Gard Follows Family Footsteps for Pioneers

To some, being the head basketball coach of a Division 3 college program may seem like enough to keep one’s plate full. But for UW-Platteville coach, Jeff Gard, his coaching career is just the beginning. 

Jeff Gard comes from a tree of Pioneers – Platteville Pioneers that is, having attended UW-Platteville, following in the footsteps of his older brother, Greg, and his father, Glen. Upon his graduation from the school in 2001, he worked toward his Master’s Degree in Education, while exploring the world of coaching.

One of Gard’s initial coaching opportunities was as an assistant at Wisconsin basketball powerhouse Cuba City High School. Here, Gard worked under the legendary Coach Jerry Petitgoue, who holds the record for most wins of all Wisconsin coaches by a wide margin. Gard cites coach Pettigoue, along with former Badgers Head Coach Bo Ryan as two of his greatest coaching influences.

Speaking of the Badgers, Jeff’s brother, Greg currently is the head Men’s Basketball coach for the University of Wisconsin. The two even faced off in a preseason matchup in Madison, WI back in 2016.

In 2009, Gard took over the Head Coaching job at his alma mater, UW-Platteville, after several years of assistant coaching. Since then, his teams have been a force on the court, helping him to rack up over 240 wins in 15 seasons.

His drive doesn’t stop once he leaves the court though. The accomplished coach is also known for giving back to his community and the work that he does for his foundation. After losing his father to a battle with cancer in 2015, Gard and his family set up a foundation to honor Glen. In 2016, Garding Against Cancer was born, as Jeff and his brother Greg, used their platforms to bring more awareness to their charity. 

Garding Against Cancer helps fund research in the fight against cancer while working to assist those who are currently battling the disease. The organization raises funds not only through Platteville and Madison’s campuses where the Gard brothers coach, but also several other universities across the state. Through fundraisers and donations from supporters, the Gards have worked to raise millions of dollars to help those in need, with all proceeds staying within Wisconsin.

Jeff Gard will continue his focus on his charitable work along with his basketball team, as his WIAC-leading Platteville looks to make a postseason run in the NCAA tournament this spring. The Pioneers currently sit at 19-3 on the season and are ranked 14th in the nation across all D3 schools.