OSHKOSH — The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh men’s basketball program is entering a new era.
On Tuesday, the Titans introduced Steve Schweer as their new head coach. Schweer, who spent the past eight years achieving success at Illinois College, replaces Matt Lewis, who led the Titans to a national title in 2019 and stepped down in late March.
“There’s obviously a really proud tradition of success in this program and in this athletic department,” Schweer said. “My hope is to be able to identify some of those things that have afforded that success and be able to mold those things with my own personal stamp and personality.”
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During his eight years leading the Blue Boys, Schweer guided the team to two Midwest Conference titles in 2023 and 2024, earning bids to the NCAA Division III tournament both years. In 2024, Illinois College won its first game in the tournament.
Schweer told NBC 26 one of the reasons he wanted the Titans gig was to challenge himself in what he considers one of the best Division III conferences.
“Anybody who’s coaching and says they don’t want to see how they fare against the very best or want to see if they can compete for a national championship is either lying to you or doesn’t have high enough expectations. I’m excited for that challenge,” Schweer said of the WIAC.
The Titans basketball team returned from a trip to Greece on May 27, five days after Schweer was hired.
Despite Monday being his first official day, the new head coach drove three and a half hours from Illinois to greet the team upon their return.
“This type of transition is hard for them, right? And I wanted to make sure that I was putting my best foot forward in terms of showing them the type of commitment to them and to this program that I’m going to expect in return from them. I can’t expect that from them if I’m not wanting to live that myself,” Schweer said.
Regarding recruiting, Schweer emphasized a focus on local athletes.
“You look up and down this league, most of the really successful teams in this league in the last five, seven, ten years all have some guys from this area, and we want to try to keep all of them here. I think if we can do that, then we’re going to give ourselves a really, really good chance to be successful,” Schweer said.
The Titans haven’t made the NCAA tournament since 2023, but Schweer said that’s the standard going forward.
“There’s no reason for me to say that that shouldn’t be the standard. I will feel that I let us down if I’m not able to help us achieve that on a yearly basis. That doesn’t put any pressure on me. I just think this is the caliber of place that we should have that kind of expectation — to be competing in a big tournament every year,” Schweer said.
