Bryan To Be Inducted Into The UWSP Athletic Hall of Fame

Tuesday, February 6th, 2024 -- 10:25 AM

The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point athletics department announced the 2024 Athletics Hall of Fame Class last Wednesday which includes Neillsville native Dean Bryan for track and field. 

Bryan ran track and played football at Stevens Point. Bryan is a six-time All-American, three in indoor and three in outdoor. He was the national runner-up in the 400-meter dash in both 1991 and 1992 during indoor season. His outdoor All-American honors were one each in the 400-meter dash, the 1600-meter relay and the 400-meter relay. In 1991, Bryan set the WIAC indoor record for the 400-meter dash at 48.23, winning the conference title, the first of six WIAC championships he won in his career. He still holds the UWSP indoor and outdoor record for the 400-meter dash.

On the football team, Bryan was a three-year starter and a team captain. He was a receiver with 93 career catches, 1,573 yards and 18 touchdowns and was named to the All-WIAC team as a senior.

After graduation from UWSP, Dean returned to central Wisconsin, and coached at Neillsville and at Marshfield High School.  He was the girls basketball coach at Neillsville between 1996 and 2002.

Bryan, a 1989 Neillsville High School graduate was also an outstanding 3 sport athlete for the Warriors.  In fact he has 3 Neillsville outdoor track records, all set in 1989: 100m Dash - 10.85;  200m Dash 22.1 and Long Jump 22’ 9”.

The other inductees include:  Shirley Egner coached the UWSP women's basketball team for 33 seasons and led the Pointers to the National Championship in 2002. Ben Engelland finished as the NCAA Runner-Up in wrestling in 2011 and holds the best career winning percentage in school history. Kelly Haen ran cross country and track and field from 2009 to 2012, finishing second at the WIAC Cross Country Championships in 2010 and 2011. Fred Hebert served as Assistant Football Coach and Defensive Coordinator for UW-Stevens Point football from 1984 to 1998, and as Associate Dean and Head of the School of Health Exercise Science and Athletics from 1998 to 2009. Kyle Steiner won a national championship as a member of the 4x400-meter relay in 2008 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and was named the National Field Athlete of the Year. Jill Van Wychen played four years of softball at UWSP, was named the 2003 WIAC Player of the Year, and is the program's all-time stolen base leader. 

The 2024 UWSP Hall of Fame Induction ceremony will be held on Friday, October 4 in the Laird Room at the Dreyfus University Center. The inductees will also be recognized at halftime of the Homecoming game on Oct. 5 versus UW-Stout.

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