Walter Meanwell

Teams coached: Wisconsin Badgers, Missouri Tigers
Wisconsin record: 246-99 (.713)
Missouri record: 34-2 (.944)
Overall record: 280-101 (.735)

NCAA National Championships: 0
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 0
NIT Championships: 0
NIT Appearances: 0
Big Ten Regular Season Champion: 8 (1912, 1913, 1914, 1916, 1921, 1923, 1924, 1929)
Missouri Valley Regular Season Champion: 2 (1918, 1920)
Premo-Porretta National Championships: 3 (1912, 1914, 1916)
Helms Foundation National Championships: 3 (1912, 1914, 1916)

Walter E. Meanwell
Born January 26, 1884
Died December 2, 1953
Hometown: Leeds, England
Alma Mater: Johns Hopkins University (PhD, 1915)
Arrived at UW in 1911 to be the Director of the Gymnasium but took over as the head basketball coach when the previous coach resigned
- Went 15-0 (12-0) in his first season, winning the Big Ten (then Western Conference) regular season championship
- Repeated as conference champion in 1913 (14-1), 1914 (15-0) and 1916 (20-1)
- Meanwell and Wisconsin were retroactively awarded the Helms National Championship and Premo-Porretta National Championship for the 1912, 1914 and 1916 seasons
Left UW to serve with the US Army in World War I and then spent two seasons as the head coach at Missouri, finishing 17-1 and winning the MVC title both years (1918, 1920)
- In between those two seasons, Meanwell as the athletic director at Missouri
Returned to Wisconsin in 1920, coaching the Badgers for another fourteen seasons
- Had a 246-99 record across all 20 seasons at Wisconsin and won another four Big Ten titles during his 2nd tenure
- Served as the athletic director at Wisconsin from 1933-1935
Started to practice medicine in Madison, WI in 1935, which he did until his death in 1953
Due to his doctorate degree and short stature (5’6″), Meanwell was nicknamed “Doc,” “Little Doctor,” “Napoleon of Basketball,” “The Little Giant,” and “The Wizard”