Jerry Petitgoue, Wisconsin’s all-time winningest high school basketball coach, died at a Madison hospital Saturday.
Petitgoue, 84, won 1,027 games in 52 seasons at Cuba City High School and four seasons at the former Gratiot High School.
Petitgoue’s Cuba City teams won 23 titles in the Southern Eight Conference, Southwest Wisconsin Athletic League and Southwest Wisconsin Activities League. His teams played in 12 state tournaments and won state titles in 1981, 1991 and 1998.
“He was a pillar in the hoops community and positively impacted countless young men,” said UW–Madison men’s basketball coach Greg Gard, who played against Cuba City at Iowa–Grant High School the year the Cubans and Panthers went to state in 1989. “From the first time that I met him as a camper of his in the early 1980s, to competing against his Cuba City teams as a high school player, then starting my own coaching journey in 1990, to most recently serving with him on the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Executive Board, no one has had a more impactful and influential career on the growth, popularity and expansion of basketball in Wisconsin than Jerry. He was constantly searching for ways to improve the game and create more opportunities for coaches and players across the state.”
“He was not only an iconic figure in the history of Wisconsin basketball, but also a mentor to all who had the privilege of crossing paths with him — on the court, in the classroom, or even in passing,” said UW–Platteville men’s basketball coach Jeff Gard. “Personally, Coach Petitgoue profoundly shaped not only my coaching career but also my life — instilling in me a focus on faith, family, and then basketball.”
His accomplishments on the court may never be surpassed, but it is the countless lives he touched that form his most enduring legacy. Coach Petitgoue lived life to its absolute fullest, exemplifying what it means to be a servant leader.”
It’s hard to find anyone either in Cuba City or in the Wisconsin basketball world who wasn’t influenced by Petitgoue.
“Coach Petitgoue’s influence on so many people was extraordinary, and rightfully so,” said Jason Derby, who played for two Petitgoue state teams and was a boys assistant coach before becoming the girls coach and winning the state Division 4 title in March. “As a player, I knew him to be a hard working coach that wanted Cuba City players to both play basketball well and, more importantly, treat people well. I knew that he cared about me when I made shots and when I missed shots, and I knew he cared even more about what I would do outside of and beyond basketball.
“As an assistant, I found out much more. The hours he would spend contacting other coaches at any level to try and find one tidbit or one drill that might help his team was special. You hear about people that are lifelong learners: he’s the definition. When the one person that actually may know it all behaves as if he has an unlimited amount to learn from others, the message that it sends to both his players and coaches is powerful. I also found out that he wasn’t just trying to maximize Cuba City basketball all these years; he was trying to make basketball the best it could be in the whole state of Wisconsin and beyond.”
“He was the best mentor a young coach could have ever asked for,” said Jeff Pustina, who in 32 years as the Cubans’ girls basketball coach won 662 games and nine state championships. “I was fortunate. From a basketball standpoint nobody knew the game better as far as X’s and O’s. But it was his master motivation that he was best at.”
“I started my career at Cuba City in 1997 and throughout the past 28 years had the opportunity to work with Jerry as a fellow teacher, coach and as an athletic director,” said Keri Lawson, Cuba City’s volleyball coach and athletic director. “As a history teacher Jerry grabbed his classroom’s attention regardless of topic. When walking by you could hear Jerry’s very loud voice sharing historical events like he lived in the time. His students would gravitate to his lessons and believe every last word.
“As a colleague he kept other teachers on their toes and routinely brought staff to tears during faculty meetings with some random and strong opinions on school issues. As a new coach Jerry also provided mentorship in those first years. He always supported all sports, athletes and coaches and was an advocate within the SWAL and statewide. While athletic director he navigated the world prior to technology software systems that signed all the contracts. Jerry would get things done, because he was Jerry Petitigoue.”
“Coach Petitgoue is at the top of the Mount Rushmore of coaches in the state of Wisconsin,” said Platteville boys basketball coach Mike Huser. “He was a tough competitor on the court and his teams really reflected his fiery personality when you played them.
“However, that is what the public was able to see. I was fortunate to really get to know Coach Petitgoue off the court and working closely with Coach and his wife, Joan, with the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Assocation and I really treasure the conversations we were able to have when the Hillmen and Cubans were not playing each other during games.”
After graduating from the University of Dubuque, Petitgoue began his career coaching at Gratiot High School in 1963. His first game, against Hollandale, was to be Nov. 22, 1963, but was rescheduled due to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
Petitgoue lost his job when Gratiot and South Wayne high schools merged to form the Black Hawk School District, and Petitgoue lost a coin flip with the South Wayne coach for the new Black Hawk coaching position. Petitgoue then went to Lena–Winslow High School in Illinois and was their junior varsity boys basketball coach. He also taught at his alma mater for three years. He earned a master’s degree from UW–Platteville in 1967.
Petitgoue came to Cuba City in 1972. He started a feeder program overseeing basketball teams from Cuba City Elementary School, St. Rose School in Cuba City, the Dickeyville grade school, Holy Ghost School in Dickeyville and Cuba City Middle School.
Cuba City won the 1981 Class B title, beating Shorewood and Ladysmith, and won the Division 3 title in 1991, beating Auburndale 36–35 and Phillips 50–48, and 1998. beating Amherst and Phillips.
Cuba City finished second at state in 2012, losing to Whitefish Bay Dominican, and played at state in 1983, 1989, 2005 and 2013. Petitgoue’s 2020 team went undefeated, but didn’t play at state because the boys basketball postseason was canceled after the sectional semifinal found at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Petitgoue coached several college players, including four NCAA Division I players — Brad Timmerman, who played at South Dakota State; Greg Timmerman, who played at Wisconsin and North Dakota; Evan Richard, who played at UW–Milwaukee; and Brayden Dailey, who played at UW–Green Bay.
“A favorite memory was receiving ‘A Note from Coach,’” said Lawson. “Occasionally coaches would receive a notecard with Jerry’s name on the outside in our mailboxes. During my first years of coaching one read ‘There will be tough days but you are doing a great job and Cuba City is lucky to have you.’ Others would be words of congratulations after a big win. He did those things just because.”
“Coach had an ability to make you feel like you were the most important person in the room when you were speaking with him, or he called to talk to you,” said Huser. “This is a tough loss for everyone, and I know many coaches feel the same way. He greatly impacted many lives, not only in Southwest Wisconsin but throughout the State of Wisconsin.”
Petitgoue was a central figure in the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association, serving as its executive director. He was named to the WBCA Hall of Fame as well as a member of the University of Dubuque and UW–Platteville halls of fame.
The WBCA created a Jerry Petitgoue Service Award last year to honor contributors to basketball.
He also was featured in several basketball instructional videos, including on the feeder system he created.
Petitgoue’s roles extended far beyond basketball. During seasons in which the Cubans didn’t get to state he was a color commentator for the state boys basketball tournament TV network.
“Behind the microphone he was charismatic and humorous, a side that many of us were so lucky to have witnessed,” said Pustina.
After retiring as a Cuba City High School social studies teacher Petitgoue served on the Cuba City Board of Education. He was one of the founders of The City of Presidents Committee, a marketing effort to extend the country’s longest running Bicentennial project with plaques commemorating each president along Main Street.
“Jerry Petitgoue was the complete package (teacher, AD, coach, Board of Education), but he was also a special human being that touched the lives of all those who came in contact with him,” said Lawson.
“We all knew with Jerry it was religion, family and basketball,” said Pustina. “Over the years he became a great friend and did so much for me, my family Cuba City and the state of Wisconsin.”
“If my only lessons learned from Coach Petitgoue were basketball ones — offensive and defensive ideas, running a practice, etc. — I would consider myself incredibly fortunate,” said Derby. “However, the fact that those are the smallest of the lessons I learned from him as a player and coach says so much about exactly who he was. Cuba City, the state of Wisconsin, and the entire basketball world lost a tremendous coach and an even better person.”
“Although we’ve lost an incredible mentor, we can honor his memory in how we choose to live our own lives,” said Jeff Gard. “Without a doubt, he left this world — and the game he loved — in a far better place than he found it. His absence will be deeply felt in so many ways.”
Petitgoue is survived by his wife Joan, daughter Michelle Walch, sons Mark and Ryan, and six grandchildren, one of whom, Foster, played for his grandfather at Cuba City.
A wake will be held at Cuba City High School Friday from 3 to 8 p.m.
Petitgoue’s funeral will be at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Cuba City Saturday at 11 a.m., preceded by visitation from 9 to 10:45 a.m. Casey–McNett Funeral Home in Cuba City is in charge of arrangements.
