Chris Clark set to retire from Wisconsin rowing after 32 years
June 26, 2026 | Men's Rowing
Longtime Badger spent time as head coach, assistant coach, director of rowing
Badger Connect Podcast: Clark discusses his lengthy coaching career
MADISON, Wis. – Just five schools in the country own a men's rowing national championship since 1999 and the Wisconsin Badgers, led by Chris Clark, rank among that select company.
Known for his wit and directness, Clark led his crew to the 2008 Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) National Championship and an unbeaten season for the varsity eight, the Badgers' top boat. It marked the ninth national championship in the program's storied history.
Today, Clark is announcing his retirement.
"I flew back from my interview here at Wisconsin from O'Hare in 1994," Clark said. "We happened to fly over Soldier Field. That very day was the opening of the '94 World Cup. So, here we are, 32 years later, bracketed by the 2026 World Cup. Timeline-wise, that wraps up my career as a full time Athletics employee in a nice bow.
"The best part about the experience has been the people, coaching colleagues, rowers, and all the staff that makes Wisconsin Athletics run. My predecessor, Randy "Jabo" Jablonic, took a chance and I hope I confirmed his faith in me. My successor, Beau Hoopman, could literally not be a better representative of UW rowing, UW as an institution and Athletics."
The Badgers reached the pinnacle of the rowing world that 2008 season, but Clark's 27 seasons at the helm of the Badgers included consistent success.
UW posted six top-five finishes in the varsity eight at the IRA national championships, with the 2002 crew finishing as runner-up, the 2011, 2003 and 1997 crews taking fourth and the 1999 eight racing to fifth place.
Badger crews also won five Ten Eyck Trophies as the all-around team points national champion at IRAs, with help from 15 other national championship crews in fours and pairs. Additional boats won 18 silver medals and 20 bronze medals during his time.
At the conference level, UW captured a pair of varsity eight titles at the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges (Eastern Sprints), including in 2002 and 2008, the second and third all-time wins since the event began in 1946.
The Badgers won the 2008 Rowe Cup as overall team champion at Eastern Sprints for just the second time in school history. Clark's crews posted 12 top-3 team finishes in the race for the Rowe Cup. In all, 23 boats won Eastern Sprints titles.
Wisconsin's 2008 championship crew included brothers Grant and Ross James, who went on to become the program's fourth and fifth Olympians who rowed under Clark.
The 2002 boat included current head coach Beau Hoopman, who won UW men's rowing's first Olympic gold medal when he competed in 2004 in Greece in the men's eight.
"Coach Clark embodies what it means to be a Badger – commitment to excellence, integrity, service and accountability," said Marija Pientka, Sr. Associate Athletic Director/Senior Woman Administrator who worked alongside Clark for much of the past 30 years. "When I think about Coach Clark, I think about his passion and selflessness. And of course his sense of humor and story-telling abilities. We wish him well in this next chapter."
In total, 48 Badgers who rowed under Clark competed on the international stage at World Championships, Pan Am Games and World Rowing Under-23 Championships. A select group of 10 rowers have raced in The Boat Race for either Cambridge or Oxford during postgraduate work overseas -- some of the world's toughest crews to make.
He also coached for Team USA at all three of those international events, leading boats to gold medals at each event. He earned 1997 U.S. Olympic Committee Developmental Coach of the Year for some of those efforts.
The Badgers excelled in the classroom under Clark as well with 199 different rowers earning Academic All-Big Ten honors.
Clark got his start at Wisconsin as an assistant coach under long time head coach Randy Jablonic in 1994. He spent the last three years as Wisconsin's director of rowing, sharing his knowledge across the men's and women's programs.
Prior to arriving in Madison, Clark spent two years as an assistant at the U.S. Naval Academy and time as an assistant at Drexel.
His rowing career as an athlete included stops at Orange Coast College, Stanford, California and Oxford, as well as at the Pan American Games and the World Championships. He won silver at the 1993 Pan Am Games.
Clark is married to UW Law School graduate, Jane. Together they raised three sons – Jack, Charlie and Henry.
"I'll still be quite active as a volunteer coach so 680 Babcock Drive has yet to see the last of me," added Clark "I've had two older sons in intercollegiate athletics and our youngest is a rising high school senior and hopes to play football in college. I've missed enough of their activities and it's time to double-down with them. I don't know how they'll take that but I'm ready! My wife Jane has virtually done it all in our 29 years of marriage and while I'm hopelessly behind I need to step it up!
"Sometimes my stark realism can be mistaken for pessimism. I'm always optimistic. I am certain, without a shadow of a doubt, that the best is yet to come for UW Rowing and Athletics. Greatness and even progress is only obvious in hindsight. What appears to be struggle now will yield great dividends; I can't wait to see it."
MADISON, Wis. – Just five schools in the country own a men's rowing national championship since 1999 and the Wisconsin Badgers, led by Chris Clark, rank among that select company.
Known for his wit and directness, Clark led his crew to the 2008 Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) National Championship and an unbeaten season for the varsity eight, the Badgers' top boat. It marked the ninth national championship in the program's storied history.
Today, Clark is announcing his retirement.
"I flew back from my interview here at Wisconsin from O'Hare in 1994," Clark said. "We happened to fly over Soldier Field. That very day was the opening of the '94 World Cup. So, here we are, 32 years later, bracketed by the 2026 World Cup. Timeline-wise, that wraps up my career as a full time Athletics employee in a nice bow.
"The best part about the experience has been the people, coaching colleagues, rowers, and all the staff that makes Wisconsin Athletics run. My predecessor, Randy "Jabo" Jablonic, took a chance and I hope I confirmed his faith in me. My successor, Beau Hoopman, could literally not be a better representative of UW rowing, UW as an institution and Athletics."
The Badgers reached the pinnacle of the rowing world that 2008 season, but Clark's 27 seasons at the helm of the Badgers included consistent success.
UW posted six top-five finishes in the varsity eight at the IRA national championships, with the 2002 crew finishing as runner-up, the 2011, 2003 and 1997 crews taking fourth and the 1999 eight racing to fifth place.
Badger crews also won five Ten Eyck Trophies as the all-around team points national champion at IRAs, with help from 15 other national championship crews in fours and pairs. Additional boats won 18 silver medals and 20 bronze medals during his time.
At the conference level, UW captured a pair of varsity eight titles at the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges (Eastern Sprints), including in 2002 and 2008, the second and third all-time wins since the event began in 1946.
The Badgers won the 2008 Rowe Cup as overall team champion at Eastern Sprints for just the second time in school history. Clark's crews posted 12 top-3 team finishes in the race for the Rowe Cup. In all, 23 boats won Eastern Sprints titles.
Wisconsin's 2008 championship crew included brothers Grant and Ross James, who went on to become the program's fourth and fifth Olympians who rowed under Clark.
The 2002 boat included current head coach Beau Hoopman, who won UW men's rowing's first Olympic gold medal when he competed in 2004 in Greece in the men's eight.
"Coach Clark embodies what it means to be a Badger – commitment to excellence, integrity, service and accountability," said Marija Pientka, Sr. Associate Athletic Director/Senior Woman Administrator who worked alongside Clark for much of the past 30 years. "When I think about Coach Clark, I think about his passion and selflessness. And of course his sense of humor and story-telling abilities. We wish him well in this next chapter."
In total, 48 Badgers who rowed under Clark competed on the international stage at World Championships, Pan Am Games and World Rowing Under-23 Championships. A select group of 10 rowers have raced in The Boat Race for either Cambridge or Oxford during postgraduate work overseas -- some of the world's toughest crews to make.
He also coached for Team USA at all three of those international events, leading boats to gold medals at each event. He earned 1997 U.S. Olympic Committee Developmental Coach of the Year for some of those efforts.
The Badgers excelled in the classroom under Clark as well with 199 different rowers earning Academic All-Big Ten honors.
Clark got his start at Wisconsin as an assistant coach under long time head coach Randy Jablonic in 1994. He spent the last three years as Wisconsin's director of rowing, sharing his knowledge across the men's and women's programs.
Prior to arriving in Madison, Clark spent two years as an assistant at the U.S. Naval Academy and time as an assistant at Drexel.
His rowing career as an athlete included stops at Orange Coast College, Stanford, California and Oxford, as well as at the Pan American Games and the World Championships. He won silver at the 1993 Pan Am Games.
Clark is married to UW Law School graduate, Jane. Together they raised three sons – Jack, Charlie and Henry.
"I'll still be quite active as a volunteer coach so 680 Babcock Drive has yet to see the last of me," added Clark "I've had two older sons in intercollegiate athletics and our youngest is a rising high school senior and hopes to play football in college. I've missed enough of their activities and it's time to double-down with them. I don't know how they'll take that but I'm ready! My wife Jane has virtually done it all in our 29 years of marriage and while I'm hopelessly behind I need to step it up!
"Sometimes my stark realism can be mistaken for pessimism. I'm always optimistic. I am certain, without a shadow of a doubt, that the best is yet to come for UW Rowing and Athletics. Greatness and even progress is only obvious in hindsight. What appears to be struggle now will yield great dividends; I can't wait to see it."
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