Michael Zweifel starts his first
season as UW-La Crosse’s head football coach in 2026.
AT UW-LA CROSSE:
* Assistant coach from 2022-25.
* Coordinated defense and special teams to a 36-11 record, winning two Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) championships and making four appearances in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Playoffs.
* Coached 15 All-WIAC selections on defense, including 10 first team choices.
2025:
* UWL finished 8-3 overall and 5-2 in the WIAC, tying for second in the league standings.
* Advanced to NCAA III Third Round, earning a 9-7 win at Hope College (Mich.) in the second round before falling, 35-27, at North Central College (Ill.) in third round.
* Led WIAC in passing defense (188.9 yards per game) and punting net yards per game (39.4).
* Defensive lineman Christian Powell and defensive back Trent Mullen voted to the All-WIAC First Team while defensive lineman Bodie Schanofer earned honorable mention accolades. Powell was also a D3football.com All-Region Second Team selection with Mullen earning first team honors.
* Placekicker Michael Stack and punter Ethan Tranel were named to the All-WIAC First Team Special Teams with long snapper Ben Walsh earning honorable mention laurels. Stack was named the 2025 WIAC Special Teams Player of the Year while earning D3football.com All-America Fourth Team and Associated Press (AP) All-America Third Team awards. He was an all-region first team selection and a semifinalist for the Fred Mitchell Award, presented to the top placekicker for excellence on the football field and community service as well.
2024:
* UWL finished 8-4 overall and 5-2 in the WIAC, placing second in the league standings.
* Earned 59-14 home victory over the University of Northwestern (Minn.) in the NCAA Division III First Round before losing, 24-13, at Saint John’s University (Minn.) in the second round.
* Led WIAC in quarterback sacks (28) and fumble recoveries (9) while ranking third in interceptions (13).
* Linebacker Ryan Daines and Mullen were selected to the All-WIAC First Team while defensive lineman Marik Dickson and linebacker Tanner Newlin earned second team accolades. Defensive lineman Ross Gengler earned All-WIAC Honorable Mention awards. Mullen was a D3football.com All-Region First Team selection with Daines earning second team.
2023:
* UWL finished 11-2 overall and 7-0 in the WIAC, winning the league championship.
* Advanced to NCAA Division III Quarterfinals. Earning a pair of home wins in the first two rounds, including defeating (62-7) the University of Minnesota Morris in the first round and (56-35) over Aurora University (Ill.) in the second round. Lost at home in quarterfinals (55-42) to North Central (Ill.).
* Defensive lineman Jack Kelly and Nate Hietpas were named to the All-WIAC Team with Kelly earning first team accolades and Hietpas honorable mention accolades. Newlin earned 2023 All-WIAC First Team honors with defensive backs Tate Pitcher (second team) and Aaron Schmitz (honorable mention) all earning honors.
* Stack was named the WIAC Co-Special Teams Player of the Year while earning all-conference first team honors at placekicker. Ryan Krueger was voted to the All-WIAC Honorable Mention Team as a punter. Stack earned AP and D3football.com All-America First Team honors and D3football.com All-Region 6 First Team. One of 10 finalists for the Fred Mitchell Award, Stack tied the single-season school record of 13 field goals by Chris Schumacher in 1989. Stack's 65 extra-points broke Ryan Beirne's single-season school record of 49 in 2021.
2022:
* UWL finished 9-2 overall and 6-1 in the WIAC, tying for the conference title.
* Lost (14-6) in NCAA First Round at Wartburg College (Iowa).
* Ranked second in the conference in scoring defense (17.8), sacks (67), interceptions (13), opponents' third-down conversions (32.2%) and red-zone defense (66.7).
* Led WIAC in kickoff returns (23.8) while finishing third in punt returns (9.3) and second in punting (35.4).
OTHER COACHING EXPERIENCE:
* Wide receivers and quarterbacks coach at the University of Dubuque (Iowa) from 2012-21.
PLAYING CAREER:
* Played wide receiver and defensive back at the University of Dubuque (Iowa).
* Winner of 2011 Gagliardi Trophy, awarded annually to the NCAA Division III player.
* Led the nation in receiving yards (1,915), receiving yards per game (174.1), receptions (NCAA record 140), receptions per game (12.7), and receiving touchdowns (25) in 2011.
* Ended career as the all-time NCAA leader (all divisions) with 463 receptions.
* Three-year team captain.
* Recorded 29 tackles in 2011 with 2.5 tackles for loss, nine pass break-ups, one interception and one fumble recovery.
* Selected to the 2011 American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), Beyond Sports Network and D3football.com All-America First Team and Associated Press (AP) All-America Second Team.
* Voted 2011 Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) Offensive Most Valuable Player. All-IIAC First Team selection in 2009 and 2011, helping lead team to first conference championship in 31 years in 2011.
* 2009 D3football.com Second Team All-America and AP All-America Third Team.
* Attended Green Bay Packers Rookie Minicamp and Fall Camp in 2012.
EDUCATION/ACADEMIC HONORS:
* Earned bachelor's degree in exercise science while graduating Summa Cum Laude from Dubuque (Iowa) in 2011.
* Master's degree in Kinesiology from the University of Texas at Tyler in 2015.
* Voted 2011 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-American® of the Year.
* Named National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete finalist.
