UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON ARCHIVES
ORAL HISTORY PROJECT

Interview #553
PAULUS, KELLY

PAULUS, Kelly (1978- )
Undergraduate student, Women’s basketball team captain
At UW: 1996-2001
Interviewed: 2000	
Interviewer: Barry Teicher
Length: 2 hours, 46 minutes
Indexed by: Rebecca Rodriguez

Kelly Paulus talks about her childhood and family, growing up in La Crosse, her early athletic interests, her high school basketball career, training, the college recruitment process, her decision to attend UW, her UW women's basketball career, coaches, team mates, memorable games, and her studies and potential career after UW.

Keywords: Basketball, La Crosse, women's basketball, athletics

First Interview Session (November 3, 2000): Tapes 1-2

Tape 1/Side 1
	
00:00:00	Question: Talk a little bit about your growing up? Answer: KP is from La Crosse, Wisconsin.  She describes herself as a tomboy and explains that she played organized sports with the boys in her town, as there were few organized sports for girls.

00:01:59	Question: Talk a little bit about your career at middle school? Answer: KP discusses her middle school years.  It was in middle school when she decided that basketball and sports were to be important parts of her life.  She was also involved in Boys and Girls Club and in city sports leagues.  

00:04:51	Question: You said you kind of gave your heart to basketball in middle school, why did that occur? Answer: Once in middle school, KP realized that she had a special talent for basketball and softball.  She and her dad practiced together and worked to improve her skills.  KP says that her parents were extremely supportive of her interest in sports.

00:09:19	Question: Were there a lot of other girls in La Crosse who were involved in the same activities? Answer: Many of KP’s female friends were involved in the same activities, though being involved in sports gave her the opportunity to interact with many new people.  She participated in basketball camps in Wisconsin and in Minnesota.  

00:11:03	Question: Give a description of what one of these basketball camps was like? Answer: KP describes the Clem Haskins Basketball Camp in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  She discusses the benefits of camps with strict rules and how participating in camps improved her fundamental skills.  A camp she attended at UW-La Crosse was not well-organized.  

00:18:34	Question: You mentioned the other day that there was a rivalry in high school? Answer: A girls’ basketball rivalry existed between the three high schools in La Crosse.

00:21:30	Question: Talk a little bit about basketball in high school? Answer: KP was serious about basketball during her high school years.  She wanted to play on the varsity team and ended up doing so midway through her freshman year.  KP discusses her role as the freshman player on the varsity team.  

00:26:19	No question: KP discusses her team’s performance during a game with Washington High School of Milwaukee, an inner-city team.

00:28:45	No question: Senior year was “a bust.”  KP says she felt much pressure to perform well, as there were fewer talented players on the team. 

Tape 1/Side 2

00:30:47	Question: What about support for girls athletics at your school? Answer: KP discusses support for girls’ athletics at La Crosse Central High School.  Once the team became successful, it was covered by local news organizations and games were well-attended.  She said that the players received much support from parents, teachers and the coaching staff, as well as from each other.  KP comments on the rarity of the “team chemistry” which she experienced on her high school team.  

00:34:36	Question: So you guys kind of pioneered girl's athletics in the area? Answer: Girls’ athletics was energized by the success of KP’s team and other girls’ teams in the Mississippi Valley area.  Girls’ basketball was embraced by the community.  

00:36:35	Question: Did you become kind of a role model for the younger girls? Answer: KP and her teammates became role models for kids in the area and organized basketball camps for the community.  KP recalls the first request she received for her autograph, and how she developed a more sophisticated autograph.  She discusses the attention she and the team garnered.  

00:39:51	Question: At what point did you decide that college basketball was something you want to pursue? Answer: Playing college basketball was always an interest for KP.  She wanted to continue playing basketball after high school because she loved the sport.  Colleges began contacting her as early as eighth grade; she received over five hundred recruitment letters.  

00:43:24	No question: KP had a difficult time narrowing down possible colleges.  She explains the criteria she had early in the recruitment process for eliminating schools.  

00:46:19	No question: KP discusses the recruiting process.  

00:49:53	Question: So how did you start dividing up the schools? Answer: She decided on five possible schools and made official visits to a few of her choices.

00:56:44	Question: Let's talk about the Wisconsin visit, what was it like? Answer: KP visited UW and was impressed by the comradery of the UW basketball team.  She describes the many unique touches orchestrated for her visit: dinner and tours with the UW basketball team, a personalized basketball uniform, UW memorabilia in her hotel room and a limousine ride to the Field House.

01:01:49	End of side.  End of tape.  

Tape 2/Side 1

01:01:52	No question: KP describes her visit with the coach, Jane Albright, to the Field House and the play-by-play announcing of a fictional game with her name inserted.  

01:05:06	No question: KP told the UW coach about her decision to come to UW in a unique way.  She explains that it was difficult to tell the other schools that she would not be joining their teams.  

01:07:16	Question: Did you have an assistant coach who was kind of in charge of you? Answer: KP had a special relationship with Sue Semrau and Bridget Bond Williams, assistant coaches at UW.  

01:09:01	Question: How were you able to handle all this attention as a high school senior? Answer: Receiving high-profile attention was difficult to handle at times, says KP.  She explains how she dealt with the pressure.   

01:12:05	Question: Do you ever see yourself in some of the young girls who come in? Answer: As one of her duties at UW, KP served as a host for the visits to campus of possible basketball recruits, which she describes.

01:17:17	Question: So did you think of hosting as your job? Answer: KP explains that her basketball scholarship was her job at UW.  She approached her position with the appropriate seriousness. 

01:19:19	Question: Let's talk about when you arrived in Madison for school. Answer: Arriving at UW for her freshman year, says KP, was relatively easy.  There was instant involvement with the basketball community and an immediate connection at the university.  She had many resources available to her. 

01:21:27	No question: KP discusses some of the special programs available to athletes: media orientation (how to deal with the media), special study times and meals for athletes.  She describes a typical weekday.

01:26:13	Question: How are you able to handle the publicity? Answer: Dealing with publicity as a UW athlete was difficult at times, says KP.  There was a constant awareness of being in the public eye and being a public figure, as well as criticism from the media.  KP discusses being a public figure and the necessity of behaving responsibly.  

01:32:46	End of side.  

Tape 2/Side 2

01:32:49	No question: KP explains the pressure involved in being a good student as well as a good athlete.  She developed a technique for keeping her many activities separate, which allowed her to focus on what was important at the time.  

01:40:16	No question: KP did not flaunt her identity as a UW athlete.  She discusses some of the stereotypes associated with college athletes.  

01:42:36	Question: Let's talk a little bit about the coaches. Answer: KP discusses Coach Albright’s philosophy and the way she treated her players.  The coaching staff at UW was concerned with the well-being of the players and always looked out for the girls. 

01:43:51	Question: Could you talk about Tam Flarup for a moment? Answer: KP discusses the influence of Tam Flarup, Women’s Sports Information Director.

01:45:57	End of side.  End of tape.

Second Interview Session (November 10, 2000): Tapes 3-4

Tape 3/Side 1

00:00:00	Question: Tell a little bit about the “Shoebox Scandal”. Answer: KP discusses the “Shoebox Scandal,” which involved discounted shoes sold to UW athletes.  Her assessment is that the situation was exaggerated and that the media overreacted.  She comments on her interaction with Wisconsin State Journal reporters regarding the matter.  

00:06:41	Question: What was it like playing as a freshman? Answer: KP’s relates her experience as a freshman on the UW women’s basketball team.  She was recruited as a shooting guard and ended up taking the place of Katie Voigt, an injured senior. 

00:11:22	Question: What kind of time commitment are you making throughout the semester? Answer: KP discusses the time commitment required of university athletes.  She elaborates on her schedule which demanded much focus.  KP says that she received a lot of support and helpful information from her teammates. 

00:15:54	Question: Let's talk about travel, there's a lot of travel involved, how strenuous is the traveling? Answer: Traveling to participate in away games grew to be tiresome, but the coach encouraged fun activities when the team was on the road.  KP discusses trips to San Francisco, Alaska and Maine. 

00:18:53	Question: What about playing on away courts? Answer: There was a difference between playing home and away games, says KP.  She least liked playing at Indiana, and explains why. 

00:23:16	Question: How did you guys end up doing your freshman year? Answer: KP discusses the teams’ performance during her freshman year at UW.  They lost the first game in the Big Ten conference tournament in Indianapolis.  As a punishment, and as preparation for the next year, the team did post-season training: running for the rest of the school year.

00:25:46	No question: Training and playing only basketball to the exclusion of all other sports was difficult.  At the end of her four years on the team, KP was ready to take a break and has not continued playing.  She says that she recently watched her first UW basketball game as a spectator.  

00:27:17	No question: KP discusses the close proximity of fans and players in the Field House.  She says that it was difficult at times to focus on the game with such close proximity of enthusiastic fans.  

00:30:48	 End of side.

Tape 3/Side 2

00:30:54	No question: KP discusses the media’s relationship with the men’s basketball team and the success of the men’s team under Dick Bennett.

00:31:45	Question: What about your sophomore year? Answer: KP discusses her sophomore year on the team, the most successful of her four years.

00:33:56	Question: You mentioned that your dad went to most of the home games? Answer: KP’s father attended every home game and almost every away game.  He served as a second coach for KP.

00:36:01	Question: What about your junior year? Answer: Her junior year on the UW team was different and there were many changes and new players.  KP had served as a captain the year before, and was a captain this year as well.  The team was fairly successful, but relationships between team members were more difficult.

00:38:27	Question: Who were the assistant coaches who played a part in your time here? Answer: KP discusses assistant coaches, including Melissa Bruner and Dawn Plitzuweit.  KP discusses the athletic trainer and the strength conditioning coach. 

00:40:43	Question: Is there anyone else that really stands out? Answer: Weight training was an important activity for basketball team members.  KP says that she  needed to bulk up in order to be a strong player on the court.  

00:45:56	Question: How was your senior year? Answer: The senior year of KP’s career on the UW basketball team was disappointing.  Nina Smith, the number-one recruit in the nation, was injured and there were other injuries on the team.  The team did not make it to the NCAA play-offs.  KP says she learned more from failure than from success.

00:49:23	Question: Did you have any intense rivalries? Answer: KP discusses the relationship of the UW team with those from other universities.  KP describes the Big Ten all-star team tour to Sweden and Denmark.

00:52:35	Question: What was your most memorable game? Answer: The last regular season game of KP’s career was her most memorable, KP says, and was her best game. 

00:57:38	Question: Any predictions on how this year's team will do? Answer: KP makes some predictions about the UW team of 2000-2001.

00:58:57	Question: How did you get interested in history? Answer: While at UW, KP had planned on pursuing a history major, but became interested in a career in media.  

01:01:42	End of side.  End of tape.

Tape 4/Side 1

01:01:47	No question: KP explains her increasing interest in communication arts.  She enjoyed courses about film, television and video. 

01:05:02	No question: KP discusses some options for her future career.  She would like to do sports broadcasting, and will be working as an analyst and as a sports intern over the next year.  

01:07:04	Question: What do you do in your spare time? Answer: In her spare time, KP enjoyed participating in activities other than basketball.  

01:10:04	Question: When will you be graduating? Answer: KP will be graduating from UW in May 2001.  

01:10:53	Question: Any closing comments? Answer: KP says that she appreciates her experience as a student athlete.

01:13:31	End of tape.  End of interview.  

END of Oral History #553