University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Athletics
MADISON, Wis. – (WSAU) — The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference announced its 2022 Hall of Fame class on Thursday (Jan. 27) with a trio of legendary UW-Stevens Point athletics figures among the inductees. Coaching greats Dick Bennett and Jack Bennett along with baseball standout Jordan Zimmermann are UWSP’s inductees.
Dick Bennett led the Pointers to a 174-79 records as head men’s basketball coach from 1976 to 1985. He led the Pointers to the NAIA National Championship game in 1984 and earned NAIA Coach of the Year that season. Three times, he led UWSP to the NAIA district title. He was the Conference Coach of the Year in 1982 and again in 1985. Bennett guided the Pointers to conference titles in four consecutive seasons. Following his successes at UWSP, Bennett went on to coach at UW-Green Bay, UW-Madison and Washington State University. He was inducted into the UWSP Athletics Hall of Fame in 1992.
Jack Bennett won two national championships as UWSP men’s basketball coach in 2004 and 2005. He was named the WBCA National Coach of the Year in both of those championship seasons. Bennett went 200-56 from 1997 to 2005 and guided the Pointers to regular season conference titles from 2000 to 2005. His Pointers captured the WIAC Tournament championship in 2000, 2004 and 2005. When he retired, Bennett was the all-time winningest coach at UWSP. Throughout his coaching career, Bennett coached his teams to a winning record in 32 of 33 season across all levels. He was inducted into the UWSP Athletics Hall of Fame in 2010 and the WBCA Hall of Fame in 2006.
Zimmermann pitched for the Pointers from 2005 to 2007. He was a two-time Conference Pitcher of the Year in 2006 and 2007. Zimmermann was named the Most Outstanding Player at the 2007 NCAA Division III World Series and earned his second-straight ABCA Second-Team All-America honor that season. D3baseball.com named him to the third-team All-America in 2007 as well. Zimmermann racked up 236 strikeouts in his career at UWSP, the eighth-best total in league history. The 67th overall selection in the 2007 MLB Draft by the Washington Nationals, Zimmermann enjoyed a 13-season MLB career with the Nationals, Detroit Tiger and Milwaukee Brewers. He threw the first no-hitter in Nationals history on Sept. 28, 2014.
For more information on the Hall of Fame class, please visit www.wiacsports.com. Information on purchasing tickets for the banquet, and more detailed bios and photos on each of the inductees will be provided at a later date.
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