OSHKOSH — Brad Fischer is leaving the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh to join the NCAA Division I ranks.
After turning the Titans women’s basketball program into a powerhouse, Fischer is set to become an assistant coach at Nebraska, leaving behind a legacy as one of the most successful coaches in Wisconsin history.
"This place is gonna be the the core of me for the rest of my career," Fischer said. "I think no matter what happens here on out, I'm gonna look back at moments from here and memories from here and the players from here as the catalyst for everything that came after."
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When he first took over the program in 2012, the Titans hadn't had a winning record for six years. Fischer led the team to 14 straight winning seasons and amassed a program-record 315 victories, while winning nearly 80% of his games and made 11 NCAA tournament appearances. He also holds the WIAC record as the only coach to have 13-straight 20-win seasons.
"Obviously everyone talks about culture, but it started with standards and we had to teach the first group that you need to expect to win," Fischer said.
He's had opportunities to leave for bigger schools before, but Fischer says there’s not many jobs better than Oshkosh. It had to be the right fit, and coaching at the Big Ten level with Nebraska was too good to pass up.
"I feel like I can bring some winning mentality and some experience in winning to them, and they're going to teach me a ton about the Big 10 and Division 1 and what that's all about too, so it just checks so many boxes."
But the hardest part was telling his Titans team after he visited Lincoln and knew Nebraska was going to be his new home.
"I cried a lot on that call and I'm going to see some of them here over the next couple of days and hopefully the next couple of weeks before we've formally moved and there's going to be tears every time."
UW-Oshkosh is coming off back-to-back Final Four appearances, but one thing Fischer never did is win a national championship. He says whoever fills his shoes can lead this team to the top.
"I hope people here don't compare them to me. I hope whoever it is coaches with conviction. I hope whoever it is trusts their gut, does not try to recreate anything that I did."
