Football | 11/28/2025 2:02:00 PM
2025 Fred Mitchell Award Semifinalist Release
La Crosse, Wis. - University of Wisconsin-La Crosse senior placekicker
Michael Stack of
Oshkosh (West) has been selected a semifinalist for the 2025 Fred Mitchell Award, presented to the top placekicker for excellence on the football field and community service throughout the year.
Stack is one of 41 placekickers to be named a semifinalist, including one of six from National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III. The Fred Mitchell Award is provided to the nation's top collegiate placekicker among more than 750 Football Championship Subdivision, NCAA Division II and III, National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) teams. Gabe Panikowski of Idaho State University earned the 2024 award. Nominations are based on regular-season statistics only.
The 10 finalists will be announced on Friday, December 5. The award is named for Fred Mitchell, the record-setting place-kicker, Wittengberg University (Ohio) Athletic Hall of Fame, author, philanthropist and
Chicago Tribune sports columnist.
Michael Stack is 131-of-131 in career extra-point attempts.
One of 10 finalists for the 2023 Fred Mitchell Award, Stack is 35-of-35 in extra points and eight-of-11 in field goal attempts this season. He is 131-of-131 in career extra points, ranking second in extra points made and tied for second in attempts. Stack is fourth in career field goals made with 28.
Voted the 2025 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Special Teams Player of the Year, Stack earned his second All-WIAC First Team honor this season. He was also selected the league's special teams player of the year in 2023 while earning first team all-conference accolades. Stack is the first player in league history to be named the WIAC Special Teams Player of the Year twice. He is second player in school history to earn the honor, joining
Jake Simuncak (2021).
Stack is eight-of-11 in field goal attempts this season with a season-long 47-yards versus UW-Stout. He converted a 45-yard field goal against UW-Eau Claire and a 43-yard field goal on the final play in UWL's victory at UW-Whitewater. His eight field goals are third in the WIAC.
He was named the WIAC Special Teams Player of the Week three times this season, including after UWL's wins over UW-Whitewater, UW-Eau Claire and UW-Stevens Point. Stack has been named the league's special teams player of the week six times in his career. Stack is seventh in the WIAC this season in points per game (6.6) while his 59 points is tied for amongst kickers.
Voted to the 2023 D3football.com All-America and Associated Press (AP) All-America First Teams, Stack went 13-of-15 in field goal attempts and 65-of-65 in extra points during the 2023 season. The 13 field goals tied the single-season school record set by
Chris Schumacher in 1989. His 65 extra-points broke
Ryan Beirne's single-season school record of 49 set in 2021.
Stack converted a 51-yard field goal on the final play of the game in UWL's 37-34 victory at third-ranked UW-Whitewater on October 7, 2023. The 51-yard field goal tied the school record set by
Dewey Stendahl versus St. Norbert College (Wis.) in 1969 and Beirne
against UW-Oshkosh in 2022.
A three-year member of the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll, Stack has been on UWL's Dean's List with a 3.54 grade point average while majoring in exercise sport science (pre-professional). He serves as a volunteer with the Motor Development Program (MDP) at UWL, working one-on-one with a middle school student to develop gross motor skills. Stack also volunteers with the STAR Center, assisting with its adapted pickleball program.
He was an intern at the nonprofit organization WisconSibs, supporting individual who have a sibling with a disability. Stack has been a member of the Pre-OT Club at UWL since his freshman year and served as its president for three semesters. He is currently serving as the public relations officer. Stack is a member of UWL Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), being on its executive team during his senior year.
UWL returns to action Saturday, November 29 at Hope College (Mich.) in the NCAA Division III Second Round.
