Blue Devil Alumni Spotlight: Bill Ozga

Name – Bill Ozga
UW-Stout graduation year – 1966
Major – Industrial Technology
Sport(s) – Men's Basketball and Baseball
Years Played – 1962-66
Hometown (High School) – Antioch, IL
Currently Reside – Fountain Hills, AZ

 

Why did you choose to be a collegiate student-athlete at UW-Stout?
When I was in high school I wanted to find a college that allowed me to be on the basketball team.  UW-Stout was a small school that I felt I could play basketball for and had a good academic program.  Turned out I made the basketball team as a walk-on freshman, probably the last person to make the team.

What did you like most about competing in collegiate athletics? 
To this day, the thing that I like most about athletics is the competition.  I have a drive and the mentality to win.  Winning is satisfying not only for myself but to help by teammates as well.  Collegiate athletics tested me and having success was rewarding.  I have taken this mentality with me my whole life.  You have to believe that you are going to win and then completing your goals as a team is important to me. 

What is the greatest lesson you learned from being a collegiate student-athlete?
In my opinion, basketball can teach you about life and everything else is accessories.  For example a coach is like the CEO of a company, upper management is the starting players and the labor workers are like the bench players.  The labor workers are trying to work their butt off to get to upper management and show that they are better than upper management.  This pushes upper management to continue to get better.  Collegiate athletics tested me and I have been better in real life situations because of it.

 

Who was the most influential person in your athletic career?
My dad has always been my hero.  He was always there for me and tried to help me advance in whatever direction I wanted to go.  He only had an eighth grade education but pushed me to get a college education.  He came to every game in high school and college even though he had to drive all the way from Illinois.  Coach Mintz was also a mentor to me.  He was like a second dad.  He pushed me in a different way.  He was a disciplinarian who humbled me and taught me there needs to be organized structure and consequences for your actions if you want to be successful.

What is your most memorable or favorite sports moment at UW-Stout? 
The one moment that stands out the most to me was the game we won the conference championship against Oshkosh.  They had a crowd that was going wild.  They had a small high school sized gym and we had to shout to communicate.  At the end of the game it was tied and coach called a time out to draw up a play.  Kissman was told to set a pick for me and coach said that I needed to shoot no matter what.  Once I came off the screen, I shot the ball.  The defender hit my hand on the follow through but it went in.  There was about 30 seconds left and Oshkosh could not make enough shots or free throws to catch back up.  I will never forget that end of the game.

How did your teammates describe you as a person and a student-athlete?
I was quiet, shy, and more of a lead by example person.  I really didn't know why I was named captain of the team my senior year because I was not a rah rah guy.  I guess the players respected the leadership traits I had.

Outside of athletics, what other activities were you involved in at UW-Stout?
I was also a part of the Kappa Lambda Beta fraternity.

Give us a brief synopsis of your life since graduating from UW-Stout, include job and family? 
When I left Stout I had a corporate job until the 1980s.  In the 80's I left and joined my dad to help him run his business so he could retire.  I then started an irrigation business from nothing to $500k.  In about 2000, I changed careers and went into financial advice and real estate.  I still do that today.

On the family side, I met my wife, Sally MacGuffin, at Stout in 1966.  She was a freshman when I was a senior.  We have been very happy ever since.  She has an eye for designing houses and still does that today.  My dad always taught me to be a great family man.  I took that advice and now we have two awesome daughters that are married to great guys and four grandkids.  They live in Wisconsin and Illinois.

Talk about the 50 year reunion of the 1966 men's basketball WSUC Championship team that is coming up on January 30. 
Even though I live in Arizona, I plan to come back to Stout for this reunion because I want to shake all of my former teammate's hands, give them a hug, and thank them for the impact they had on my life.  I don't know if they understand what it meant to me.