2015 WIAC Hall of Fame Induction Video
Few coaches will ever match the records he established and the honors he received during his 27 years as head Blue Devil basketball coach. His 1965-66, 1968-69 and 1974-75 teams won conference championships. For most coaches, 300 wins is considered a landmark. His overall record was 551 wins and only 361 losses. At Stout, he was 385-280. His junior college record included six conference championships. A fierce competitor, he brought the highest standards to the game.
Mintz was inducted into the
WIAC Hall of Fame in August, 2015, the sixth hall of fame he has been enshrined into. The court in Johnson Fieldhouse was named in Mintz's honor December, 2016.
The following is an introduction to coach Mintz from the Stout Series 195 collection housed in the UW-Stout Archives (located in the UW-Stout Library Learning Center). Additional information can also be located in the Stout Series 290.
"Dwain Mintz was already one of the most successful junior college coaches in the country when he came to Stout in 1962. Within three years of his arrival, the Stout basketball team won the conference championship (1965-1966) with a 20-3 record. Over the course of his 27 year career at Stout, the basketball team compiled a 385-280 game record. Upon his retirement in 1989, Chancellor Charles Sorensen stated; " Coach Mintz has been a major influence on the Wisconsin State Universtiy Conference. He has been part of that group of coaches who helped gain national attention for the quality basketball played in the conference."
"The collection contains course materials, athletic budget requests, letters of intent, recruitment information, and biographical information. The course materials primarily relate to physical education classes taught by Coach Mintz. Much of the rest of the collection is directly concerned with his activities as the Stout basketball coach."
From the WIAC Hall of Fame (August 2015)
Dwain Mintz, currently fourth on the WIAC all-time men’s basketball coaches wins list with a record of 385-280, coached league contenders throughout his tenure at UW-Stout from 1963-89, including conference championships in 1966, 1969 and 1975. He was the NAIA District 14 Coach of the Year in 1966 and 1973, and NAIA Area IV Coach of the Year in 1969. During his 27 years at UW-Stout, Mintz turned out 26 all-conference first team players.
Four years after Mintz arrived at UW-Stout, the school won its first conference title in 20 years. The Blue Devils won the 1966 championship with a 20-3 overall record (15-1 in conference play). The 1969 title team (22-4, 14-2 conference) featured three all-conference first team players, including the Player of the Year, and made a deep run to the fourth round of the NAIA national tournament.
An outstanding baseball player who played in the Brooklyn Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals farm systems, Mintz also coached the UW-Stout baseball team from 1963-68.
Mintz has been inducted into the UW-Stout, NAIA District 14, Bethany Lutheran College (Minn.), the Minnesota Junior College Athletic Association and Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association halls of fame. The court in Johnson Fieldhouse was named Dewey Mintz Court in honor of Mintz in December 2016.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education and health, along with a master’s degree in cardiovascular endurance from Mankato State University and Ph.D. in vision fatigue and endurance from Utah State University. Mintz resides in Menomonie, Wis.
Mintz still attending games at 89-years-old
Former UW-Stout men's basketball coach Dwain "Dewey" Mintz attended the UW-Stout/Bethany Lutheran College basketball game Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017, in Johnson Fieldhouse. Mintz was the Blue Devil coach for 27 years, but before coming to Stout, coached at Bethany Lutheran for 10 seasons. The 89-year-old Mintz was interviewed by the Mankato radio station covering the game and met the current Bethany coaching staff and team following the game. The following story was posted to the Bethany Lutheran College website on Nov. 30, 2017
Bethany’s second year head men’s basketball coach Matt Fletcher had the opportunity to meet a Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association and Bethany Lutheran College Hall of Famer after the Vikings 84-69 road win at the University of Wisconsin-Stout on November 29, 2017.
Anyone who was a part of Bethany athletics in the 1950s and early 60s remembers the name Dwain “Dewey” Mintz. Mintz began his legendary coaching career at Bethany High School in 1951, and took over the Bethany Lutheran College men’s basketball coaching position in 1952. During his ten years at the helm for the Vikings, Mintz’s teams won five conference championships and three regional titles while winning 169 games with only 81 losses. It can be said that some of the most successful basketball teams ever at BLC were part of Mintz’s tenure.
The pinnacle occurred in 1959 when the Vikings took second place in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) basketball championship. Following the successful NJCAA tournament, he was named NJCAA National Runner-Up Coach of the Year. Mintz’s BLC teams qualified for nationals on two other occasions, earning an eighth-place finish in 1962.
Mintz, who will turn 90 years old in March 2018, was at the recent Bethany game against UW-Stout because after his years at BLC he went on to coach the Blue Devils men’s basketball team and still lives in the Menomonie area where Stout is located. During his twenty-four year career at Stout, his teams won three Wisconsin State University Conference titles while he amassed a career coaching record of 554 wins against 361 losses.
For his coaching accomplishments at Stout, Mintz was named District Coach of the Year in 1966, the NAIA Area IV Basketball Coach of the Year in 1969, and the NAIA District Coach of the Year in 1973. In 1988, he received both the 500 Wins Award and 15 Years of Coaching and Outstanding Achievement Award from the National Association of Basketball Coaches. The UW-Stout Blue Devils home venue is named “Dewey Mintz Court.”
Complete Dwain Mintz Obituary
MENOMONIE (October 11, 2018) – Dwain Mintz will be remembered not only as a basketball coach, but as a mentor, teacher and family man. The legendary UW-Stout men's basketball coach passed away Thursday, Oct. 11..
Mintz is the winningest men's basketball coach in Stout history and is currently fourth on the WIAC all-time men's basketball coaches wins list with a record of 385-280. Mintz coached league contenders throughout his tenure at UW-Stout from 1963-89, including conference championships in 1966, 1969 and 1975. He was the NAIA District 14 Coach of the Year in 1966 and 1973, and NAIA Area IV Coach of the Year in 1969. During his 27 years at UW-Stout, Mintz turned out 26 all-conference first team players.
Four years after Mintz arrived at UW-Stout, the school won its first conference title in 20 years. The Blue Devils won the 1966 championship with a 20-3 overall record (15-1 in conference play). The 1969 title team (22-4, 14-2 conference) featured three all-conference first team players, including league Player of the Year Mel Coleman, and made a deep run to the fourth round of the NAIA national tournament.
Stout and UW-Eau Claire had epic battles throughout Mintz's and Eau Claire coach Ken Anderson's tenures at their respective schools. Anderson came to Eau Claire in 1968 and the two faced off against each other for 21 seasons.
"I knew coming in that Dewey was the guy I had to beat if I wanted to win conference and get to nationals," Anderson said. "You knew you had to beat him; he wasn't going to give you the game."
Anderson said that Eau Claire had a 39-game conference winning streak, which started following a loss to Stout. And the winning streak came to an end at the hands of Stout.
Preparation was a key for Mintz, said Joe Jax, who was an assistant to Mintz for 11 years.
"Dewey was a master teacher with great perseverance for winning," Jax said. "He believed there was a way to win every ball game and prepared his teams to do such. His practices and his game plan preparations were unique to each opponent. Practices were sometimes competitively bruising, thus it was no different come game time."
Mintz not only taught basketball, he taught life.
"On Wednesday, we lost a good man, a great mentor, a wonderful teacher and an icon that was total family, not only his own personal family, but his athletic family," said
Eddie Andrist, who served two assistant coaching stints under Mintz.
Andrist, who would serve as the UW-Stout head coach for 18 seasons, continued.
"I have known Dewey for 46 years and he has always been there for so many of us," Andrist said. "Our success has been his success. He taught us well so we could go out and teach others. His legacy will live forever."
Mintz's legacy will live on in Johnson Fieldhouse where the court was named Dewey Mintz Court when the court was re-dedicated in 2016.
UW-Stout Chancellor Bob Meyer first crossed paths with Mintz when Meyer was an undergraduate at student at Stout from 1975-80, an acquaintance that continued until recently.
"He was the consummate professional and his legacy is not only his success as a coach, but how he mentored his athletes to live good lives by exemplifying great values," Meyer said. "It was inspiring when we recently dedicated our basketball floor to Coach Mintz how many of his athletes returned to celebrate and thank him for the positive impact he had on our lives."
An outstanding baseball player who played in the Brooklyn Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals farm systems, Mintz also coached the UW-Stout baseball team from 1963-68.
Mintz has been inducted into the UW-Stout, NAIA District 14, Bethany Lutheran College (Minn.), the Minnesota Junior College Athletic Association, the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association halls of fame. The court in Johnson Fieldhouse was named Dewey Mintz Court in honor of Mintz in December 2016.
He earned a bachelor's degree in physical education and health, along with a master's degree in cardiovascular endurance from Mankato State University and a Ph.D. in vision fatigue and endurance from Utah State University.
"Coach Mintz leaves a wonderful, inspiring and indelible imprint on UW-Stout and will be greatly missed," Meyer said.
"Coach Mintz touched so many lives and we will be forever grateful," Andrist said.
"It was an honor to work for and with him," Jax said. "We all learned so much from his deliverance."
"Stout lost one of their legends," Eau Claire's Anderson concluded.
Funeral services were held Wednesday, Oct. 17 at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Menomonie.
