RELEASED:  Thursday, January 24, 2008

UW-River Falls’ O’Grady Leads WFCA Hall of Fame Inductees

Madison, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-River Falls’ John O’Grady will be inducted into the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) Hall of Fame on April 5.

O’Grady will be joined by former UW-Stevens Point head coach Duaine Counsell and UW-Whitewater assistant coach Stan Zweifel in this year’s class of 22 inductees.

In addition, Jay Wilson who serves as announcer on broadcasts for When We Were Young Productions, will receive the Dave McClain Distinguished Service Award from the WFCA.

The WFCA inducts those who are outstanding achievers at the college level.  Selection criteria is based on record, longevity, and service to WFCA.  It is a prestigious honor and the most recognized in Wisconsin at all levels of the football community.

In 2007, O'Grady finished his 19th year as UW-River Falls head coach and owns a 98-89-3 overall record, including a 70-63-3 mark in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) contests.

O'Grady stands second in all-time wins at UW-River Falls. Among WIAC active coaches, he is second in victories and seventh in all-time wins of all WIAC coaches.  In WIAC games, O'Grady has led the Falcons to one first-place finish (1998), three second-place finishes (1994, 1995, 1996) and five third-place finishes (1989, 1992, 1999, 2000, 2001).  He has had winning seasons in 10 of his 19 years with the Falcons and claimed WIAC Coach of the Year accolades in 1995.

Counsell registered a 56-33-4 record in his 11 seasons in charge of the Pointers (1957-65, 67-68), including the league championship in 1961.  His 56 victories rank second on the school’s all-time list.

Zweifel served as an assistant coach at UW-Whitewater from 1990-06, helping the Warhawks to back-to-back national championship game appearances in 2005 and 2006.  He was named the Collegiate Assistant Coach of the Year by the WFCA in 1997.