THE OFFICIAL ATHLETICS SITE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-WHITEWATER

The George Chryst Memorial Bowl, the annual meeting of the UW-Platteville Pioneers and UW-Whitewater Warhawks,  was established in memory of the Pioneers’ head coach George Chryst, who passed away suddenly after the 1992 season.

Chryst served as UW-Platteville’s football coach from 1979 until 1992, leading the Pioneers to a 79-60-2 record, with winning records in nine of his 14 seasons – and seven straight from 1986-92. He guided the program to its last league title in 1980, when he received conference Coach of the Year honors.

As the school’s athletics director from 1981-92, Chryst was a significant influence in the formation of the “Cheese League”, which featured five National Football League teams training in Wisconsin, including the Chicago Bears in Platteville from 1984-2001. He also hired Bo Ryan as men’s basketball coach – a decision that resulted in four NCAA Division III championships for the Pioneers.

Chryst is a member of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics, UW-Platteville, Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and Wisconsin Football Coaches Association halls of fame. The WIAC Football Coach of the Year award is named in his honor.

UW-Whitewater’s Head Football Coach Bob Berezowitz and UW-Platteville’s Head Football Coach, George Chryst, were good friends and would often “brainstorm” about creating opportunities for their players to have meaningful experiences during their collegiate football careers. One of the potential projects they were discussing was a possible plan to bring two California schools to Wisconsin to play Platteville and Whitewater, and then the following year both the Platteville and Whitewater teams would play in California. 

After the sudden death of Coach Chryst in December of 1992, officials from both UW-Whitewater and UW-Platteville agreed to designate their annual contest as the “George H. Chryst Memorial Bowl Game,” in an effort to honor the memory  of Coach Chryst, and the special spirit of sportsmanship which has characterized their games. Strong support for this effort was given by the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) and their long time Executive Director, Dick Rundle.

Since 1993, the Memorial Game has also featured the selection, by the attending media, of both an offensive and defensive player of the game from each squad.  These players are honored after the game, and their names are inscribed on plaques at each University.

On the occasion of the 90th meeting of the two teams in 2005, a tradition was added to the Memorial Game. It was decided that a trophy resembling a miner’s pick axe would be presented to the winning team immediately after the game. (Since the permanent trophy had not yet been finished, the trophy awarded in 2005 was a prototype created by one of Coach Chryst’s sons, George Patrick “Geep” Chryst.) Randy Walker, the same craftsman who designed and made the Paul Bunyan axe currently exchanged between UW-Madison and the University of Minnesota, made this six-foot solid oak trophy, which has the word “TEAM” inscribed in the center, emphasizing how fundamental this concept has been to the sport of football throughout its history. 

The miner’s pick is symbolic of the early history of the State of Wisconsin, and is also reminiscent of the early origins of both schools. The importance of the miner’s pick is illustrated by its selection as one of the four symbols displayed on the official Seal of the State of Wisconsin. The miner’s pick represents the energetic settlers of the Wisconsin Territory, whose hard work on their land unearthed the natural resources available. The nickname of our “Badger” state has also been linked to these early mining days. 

One side of the handle is designated for each of the two teams, and their victories are noted, under the school’s monogram, with the final score and year played.