UWS To Honor Doug Southerland

Mar 14, 2012

Northland Sports Online

The University of Wisconsin-Superior Athletic Department will be honoring the career and accomplishments of alumnus Doug Sutherland with a brunch on Saturday, March 31. The program is being coordinated by the UW-Superior Alumni Association and the Superior “S” Club, UW-Superior’s letter winners organization.

Sutherland, one of the most decorated athletes in the history of UW-Superior, has recently been named to the WIAC All-Time Team in football and has been chosen as a member of the inaugural class of the WIAC Hall of Fame. Both honors are part of the WIAC Centennial, which will occur during the 2012-13 academic year.

“It is very important for our department, our university and our surrounding community to understand the level of accomplishment that Doug Sutherland has enjoyed in his career, both at UW-Superior and beyond,” athletics director Steve Nelson said. “To do the things that he’s done, from being an All-American here to playing in three Super Bowls with the Vikings to his outstanding professional career after football, it deserves recognition. This gives us the opportunity to honor Doug and to let him and everyone else know that we are proud of what he has done and how much we value him as an alumnus.”

Sutherland played four seasons of football for the Yellowjackets, where he earned little college All-American and All-WSUC first team honors in 1969. In four seasons with the Yellowjacket track and field team, Sutherland was a six-time conference champion in the shot put and discus and competed in three NAIA national meets.

After college Sutherland was chosen in the 14th round of the 1970 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints. He would go onto a 13-year career with the Saints, Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks. Sutherland would appear in three Super Bowls with the Vikings as a member of the vaunted “Purple People Eaters” defense. In 2010 he was named one of the 50 greatest Vikings as part of the team’s 50th anniversary.

As part of the program, WIAC Commissioner Gary Karner will also be on hand to speak about the conference’s centennial celebration.

“We’re very excited about this program. It’s an opportunity for us show our appreciation for Doug and for us to bring Gary in to discuss the long, storied history of our great conference,” Nelson said. “We hope to be able to do these kinds of programs for our distinguished alumni on a regular basis in the future. This one, with all that is going on surrounding the WIAC and Doug’s role in that is just the natural way to kick it off.”

The limited-seating program will begin at 10:00 a.m. at Barkers Island Inn and Conference Center. Admission is $10 and people can pre-register or pay at the door. To register for the event online, go to www.uwsuper.edu/alumni. For more information, contact Jon Garver with Yellowjacket Athletics at (715) 395-4614.

Comments can be sent to sports@northlandsportsonline.com