An altercation, equipment damage and old allegations: UWGB-UWM rivalry is alive after Horizon quarterfinal game

GREEN BAY – There were more storylines off the basketball court than on for the Horizon League men’s quarterfinal game between the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and UW-Milwaukee last Thursday at the Kress Center.

UWM coach Bart Lundy did not find UWGB to be a gracious host, at least according to comments made to a Milwaukee media outlet after the Panthers’ 95-84 win over the Phoenix.

There also was potential camera equipment damage by UWM. A possible altercation between assistant coaches for UWM and UWGB. Allegations going back to a season ago that UWGB played three ineligible players in its upset at UWM that helped cost the Panthers the Horizon League regular-season championship.

The Horizon was asked about the damaged equipment, UWGB being rude hosts and a pregame altercation, but it did not address any of the specific questions.

“We have staff members on site at each tournament game,” said Shawn Sullivan, who is the league’s associate commissioner for branding, messaging and strategic initiatives. “We are interacting with administrators and coaches from both home and away teams in every scenario including in the lead-up of those contests with the goal of providing a top-notch student-athlete experience and fan experience. We evaluate each situation in real time and after the game.”

Panthers unhappy with practice accommodations

With that said, let’s start with Lundy’s issue with practices and shootaround times after his team arrived in Green Bay.

“I hope some people are listening,” Lundy said in his postgame radio interview with the Black and Gold Network. “They tried not to give us practice (Wednesday). Tried to switch the shootaround before the game at 4 p.m. (Thursday). We had to get the commissioner involved twice. I mean, they diminished the league today. I don’t think it’s right. I’m going to make my voice heard on this. We will take the win, our guys played hard. They played in a hostile environment, and I’m proud of them.

“We are a classy group. We have got some guys who will chirp, but especially my coaching staff, my coaching staff is a professional, classy group. We would never, I don’t care who practices when. We will give our practice time up for our opponent. There are ways to do things and there are ways not to do things. Over the last two days, it’s been very clear here at Green Bay (it does) not know how to do things.”

UWGB disagreed with Lundy’s concerns.

UWM had a shootaround Thursday morning in the Kress Center, hours before the UWGB women hosted Youngstown State in a quarterfinal as part of a doubleheader with the men’s game that night.

Along with the shootaround, the Panthers received access to the Dick Bennett gym next to the Kress for warm-up time before the game.

UWM reiterated a few days afterward that UWGB did not make it easy for the team to prepare for the game and that it had to get Horizon League administration involved to help resolve the issues.  

“We don’t want to get into weeds with whatever they are saying there,” UWGB athletic director Josh Moon said. “All that stuff about pregame, I’d just say that we all have things we need to get better at. The communication processes, I think (Thursday), were magnified in the heat of a rivalry game. Just credit to Milwaukee. They were able to win that game.”

Moon does believe UWGB was more than adequate when it came to accommodations before the game.  

“We definitely went above what the standard is,” he said. “I think just the way it was communicated, we had a lot of cooks in the kitchen. Who is the person who actually is communicating to them and how is that being communicated up the chain? I think the process part of how that is translated is probably where this kind of got blown up a little bit. But, yes, everybody was accommodated. They had more than what, for instance, Wright State had a doubleheader. More than what was available there.

“Now, the times and things, those are questions that I think the league and we will iron out. There is no league rule for a pregame shootaround. What is that defined as? The bottom line is they got in. The process of communication is where we have got to get better and how that is translated to them and how that is translated back to us.”

Broken equipment leaves questions

It is believed UWM broke some of UWGB’s equipment during that shootaround in the Kress last Thursday morning.

It included some of the team’s broadcast equipment and security cameras.

UWM did not provide comment about whether any of its coaches or players broke equipment.

Who receives the bill for any damage is unknown.

“We will review that,” Moon said. “We will work together with Milwaukee on figuring that out. Shootarounds, cameras, whatever took place. We will just work internally with our friends at Milwaukee and the Horizon League and just say, ‘Here is where we are at,’ and leave it at that.

“So, it’s not going to be a CSI investigation with pregame practice. All this stuff, just know at the end of the day we have two great teams. Passionate fan bases on both sides. That’s healthy for both institutions. We are under the same umbrella in the system. We can all be grown-ups and figure that out. For that specific question (about damaged equipment), we will unpack that and see exactly what that is and just work together on addressing that.”

UWGB, UWM clash before the game

There was enough tension between the teams that the traditional postgame handshake line was called off. Both sides went directly to their locker room after the final buzzer.

It is believed a UWM assistant made physical contact with a UWGB assistant before the contest.

The UWM assistant was not seen on the bench for the Panthers’ semifinal game against Northern Kentucky in Indianapolis on Monday but was on the bench for the title game against Oakland.

The Horizon League did not directly respond about whether it received any footage of the incident and if there was, or would be, any discipline handed out.

UWM did not provide comment when asked if one of its coaches made physical contact with a UWGB coach.

Moon was aware of a potential tussle before the game.

“Yeah, we have heard that,” Moon said. “There is a lot of talk of all these different things. There are probably 10 different things. That’s one of them that we will have a conversation about. We will address it with Milwaukee and with the league. I just don’t have that information. It’s just people talking.”

As for the postgame handshake line being called off, Lundy isn’t a big fan of it after any game.

“I don’t think there should ever be handshake lines,” he said. “You get a rivalry game, and why spoil what happened on the court with something that could happen in a handshake line? Tradition, yeah, but it doesn’t mean anything.

“(UWGB coach) Sunny (Wicks) and I shook hands just fine.”

Did UWGB use ineligible players last season?

Lundy wasn’t only unhappy with UWGB after the game last week. He also mentioned a game from last season, when his team lost at home to the Phoenix on Feb. 6.

It was the third and final win of the season for UWGB and the lone victory for interim coach Freddie Owens, who took over the team after Will Ryan was fired the previous month.

Lundy said the Phoenix played with three ineligible players.

Moon was asked about Lundy’s comments. He didn’t outright dispute the claim.

“I can tell you we were 3-29 in a lot of areas of our program,” Moon said. “Because of FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act), we are not going to get into it. But it wasn’t just 3-29 on the court. We are working through those issues. They have been addressed. That’s pretty much as far as we will go.

“This program, there were a lot of things there. It makes it even more remarkable for what this team did this year, not just on the court but in the classroom with a 3.25 GPA. That’s what we are really proud of, is the jump in the transformation in less than a year.”

If the UWM-UWGB rivalry wasn’t already fun enough for its fan bases, it might be next season if both teams are competing for top spots in the standings.

“Yeah, three good games (this season),” Lundy said. “They are doing a great job here. The buzz around their program was pretty intense this year. We went into this year with a lot of shine on our program and really had a rough start. Probably a little jealous at times of what they were getting here at Green Bay.

“If both programs can continue to push forward, it could make this something special for the state.”