TALKIN' - University of Wisconsin - Green Bay

ALUMNI NOTES
TDs, IT and XLV: At Lambeau or Super Bowl,
he’s wired to Green Bay Packers’ success
UW-Green Bay has never fielded
a college football team, yet it still
provides key talent to the Super
Bowl-winning pros across town.
An example is Wayne Wichlacz
’84, a business grad and a key
behind-the-scenes player. He’s
the Green Bay Packers’ director of
information technology.
“I’m fortunate to work for one
of the greatest sports franchises
in the world,” says Wichlacz. The
Two Rivers native joined the Packers
in 1993. Overseeing a team of
10 IT staffers, he has guided modernization
of the organization’s
traditional business technology,
football support technology and
game day IT at Lambeau Field.
That includes the ticketing
system (with 80,000+ waiting list
customers), e-commerce for the
Packers Pro Shop, and applications
that support Lambeau Field
special events, the Packers Hall of
Fame, stadium tours and Curly’s
Pub restaurant. Football software
ranges from college and pro scout-
18 May 2011
ing, and coaching game analysis,
to software supporting salary-cap
decisions.
For Super Bowl XLV, Wichlacz’s
team had one week to set up
secure and reliable IT operation at
the team hotel. The deployment
included over 80 laptops, multiple
servers and separate high-speed
networks for business operations
and video. Says Wichlacz, “the
vision for the Super Bowl setup was
to plug into the network and not
know that you were in Dallas!”
When Wichlacz started with
the Packers he was their first fulltime
computer professional. The
environment then was Windows
3.1, simple word processing and
spreadsheets, and labor-intensive
videotape editing. In contrast,
the 2010 world champs thrive on
internet, e-mail and smart phone
technology. Digital video is the
primary analysis and teaching tool
in scouting and coaching.
“Game Day” support includes
prewired locations throughout
the stadium for major networks.
As many as 35 different camera
locations can be used for a single
pre-game show and game. Fiber
optic cabling is standard for HD
broadcasts. Other technology
continues to evolve: wireless ticket
scanning, stadium AV technologies
and website support.
Wichlacz says his UW-Green
Bay education was heavy on
technical and practical experience.
Computer profs William
Shay and Bruce Mielke along with
John Harris and Phillip Clampitt of
business and communication were
influential. When he was a student
employee, Barbara DeCleene and
fellow alumni and administrators
Dave Kieper ’79 and Roger Hodek
’79 —themselves technology consultants
to the Packers in the early
1990s — were mentors.
“I’ve remained connected to the
great people in UWGB Information
Services,” says Wichlacz. “My time
at UWGB continues to influence
my approach with the Packers.”
Joan (Vandenberg) Woldt ’89 business
administration and communication
processes, is the regional vice president
for Bank First National. She is also on
the board of directors for the Oshkosh
YMCA and the Fox Cities Chamber, and
is a member of the Oshkosh Business
Retention Committee.
1990s
Craig Cobane ’90 political science,
is the Jarve Endowed Professor in
Honors and the executive director
of the Honors College at Western
Kentucky University.
Michelle (Klasen) Dahlke ’92
business administration and math,
joined Citizens Bank as vice president,
treasury management sales representative
for Wisconsin and the Upper
Peninsula of Michigan.
Toni (Baker) Damkoehler ’92 art and
Spanish, has been promoted to associate
professor of arts and visual design at
UW-Green Bay.
Walt Melcher ’92 business administration
and German, is president of Clear-
Path Retirement Centers headquartered
in Lone Tree, Colo., south of Denver.
Peter Olson ’93
history and human
studies, recently
joined First County
Bank as an assistant
vice president in
Norwalk, Conn.
Financial adviser
Jay Wille ’93
Olson
political science and
business administration, is opening his
own agency in Northeast Wisconsin:
Eagle Strategies, LLC, a division of New
York Life.
Jason Herrbold ’94 business administration,
assists adults with disabilities
in functioning independently. He works
with N.E.W. Curative in Green Bay.
Paul Pinkston ’94 urban studies, was
named director of facilities management
and planning at UW-Green Bay.
His responsibilities extend across a
700-acre campus with 1.4 million gross
square feet of building space, and he
oversees employees in building maintenance,
grounds, custodial services,
central heating plant, electrical work,
and fleet/motor pool.
Nicole (Merkel) Reetz ’94 English
and humanistic studies, is an English
teacher, volleyball coach and poetry
adviser to the Bloodstone literary
magazine at Lincoln High School in
Wisconsin Rapids. Incorrect information
regarding her title and city was
inadvertently included in our November
2010 issue.
Jason Helgeson ’95 human biology and
nutritional science and ’02 master’s in
administrative science, works at Prevea
and is serving on the board of directors
for the Cellcom Green Bay Marathon.