UW-Superior sports teams have been constants in the postseason, especially within the last decade. The 2025-26 season saw the Yellowjackets add more hardware to the trophy case inside the Marcovich Wellness Center, one that is already overflowing.
 
50 years ago, however, the Yellowjackets would capture a special piece of hardware.
 
In 1976, the Yellowjacket men's hockey team would claim the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) National Championship. The 'Jackets got hot at the right time, garnering a record of 8-1 in the month of February and scoring 60 goals in that span.
 
For their efforts, the 1975-76 team was inducted into the UW-Superior Athletic Hall of Fame in 1987. Head coach Wally Akervik was inducted in the Class of 1983, and four players would follow (Gary Fritch, 2003; Steve Anderson, 2004; Scott Van Damme, 2005; Ralph Worthing, 2009).
 
Come July 18, Jeff Bottem will become the fifth player from this national championship squad to be inducted into the hall of fame.
 
Bottem played his high school hockey with the Prowlers of Thief River Falls. Throughout his time in the recruiting process, he ultimately landed at a school not in his backyard.
 
"My high school coach during my senior year was Bill McGann out of Proctor," Bottem said. "I was looking for a place to play hockey after high school, but after lots of letters, nobody came calling. Bill played at UMD with Wally Akervik and he gave him a call to put in a good word for me. From there, Coach Akervik called me and invited me for a visit."
 
Upon arriving to the Twin Ports area for his campus visit, Bottem really enjoyed the scenery leading up to Northwest Wisconsin.
 
"What a view on Highway 2 out of Proctor," he said. "It's a little different than the flat land in Northwest Minnesota. That was a great first impression."
 
After touring campus and Wessman Arena, Bottem was sold, and ended up enrolling at UW-Superior.
 
A year prior to Bottem's enrollment, the Yellowjackets logged the most wins in program history, fashioning a 17-10 overall record as well as the first winning season since the 1936-37 campaign. Bottem's freshman year was during the 1973-74 season, a year that saw them top their previous season-best with a record of 18-6-1.
 
"My freshman year I missed the first game of the year with the flu when we beat Saint John's," Bottem said. "My first game was against Wisconsin. They were the defending national champions of Division I and were ranked first in the nation. We ended up losing 8-7 in overtime and ended up losing only six games total that year. Things were looking good moving forward."
 
"That year I was lucky enough to play on the same line as the only senior on the team, Rick Harris. He was a good player and I'm glad he brought me along."
 
The 1974-75 team stayed above .500 once again with an 8-6 record, but Bottem's junior year is when history was made.
 
"That 1975-76 team was special, what a class!" Bottem said. "The top four defensemen were seniors along with three of our top forwards. Plus, we played a tough schedule that year, including two games against Division I Western Michigan to begin the year."
 
Superior finished the year on a seven-game winning streak, scoring 50 goals and allowing 23. Bottem would lead the team in assists, serving up 31 helpers.
 
"There was always a sense of calmness and confidence in the locker room. I think the tough schedule prepared us for that late season run. And there was no doubt that overflow crowd inside Wessman Arena was a significant factor in winning the national championship."
 
Following his playing career, Bottem (commonly known to his teammates as "Rocko") would find himself atop the Yellowjacket record book in assists, setting the most assists in a single season with 39 and ranking first in total assists with 115. These records still hold true to this day.
 
After his playing career Bottem began working in the insurance industry, to whom he credits a friendship culminated as a freshman.
 
"I met Tom and Wilma Clark and became friends with them my freshman year," he said. "They were members of the "Blue Line Club. Tom was an insurance adjuster and Wilma was a professor at UWS. Tom asked me if I had any interest in working for him during the offseason, adjusting some claims for his company. They were starting a new program that hired teachers and college students throughout the summer. I was able to work all over the United States each summer I was a student. I stayed in this industry for 38 years and ended up retiring back in 2012."
 
"None of this would have been possible without my connection to UWS hockey."
 
The 2026 UW-Superior Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, July 18 in the Great Room of the Yellowjacket Union. For more information on the ceremony, including purchasing tickets, visit our Hall of Fame page.