Athletic Board – Annual Report – 2025-2026

Members:

Name	Rank	Department	Div	E/A	Term Ends	Email
Monna Arvinen-Barrow	FAC	Rehabilitation Sciences & Technology	PR	E	2028	arvinenb@uwm.edu
Thomas Gamboa	FAC	Music	AH	E	2028	gamboa@uwm.edu
Mandy Sheriff	AS	Nursing	–	E	2028	sheriff@uwm.edu
Jennifer Earl Boehm, Chair	FAC	Rehabilitation Sciences & Technology	PR	E	2027	jearl@uwm.edu
Qingsu Cheng	FAC	Biomedical Engineering	NS	E	2027	chengq@uwm.edu
Jennifer Haas 1	FAC	Anthropology (Chancellor’s appt)	SS	A	2027	haasjr@uwm.edu
Jim Cleary	–	UWM Alumni Association Member	–	A	2026	jcleary5@wi.rr.com
Bo Zhang	FAC	Educational Psychology	PR	E	2026	boz@uwm.edu
Kevin Keenan*	FAC	(Faculty Athletic Rep)		A	2026	keenan@uwm.edu
Amanda Braun	Dir	Athletics	x-o	o	2026	abraun25@uwm.edu
Kelly Haag	VC	Student Affairs	x-o	o	2026	kajohnso@uwm.edu
< >	Dir	Rec Sports & Facilities	x-o	o	2026
Chris Jenkyns	–	Alumni Association President Rep	x-o	o	2026	jenkynsc@gmail.com
Josie Johnson	–	Student	–	A	2026	john4893@uwm.edu
Savannah Sievert	–	Student	–	A	2026	sievert9@uwm.edu
Isabel Roloff	–	Student		A	2026	iroloff@uwm.edu
Zach Schmidt	–	Student		A	2026	schm2567@uwm.edu

Charter:

A1.5 – Athletic Board

The Athletic Board develops and reviews university policies relative to intercollegiate athletics, in conjunction with UWM faculty, administration, students, alumni, and controlling regulations, and oversees the implementation of such policies. Approves for recommendation to the Chancellor the budget for the athletic program.

1. Membership. The committee is composed of the following members:
   1. five elected Faculty members, as follows;
      1. one Faculty member appointed by the Chancellor to a one-year term;
      2. the Faculty Athletic Representative appointed by the Chancellor for a term not to exceed five years;
   2. one member of the UWM Alumni Association, appointed annually by the Chancellor from a list of candidates submitted by the President of the UWM Alumni Association;
   3. one elected member of the Academic Staff;
   4. four students appointed annually by the Student Association;
   5. four ex-officio and non-voting members, as follows:
      1. UWM Director of Athletics or designee;
      2. Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs or designee;
      3. President of the UWM Alumni Association or designee;
      4. Director of Recreational Sports & Facilities or designee.
2. Functions.
   1. Develops and reviews University policies relative to intercollegiate athletics in conjunction with University Faculty, UWM Administration, students, alumni, and controlling regulations, and oversees the implementation of such policies. Reviews the Athletic Department budget through the work of the
      
      Fiscal and Equity subcommittees, respectively.
   2. Recommends to the Athletic Director assignments of personnel to head coaching and all other senior athletic administrative positions, consistent with University and State of Wisconsin Personnel practices.
      
      The Athletic Board will constitute a minimum of 40% of the overall Athletic Director Search and Screen Committee.
   3. Monitors policies and practices pertaining to equity and nondiscrimination within the Athletic Department pursuant to NCAA and UWM expectations.
   4. Oversees Athletic Department systems for providing student-athletes with academic services and monitoring their academic progress. Rules upon questions of eligibility of students under institutional and conference regulations.
   5. Provides oversight and advice to ensure adherence to NCAA and UWM policies concerning athletic scholarships and tuition remissions.
   6. Recommends to the Chancellor candidates for the position of Faculty Athletics Representative.
   7. Reviews the annual performance review of the Faculty Athletics Representative, as conducted by the Chair of the Athletic Board and the Athletic Director, and communicates the results of this review to the Faculty Athletics Representative and the Chancellor.
   8. Maintains liaison with intercollegiate athletic organizations and conferences through the Faculty Athletics Representative.
   9. Recommends to the Faculty changes in policies that relate to intercollegiate athletics and that appear to be in keeping with the long-term development of the University.

Meetings:

The full board met on the following dates at 8:30 AM, subcommittees noted also met on that date.

• September 10th – Orientation
• October 1st – By-Laws, Governance and Compliance, Student appeals
• November 5th – Academic Integrity
• December 3rd – Fiscal, Equity, Personnel
• February 4th – By-Laws, Governance and Compliance, Student appeals
• March 4th  – Academic Integrity
• April 1st – Fiscal, Equity, Personnel
• May 6th – no subcommittee

The steering committee of the Athletic Board consisted of Jen Earl Boehm (chair), Bo Zhang (vice chair), Monna Arvinen Barrow (secretary), Amanda Braun (Athletic Director, ex-officio), Kevin Keenan (FAR), and Isabel Roloff (student).

There are three working sub-committees: Academic Integrity; Equity, Personnel, Fiscal; and By-laws, Governance/Compliance, Student Athletic Appeals. Each sub-committee has members of the Athletics department staff who provide and summarize the detailed information reviewed by the committee.

In addition, the Faculty Athletic Representative (Kevin Keenan) has a central role in UWM athletics. In this role, Professor Keenan:

• Serves as the representative of the Board, the Chancellor, and the UWM Faculty to the Horizon League and intercollegiate athletic associations and activities,
• Works with the Director of Athletics and the Board in monitoring policies and procedures and the student-athlete experience.
• Is the connection between the student-athlete and the student-athlete’s faculty when academic issues arise.

2025-2026 Athletics Year in Review

Milwaukee Athletics continues to excel on and off the field and did so again during the 2025-2026 academic year.

Highlighting the fall season was what has become the “standard of excellence” for the Milwaukee women’s soccer team, as the program claimed yet another Horizon League regular-season and tournament championship – while advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the eighth year in a row. The cumulative totals now add up to 25 regular-season titles, 18 tournament crowns, and 19 trips to the NCAA Tournament in program history.

In 2025, the Panthers finished with a 13-5-3 overall ledger, running through the Horizon League slate at 8-0-2 for the program’s fifth straight crown. In addition to topping the conference in nearly every statistical category, the Panthers finished in the Top 10 in the NCAA in numerous categories: fourth in assists per game (3.10), fifth in points per game (8.24), sixth in total assists (65), eighth in total points (173), ninth in scoring offense (2.57), and ninth in total goals (54). The team had four 20-plus point scorers for the first time in program history and had the Horizon League Player of the Year (and Offensive Player of the Year) in Mallory McGuire, the Goalkeeper of the Year in Bella Hollenbach, and the Defensive Player of the Year in Ellie Rebmann. In addition to five first-team All-Horizon League selections, two second-team honorees, and a pair of third-team selections, Kevin Boyd finally broke through for his first Horizon League Coach of the Year accolades.

The volleyball team went 11-7 in Horizon League play to finish in third place. Kara Erdmann was selected to the All-Horizon League First Team, while newcomer Josie Noble was picked for Second Team honors in addition to All-Freshman team accolades.

Coming off three straight seasons of 20-plus victories for the first time in nearly two decades, the 2025-26 campaign had the outlook and potential for even more success for the Milwaukee men’s basketball team until injuries took a toll on the roster. Picked No. 1 in the preseason poll for the second consecutive season, the Panthers endured one of the most injury-ravaged campaigns in all of college basketball.

With three would-be starters sidelined for the year by midseason, the final overall record of 12-20 included a respectable 8-6 mark at home and produced the second-most victories of any NCAA program that had players miss at least 100 games due to injury. Head coach Bart Lundy did pick up career victory No. 500 along the way against IU Indianapolis on Jan. 11, 2026, while the team also took care of the ball at a historic level, setting a program record for fewest turnovers per game (10.4).

The Milwaukee swimming & diving team concluded the 2025-26 campaign with another outstanding showing at the Horizon League Championships. The Panthers captured nine league titles, rewrote numerous school records, and sent a male swimmer to the NCAA Championships for the first time in program history.

On the women’s side, the team finished runner-up for the third consecutive season, setting three school records at the meet. Gabrielle LePine highlighted the individual performances by breaking the 50 freestyle record, a mark that had stood since 2017, while Christiana Brooks shattered the 100 freestyle record, surpassing the previous standard set in 2016. The duo then teamed up with Brielle Laube and Mara Freeman in the 400 freestyle relay to establish another new Milwaukee standard.

The men placed fourth for the second straight season, recording their highest team point total since the 2014-15 campaign. The Panthers set an astounding 16 school records at the Horizon League Championships, led by Sam Lorenz, who captured the 100 backstroke title to punch his ticket to the NCAA Championships. Lorenz also set two meet records in the 100 backstroke and 200 backstroke, with his 200 backstroke time qualifying for the NCAA Championships as well. At the NCAA Championship meet, Lorenz continued his dominance, breaking his own school records in both the 100 backstroke and 200 backstroke to cap off his historic season – one in which he became the first-ever male to earn a trip to the NCAA’s in program history.

The Milwaukee track & field teams wrapped up their indoor season with another strong showing at the

Horizon League Championships and now turn their focus to the outdoor championships held in early

May. Both the men’s and women’s squads delivered impressive performances, with each team finishing

runner-up at the indoor league meet.

On the men’s side, the Panthers captured three league titles at the championships. Ty Bauschelt led the way with a victory in the 400-meter dash, while Josh Cygan claimed the weight throw crown. The unit of Karsten Grundahl, Matt Scardina, Zac Schmidt, and Bauschelt added another title in the 4×400-meter relay, crossing the line first to secure the team’s third championship performance.

For the women, Anna Szepieniec delivered a dominant showing at the league meet, winning the long jump with a championship-record mark, the triple jump, and the pentathlon, where she set both a championship and school record. Olivia VanZeeland also highlighted the meet with a victory in the high jump after clearing 1.73 meters.

Szepieniec’s remarkable season earned her Afreeda Goff Indoor Women’s Track & Field Athlete of the Year honors, along with Most Outstanding Field Performer recognition following her standout campaign. Throughout the season, Szepieniec broke the long jump record twice, with her top mark coming at the Panther Tune-Up, surpassing a previous record that had stood since 2013. Freshman Nevia Levenhagen added to the team’s success by earning Field Freshman of the Year honors after strong performances in both the long jump and triple jump.

Our baseball team finished on a hot streak, claiming the Horizon League Tournament Title in exciting fashion with a walk-off homerun by Joey Spence. Their exciting play continued in the NCAA Tournament beating #4 Auburn in dominant fashion by a 13-8 score. Next up was the University of Central Florida, hot play behind the plate continued and we were victorious by a score of 13-6 to send us to the NCAA Regional Final for the first time in school history (also a first for any Horizon League school). The baseball tournament is double elimination and unfortunately Auburn fought it’s way through the loser’s bracket and beat us in the Regional Final bringing to an end a week of exciting baseball that brought a lot of pride and press for the university, city and state.

Success in the Classroom

• The cumulative GPA for all Panther student-athletes is 3.496 – also making it 52 straight semesters where the departmental GPA is above 3.0 as well as 23 consecutive semesters over 3.20.
• The Panthers averaged over 150 student-athletes on both the fall and spring league honor rolls during 2025-26.
• Graduation success rate was at 92%, well above the percentage for the general student population.
• Student-Athletes logged 2400 hours of community service in Milwaukee and the surrounding area. Teams volunteered their time in our community at Make a Difference Day, United Way, Special Olympics, National Marrow Donor Program, Junior Achievement, Team IMPACT, Operation Dream and the United Lutheran Soup Kitchen, among dozens of other agencies. The Athletics Department also partners with the Center for Community-Based Learning, Leadership and Research.

Financial Update

• In the fall of 2025, campus communicated that the segregated fee revenue would be below what was originally budgeted, to the tune of approximately $225,000. AT that time, Athletics was able to show how we would absorb that shortfall without making significant cuts to programs. Even with that challenge, Athletics ended Fiscal Year 2026 with a positive balance of approximately $135,000. There was a small 2-year cumulative deficit remaining of approximately $46,000 so this positive ending to Fiscal Year 2026 allows the department to carry forward a positive balance of approximately $89,000. Going forward, the athletic department fully expects to continue to balance a budget annually and plans to do so again in Fiscal Year 2027. Athletics does however continue to have volatile revenue and expenses so building some semblance of a surplus will prove to be essential in future years. As a department we are committed to avoiding any significant future deficits and will continue to be good stewards of all resources supporting the University’s athletic program.