics have also grown from their inception in 1885. Women's athletic teams previously
competed in the Wisconsin Women's Intercollegiate Athletic Conference; they now compete at
the NCAA Division I level in track, cross country, swimming, field hockey, tennis,
volleyball, gymnastics, and basketball.
According to the Wisconsin State Times and the UWM Post the institution has had three mascots and nicknames:
Green Gulls (1910-1956), Cardinals (1956-1964), and Panthers (1964-present).
