Wisconsin associate head coach Dan Koch has been a pillar of the Badgers’ program, serving as an assistant coach for eight years before returning to UW in 2011 to serve as the associate head coach.
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| The Koch File |
| Hometown |
| Madison, Wis. |
| Education |
B.S., elementary education, Wisconsin, 1991
M.S., education, teaching and learning, St. Mary's, 2001 |
| Coaching Experience |
| Associate Head Coach, Wisconsin (2011-Present) |
| Head Coach, Shattuck-St. Mary's U16 Girls (2009-2011) |
| Assistant Coach, Wisconsin (2001-2009) |
| Assistant Coach, St. Mary's (1999-2001) |
| Head Coach, La Crosse Logan/Central HS boys hockey (1996-1999) |
| Assistant Coach, Madison La Follette HS girls soccer (1986-1990) |
| Assistant Coach, Madison La Follette HS boys soccer (1986-1990) |
| USA Hockey Camps coach (2005-2014) |
| USA Under-18 selection camp coach (2014) |
During 12 years as the Badgers' associate head coach and his nine as an assistant coach, Koch has overseen a stingy UW defense that has led the NCAA in scoring defense six different seasons, including the 2015-16 team that set an NCAA record with a 0.72 goals-against average. The Badgers' allowed only 29 goals in 40 games during the 2015-16 campaign, and had shutouts in 23 contests. In his 20 seasons at UW, the Badgers have ranked in the top-three in the country in scoring defense 17 times.
The Madison, Wisconsin, native plays an instrumental role in UW’s penalty-killing efforts, as Wisconsin set the NCAA penalty kill record during the 2014-15 season with a .958 clip. UW has led the NCAA in penalty-kill percentage in six of Koch’s 18 seasons on the Badgers’ bench, including the 2015-16 season when UW paced the NCAA with a .948 clip and recorded more short-handed goals (8) than power-play goals given up (6).
The 2015-16 AHCA Assistant Coach of the Year, Koch started with UW in 2001 and spent eight seasons with the Badgers before stepping down at the end of the 2008-09 season. In his two years as a head coach of the Shattuck-St. Mary's Girls Under-16 team, he compiled an overall record of 80-30-12 and claimed a Tier I 16-U national championship with the Sabres in 2010.
During his time at Wisconsin, Koch has helped the Badgers win seven national titles and reach the NCAA Frozen Four 15 times.Wisconsin has also won nine WCHA regular season titles and nine conference playoff championships with the assistance of Koch.
Koch has coached eight UW blue-liners who have earned All-America honors in Grace Bowlby, Courtney Burke, Molly Engstrom, Caroline Harvey, Meaghan Mikkelson, Jenny Ryan, Bobbi-Jo Slusar and Kerry Weiland. In addition, UW blue-liners Engstrom, Harvey, Carla MacLeod, Mikkelson and Weiland have gone on to play in the Olympics, with MacLeod and Mikkelson each winning a pair of gold medals.
Koch (pronounced Cook) came to Wisconsin in 2001 following two seasons as an assistant coach with the women's hockey program at St. Mary's (Minnesota) University working with forwards and goaltenders. While also working as a third-grade teacher at Franklin Elementary School in La Crosse, Wisconsin, Koch helped lead St. Mary's to a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title during the 1999-00 season and a third-place finish at the national tournament in the 2000-01 season.
Before his experience with St. Mary's, Koch was the head coach of the La Crosse Logan/Central High School boys ice hockey team from 1996-99.
Koch earned his master's degree in education, teaching and learning in 2001 from St. Mary's University after earning his bachelor of science degree in elementary education in December of 1991 from the UW. He is a 1985 Madison La Follette High School graduate.
Koch and his wife Jody, a school psychologist, have sons Connor, Jacob and Malik.
