West Honored As Jerry Petitgoue Coaches Award Honoree
Nov 2, 2016
Dubuque, Iowa – The University of Dubuque honored the 2016-17 recipient of the Jerry Petitgoue Coaches Award to Jon West. This annual award was named in honor of Wisconsin Hall of Fame coach Jerry Petitgoue, long-time boys basketball coach at Cuba City, Wis. Petitgoue is the winningest coach in the state of Wisconsin history with 899 wins. In 49 years of coaching he has 29 conference championships at Cuba City and 3 State Championships at Cuba City (1981, 1991, and 1998). Cuba City was the state runner-up in 2012.
Petitgoue was a 1963 graduate of the University of Dubuque and this special award was established in his honor to an alumnus coach who best represents Petitgoue’s tenacity, strong work ethic, and care for athletes of any age, at any level.
Jon West (C ‘73) has spent a lifetime coaching and mentoring young student-athletes around the world. His boy’s basketball coaching career began in 1974 as an assistant at Galena High School. From that opportunity he would become an assistant at Loras College from 1976-78. He returned to his Alma Mater, the University of Dubuque, and coached alongside legendary coach Jon Davison from 1978-1985.
In 1985, he would travel around the world and spent a year coaching in Iceland. After his year abroad he returned to the Spartans and coached until 1987. From 1987-89 he coached Burlington Notre Dame High School before making a stop in West Dubuque High School in 1989-91. From 1991-2001, West coached boys basketball at Dubuque Hempstead High School until retiring from teaching. He has spread his knowledge of basketball to hundreds of young boys from junior high to college, including in retirement spending time along the sidelines with his son, Mark, coaching boys basketball at East Dubuque High School.
“A tremendous honor to be named the Jerry Petitgoue Coaches Award recipient in 2016-17,” commented Jon West. “Jerry is a legend in the Midwest and to have my name on that award means a lot to me. Coach Davison has been my mentor along the way and a very special person to me. I must say thanks to Coach Davison, my wife and family for allowing me to experience all the gratifying relationships with players, which extends beyond the playing years.”
West has directed many basketball skills camps over the years and continues to teach as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Dubuque for the past 16 years. He received the award at the University of Dubuque football game vs. Nebraska Wesleyan University at halftime on October 8.
Recipients of the University of Dubuque Jerry Petitgoue Award:
2013 - Paul Rundquist (C ’96)
2014 – Clay Shaffer (C’ 73)
2015 – Jay Herkelman (C’ 86)
2016 – Jon West (C’ 73)
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