University of Wisconsin-River Falls

Don Page

Don Page was a lone inductee to the UW-River Falls Athletic Hall of Fame in 1992.

Page served the university in many capacities from his arrival in 1957 until his retirement in 1992 and continues an active roll in intercollegiate athletics in his retirement.

Page graduated from Madison West High School in 1945 where he lettered in football, basketball, tennis, track and volleyball. He was all Big Eight Conference his junior and senior year in football and basketball while winning the conference singles championship both years in tennis. He helped lead West to back-to-back conference titles in football and basketball in 1944-45. He was the Big Eight scoring champion for basketball in both his junior and senior years as well as leading his team to the 1945 WIAA state championship.

Page went on to letter two years at the University of Wisconsin – Madison in both tennis and basketball. He was a regular on the 1949-50 team that finished with a 17-5 record and a second place finish in the Big Ten under coach Bud Foster.

Page graduated from Madison in 1950 and earned a M.S. degree from Madison in 1953.

While working toward his masters degree, Page worked at Edgerton High School for three years as the athletic director, head basketball coach, head baseball coach and assistant football coach from 1950-53. He won two basketball and two baseball league championships.

Page was hired by his alma mater Madison West in 1953 where he spent the next four years. He was the head basketball coach and baseball coach. He led West to a second place finish in the 1957 state tournament in basketball and won city and Big Eight championships in tennis.

Page was hired at UWRF as the head basketball and baseball coach in 1957. He coached the Falcon basketball team from 1957-1966 and the baseball team from 1957-1974. He was an assistant football coach for the Falcons for 15 years.

In 1970, Page was named UWRF’s athletic director and served in that position until his retirement in 1992. In 1973 he took on the duties of coaching the men’s tennis program, which he continued to do until 1980 and again from 1982-87.

Page has been registered as football official by the WIAA since 1949 and has officiated contests in six decades. He refereed in the WIAA state football playoffs in 1978, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, and the state finals in 1986. He received the first annual David McClain Award for his distinguished service from the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association in 1987 and was inducted into the WFCA’s Hall of Fame in 2004. He refereed the Shrine All-Star football game in 1978.

Page taught many officiating classes at UWRF while handling WIAA football interpretation meetings for 42 years.
In 1976 Page was a representative for officiating when Texas A&I and Henderson State University toured Europe to introduce the American college game to the continent. Games were played in Berlin, Nuremberg, Mannheim, Vienna and Paris.

Page also officiated basketball and in 1968 he became the only man in WIAA history to play, coach and officiate in the state tournament. He also officiated state basketball games in 1970, 1972, 1973 and 1974.

Page is an emeritus faculty member at UW-RF and has continued to be a presence at Falcon events.

Since his retirement from the university in 1992, Page has served as the supervisor of men’s basketball and football officials for the WIAC.

He is a member of the NAIA District 14 Hall of Fame for his many years of service as secretary-treasurer and an executive committee member. Page was inducted into the Madison Sports Hall of Fame in 1988 and into the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2004.

Page and his wife Jo three children, John, David and Susan and 12 grandchildren.