Doug Sarver
Doug Sarver | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | December 22, 1956 |
| Alma mater | St. Francis High School, St. Francis, WI |
| Occupation(s) | High School Football Coach (retired) and Athletic Director |
| Known for | Hall of Fame high school coaching career |
Doug Saver is an retired American high school football coach and active high school athletic director.[1] He was the head coach of his alma mater, St. Francis High School. He coached the Mariners for 29 seasons, from 1990 through 2018. During this time he compiled a record of 154-129[2], winning 3 Parkland Conference championships, having a period where his teams qualified for the WIAA playoffs in 12 of 13 seasons, taking his teams to the playoffs a total of 17 times, and taking the Mariners to the WIAA Division 4 championship game in 2004.[3]
Early Life
[edit]Doug is the son of Audrey and William (Bill) Sarver. Bill is a member of the Illinois State University Athletic Hall of Fame, having starred in baseball, basketball, and football.[4] Doug followed in his dad's footsteps by being an all-around athlete at St. Francis High School. Doug participated in football and basketball for 4 years, baseball for 5 years (WIAA rules allowed incoming freshmen and graduated seniors to participate in WIAA summer baseball), and golf for 2 years (he was unable to participate in golf all 4 years because boys' golf became a fall sport while he was in high school.[5]) Doug earn honorable mention all-conference honors in football as a running back his senior year, basketball honorable mention all-conference as a junior, and 2nd team all-conference basketball honors as a senior as a point guard.
Doug's younger brother Dan and younger sister Sandy also attended SFHS.
Pre Head-Coaching Days
[edit]While still attending SFHS, Doug coached Saturday morning recreation basketball from 1973 to 1975. In the summers he worked as baseball instructor and coach for the St. Francis Recreation Department. After graduating from SFHS in 1975, Doug attended UW-Whitewater for two years.
Upon returning to St. Francis in 1977, Doug became active in coaching youth sports. He coached youth basketball from 1977 to 1989, founded the St. Francis Warriors Youth Football program in 1978, served as its head coach from 1978 to 1991, and became its director at its founding. He has remained the director to the present time.[6] He served as the SFHS boys and girls head track and field coach from 1982 to 1999. In 1985 he joined Dan Brunner's varsity football staff as an assistant, and when Brunner left after the 1989 season to move on to Hartford Union High School, Doug took over as the head coach.[7] [8]
Heading Coach at SFHS
[edit]Doug Sarver began his tenure as the head football coach at St. Francis High School in the 1990 season. His 29 years as head coach is the 2nd longest head coaching tenure for any sport in SFHS history, second only to Mike Szydlowski's 30-year tenure as girls basketball coach.[9] He retired after the 2018 season[2], and was replaced by one of his assistants, Jeff Wallack.
Among Doug's favorite memories as head coach was upsetting rival Franklin High School in 1992 to regain the "gold shovel" that the schools battled for each season. Since 1992 was the last season that Franklin was in the Parkland Conference, St. Francis has retained the shovel since 1992.
| Season | Overall
Record |
Conference Record and
Conference Standing |
Postseason |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 3-6 | Independent | |
| 1991 | 3-6 | Parkland - record and place unavailable | |
| 1992 | 3-6 | Parkland - record and place unavailable | |
| 1993 | 2-7 | Parkland - record and place unavailable | |
| 1994 | 5-4 | Parkland - record and place unavailable | |
| 1995 | 6-3 | Parkland - record and place unavailable | |
| 1996 | 10-1 | 7-0 Parkland Conference Champions |
|
| 1997 | 7-3 | 5-1 Parkland | Lost to Lomira 21-14 WIAA Level 1 |
| 1998 | 4-6 | 4-3 Parkland | Lost to Mayville 34-7 WIAA Level 1 |
| 1999 | 4-5 | 2-5 Parkland | |
| 2000 | 6-4 | 5-2 2nd Parkland | Lost to Madison Edgewood 40-0 WIAA Level 1 |
| 2001 | 6-4 | 5-2 2nd in Parkland | Lost to Palmyra-Eagle 42-7 WIAA Level 1 |
| 2002 | 9-2 | 6-1 Parkland Conference Champions |
|
| 2003 | 8-3 | 5-2 Parkland Conference Champions |
|
| 2004 | 12-2 | 6-1 2nd Parkland |
|
| 2005 | 6-4 | 4-2 Parkland | Lost to St. Thomas More 21-0 WIAA Level 1 |
| 2006 | 6-4 | 4-1 2nd Woodland East | Lost to Brodhead/Juda 29-23 WIAA Level 1 |
| 2007 | 5-5 | 3-2 3rd Woodland East | Lost to Big Foot 35-0 WIAA Level 1 |
| 2008 | 6-4 | 5-3 5th Woodland West | Lost to Wisconsin Lutheran 56-7 WIAA Level 1 |
| 2009 | 1-8 | 0-5 6th Woodland East | |
| 2010 | 3-6 | 1-4 5th Woodland East | |
| 2011 | 2-7 | 1-4 5th Woodland East | |
| 2012 | 0-8 | 0-5 6th Woodland East | |
| 2013 | 2-7 | 1-5 tied 4th Woodland East | |
| 2014 | 6-4 | 4-3 4th Midwest Classic Small | Lost to Wisconsin Lutheran 41-14 WIAA Level 1 |
| 2015 | 8-2 | 6-1 2nd Midwest Classic Small | Lost ot Whitnall 21-19 WIAA Level 1 |
| 2016 | 6-4 | 5-2 3rd Midwest Classic Small | Lost to Kiel 41-14 WIAA Level 1 |
| 2017 | 7-3 | 4-2 3rd Midwest Classic Small | Lost to Greendale 35-6 WIAA Level 1 |
| 2018 | 7-2 | 5-1 2nd Midwest Classic Small | Lost to Sheboygan Falls 27-0 WIAA Level 1 |
- 1996 Milwaukee Journal Coach of the Year
- 1996 Community Newspapers Coach of the Year
- 2002 Community Newspapers Coach of the Year
- 2004 Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Coach of the Year
- 2009 Selected to Wisconsin Football Coaches Hall of Fame
Post-Coaching Activites
[edit]Doug Sarver continues to serve as the athletic director at SFHS. He plans to stay through the 2025-26 school year, and he is overseeing the installing of an artificial turf surface at the St. Francis High School football stadium.[10] In addition, he is active in these community service projects:
- Coordinator of Harold "Butch" McKeon Golf Outing that supports SFHS Athletes[11]
- Coordinator of the SFHS Athletic Wall of Fame Committee
- Coordinator of the SFHS Homecoming Alumni Zone
- Co-administrator of the St. Francis Mariner Alumni Nation Facebook page
References
[edit]- ^ "Client Challenge". www.stfrancisschools.org. Retrieved 2025-06-23.
- ^ a b Stewart, Mark. "St. Francis football coach Doug Sarver, the area's third-longest tenured coach, retires after 29 seasons". Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2025-06-23.
- ^ "WIAA Football Champions" (PDF). June 25, 2025. Retrieved June 25, 2025.
- ^ "Bill Sarver (1974) - Illinois State Athletics Percy Family Hall of Fame". Illinois State University Athletics. Retrieved 2025-06-23.
- ^ "Boys Golf - State Results Archive". www.wiaawi.org. Retrieved 2025-06-24.
- ^ "ST. FRANCIS WARRIORS". gmmyfl. Retrieved 2025-06-24.
- ^ Network, Wisconsin Sports (2006-03-01). "Dan Brunner - Saint Francis / Hartford". Wisconsin Football Coaches Association. Retrieved 2025-06-24.
- ^ a b Network, Wisconsin Sports (2009-03-01). "Doug Sarver - St. Francis". Wisconsin Football Coaches Association. Retrieved 2025-06-24.
- ^ "Szydlowski, Mike – Wisconsin Impact". Retrieved 2025-06-25.
- ^ "Green Bay Packers Press Release". June 24, 2025.
- ^ "Client Challenge". www.stfrancisschools.org. Retrieved 2025-06-24.