Donald David Fritsch

Donald D. “Don” Fritsch, 70, of La Crosse, died on Friday, September 6, 2024 at the Gundersen Health System in La Crosse after a six month battle with glioblastoma. Don was born on January 28, 1954 in Columbus, OH to Donald Dwayne and Ellen Elizabeth (Cadegan) Fritsch. 

Don graduated from Iowa-Grant High School in 1972. He married Sue Priester on August 12, 1978. He taught Health and Physical Education at Longfellow Middle School in La Crosse from 1998 until his retirement in 2012. Throughout his life, Don’s passion was running and coaching.

Inducted into the UWL Wall of Fame in 2015, Don coached the UWL men's cross country squad to two National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III championships, in 2001 and 2005, and 8 additional top-seven national finishes in his 14 seasons as head coach. He was named the 2001 NCAA Division III Cross Country Coach of the Year. Fritsch was also selected as the 2005 United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division III Midwest Regional and National Cross Country Coach of the Year. 

UWL won eight Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) titles (1998-99, 2001, 2004-07, 2009) under Fritsch as he earned WIAC Coach of the Year honors seven times (1998-99, 2001, 2004-07). He served six years as an assistant coach of the men's cross country and men's track & field teams prior to being named head cross country coach in 1998. 

Don served as UWL's interim head men's track & field coach in 2007-08, leading the Eagles to the 2008 NCAA Division III indoor championship. UWL swept the WIAC indoor and outdoor track & field titles under Fritsch in 2008 as he earned 2008 WIAC Indoor Co-Coach of the Year honors. He was a volunteer assistant men's track & field coach at UWL from 1992-2012. 

 Don served as head men's and women's cross country coach and associate men's and women's track & field coach at Viterbo University (Wis.) for six seasons (2017-23). He was named the 2020 North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year, leading the V-Hawks to their first league title since 2010. Viterbo also won the women's conference crown in 2022. 

A Wisconsin Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame inductee in 2004, Don was the head coach of the boys and girls cross country programs at Stevens Point (Wis.) Pacelli High School from 1981-90, where he earned Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association (WISAA) Coach of the Year honors four times. He also guided the boys and girls track & field programs at the school from 1985-91. Fritsch coached the boys and girls programs to a combined 15 WISAA Division II cross country championships. He also guided the girls' track & field team to two state titles. During his tenure at Pacelli, Don guided the development of 15 individual state champions.

A 1980 graduate of UWL, Don ran on the cross country and track & field squads. He placed seventh at the 1979 Wisconsin State University Conference (WSUC) Championships to earn all-conference first team accolades. Fritsch also garnered National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) District 14 honors in 1979. He returned to UWL and earned his master's degree in physical education-human performance in 1993.

Don is survived by his wife Sue, his siblings, Catherine (Al) Wendt of Marshall, WI, Jeff (Rhonda) Fritsch of Prescott, AZ, Ellen (Dan) Herman of Juneau, WI, and Cheryl Fritsch-Jarlsberg of Madison, WI, and numerous nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, Dwayne and Betty Fritsch, and a nephew Chandler Jarlsberg. 

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, September 14th, 2024 from 1:00 – 4:00 PM at the Schumacher-Kish Funeral & Cremation Services of La Crosse. A private family burial will be held at a later date. Memorials may be given to the Gundersen Medical Foundation for Cancer Research or Palliative Care, or Stevens Point Pacelli Catholic School Education Foundation.