Having the best of both worlds
Carollo takes Whitewater to top with her husband
Tucked between Milwaukee and Madison, in the middle of cornfields and away from the outlet shopping malls, is a collegiate athletic powerhouse with a coach who rebuilt a program years ago and then stayed around to build a family, too.
But to begin this story properly, we have to go back two decades ago, when then-chancellor Jack Miller had a mission: to make the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater one of the best Division III all-around schools in the country.
At the time, Keri Rocha was a hundred miles away, thinking she was on a two-year plan.
Rocha was a former DII basketball player from California earning her master’s degree in exercise and sports science and sports administration from University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, and she expected to leave Wisconsin’s endless winters to coach elsewhere.
But Rocha met her future husband, Joe Carollo, took a stint at UW-Stout, and from there was hired by Miller to coach women’s basketball at Whitewater, as Keri Carollo. For the last 18 years, she has done her part to fulfill his vision.
“He wanted us to be the among the
best Division III programs in the country, which, right now is about 450 programs,” said Keri Carollo. “The support that we have had from our upper administration over the years has been phenomenal.
“In Division III, you don't see that a lot; most Division III schools are very high academically. Academics typically overshadows athletics.”
It wasn't easy. In Carollo's first few years, UW-Whitewater continued to be below .500. But in 2007, things turned around and in her reign the Warhawks have gone to three Final Fours and 11 NCAA Division III Tournaments. They have only missed the big dance once in the last 12 years.
Carollo's teams have won six WIAC championships and two WIAC tournament titles. The Warhawks finished the regular season Saturday with a record of 23-2 (13-1 WIAC).
Senior guard Becky Raeder (Sheboygan) leads the Warhawks in scoring. Junior center Johanna Taylor (Wauwatosa) is the top defender for the Warhawks, ranked 16th in NCAA Division III in scoring defense, allowing only 52.2 points per game. Taylor leads the WIAC in blocks (2.36 per game).
Whitewater has also contended for the Learfield Directors' Cup as well. This competition measures the overall athletic success of collegiate institutions, with points awarded based on each institution's finish in up to 18 NCAA sports, nine women's and nine men's.
Last year UW-Whitewater finished 15th in the Learfield, thanks in part to 25 points earned by the women's basketball team. That was the 12th consecutive season the Warhawks have finished among the nation's top 20.
And Corollo, 45, thinks that's because so many coaches have had a long tenure like her.
Ten other head coaches also have at least eight years in at Whitewater, and seven of them are approaching or have already reached two decades working there.
“If volleyball is really successful? I want to be as good as volleyball,” said Corollo. “It's a healthy, competitive nature. If you look at our coaching staff, we've all been here for a significant amount of time.”
The Carollo family in Hawaii: coaches Keri and Joe with son Tyler (blue sweatshirt) daughter Kacie (middle) and Matthew (right).
But what's really special about this story is that Corollo's husband, Joe, moved over from the men's team to be her assistant 12 years ago. It was the perfect fit.
Joe Carollo followed up his own playing career with coaching basketball as a grad assistant at UW-LaCrosse, where he met Keri.
“It worked out great that we basically had the same schedule even though we were on opposite teams, me with the men, her with the women,” said Joe Carollo. “The same was true our first six years at UW-Whitewater, but then we started our family.”
“There were too many times that he would be in Superior and I would be somewhere else,” said Keri. “Finally it was just like, yeah, this isn't going to work.”
So for the sake of daughter Kacie, 16, and sons Matthew 12, and later on, Tyler 9, Joe moved over to the women's side as Keri's assistant.
“It helped that she had gone through the difficult years – teams with losing records while she built the program – before I became her assistant,” said Joe. “I'm not sure we would have worked out so well together if we were losing a lot.
“I was fortunate that my first year after the switch that we went to the Final Four. I'd like to think we've never looked back. She is the best mom, associate AD and head coach, so I like to tell my students that it is easy for me: I always know who is in charge.
“I love working for and with her, and wouldn't change a thing. I am so proud of the things she has accomplished.”
Yes, they've heard all the jokes referencing the fact that they're still married despite all the time together. They decided to divide and conquer with the team: She takes the defensive side, he handles the offense.
And the Carollo kids are always around. They all traveled to UW-Stout over the weekend, and if they're not at their own after-school programs, they're always hanging out at the Kachel Gymnasium on campus.
“We have done our best to integrate our family in to our basketball family,” said Keri. “Our daughter Kacie really loves having all these big sisters. She played in a game (for Whitewater High) and my team came to her game.”
“The gym is where our kids have grown up, for better or worse,” said Joe. “They have never complained but maybe it's because they don't know anything different. I just think that all three of them seeing a group of confident, hardworking and very successful young women and their mom having great success can't hurt.”
Other schools have pursued Carollo, but it's these reasons – the school's overall competitive mission, the smalltown atmosphere, her family nearby – that have kept her in Whitewater.
There are challenges, of course. She's recruiting kids all over the state who want to play Division I; Keri Carollo has to convince the kids that they can play competitive basketball at Whitewater, without being able to offer any of them athletic scholarships. It's a D-III rule that she's well-familiar; Corollo is assistant AD for compliance at UW-Whitewater.
“These Division III athletes really play because they love sports,” said Carollo. “We really try to show them at UWW. You can compete at that same level and stay close to home. That's the best scenario for a lot of young women. And they can still be students.
“That's why I fell in love with Whitewater and this small-town community.”