The first time Matt Walker welcomed players back to campus for the start of training camp as the University of Wisconsin-River Falls’ football coach, he did so on just a couple hours of sleep.
He was in the Lacrosse, Wis. area late into the night the evening prior.
Wisconsin-River Falls quarterback Kaleb Blaha carries the ball during a Div. III playoff NCAA college football game against Saint John’s, Dec. 6, 2025, in River Falls, Wis. (Carly Lynch/UWRF Athletics via AP)
Shortly after Walker was hired by the Falcons to lead the football program, he had a sit down with then River Falls mayor Don Richards.
“I’d never met him,” Walker said. “He sits down and says, ‘You’re playing for the Fish.’ I said, ‘What the hell are the Fish?’”
The River Falls Fighting Fish was the town baseball team. Richards looked into Walker’s past and noted he had a baseball background.
Not only did Walker join the team, but was tabbed to pitch in the state semifinals against the defending champs in his first summer on the squad. Walker threw 10 innings that night. As the game went to the 11th, he finally had to bail. It was nearly midnight, and he was two hours away from home on the eve of the football season.
“I had to do my job for the first time ever,” he said.
Walker hails from Indiana, but he could tell during his interview process there was something unique about this quaint little town located a half hour east of the Twin Cities. His true introduction to it came while playing for the Fish. He couldn’t believe how many fans gathered then at the high school field to support the local town ball team.
Walker threw the first no hitter in team history. After the game, he and his grade-school daughter walked into Johnnie’s — one of many local bars on Main Street — to find champagne waiting for him to celebrate his achievement.
That’s when he knew: “This town is special.”
“Never seen anything like it,” he said. “They never did that back in Indiana when I was playing.”
Cory Hart owns Swinging Bridge Brewing Company in downtown River Falls. He noted the city has “always” been a “supportive community.” He personally felt it during the COVID-19 pandemic, citing the patronage and promotion businesses received from community members.
It’s evident now for the local university. Drive by the Ace Hardware store and there’s a plywood sign informing you of when Falcons hockey is in action. In August, Swinging Bridge launched a pair of co-branded craft beers with the university, with proceeds benefiting UWRF athletics.
Swinging Bridge was one of a few establishments to stream the Falcons’ NCAA quarterfinal victory over Wheaton last Saturday, when temperatures were hovering in the negative-teens and watching the action indoors was an attractive option..
“I can only speak for us, but I’m guessing anybody who streamed the game last week probably got a good turnout,” Hart said.
After the game, Walker scrolled through photos he’d received of the various watch parties on top of those in the stands. River Falls features what the coach calls a “unique” gameday, with a parking lot tailgating operation that functions as a mini-Lambeau Field experience, with folks piling in four hours ahead of kickoff right outside the stadium.
“It’s always great to see the tailgaters getting rowdy and having a good time and them cheering us on,” senior defensive lineman Jack Olson said. “When we come out to play, they’re always loud, got their cowbells ringing and are making as much noise as they can for us.”
Bleachers have been filled each Saturday, with this Saturday’s semifinal against Johns Hopkins at noon serving as the final home date of the campaign.
“This community has surely come along on this ride with us,” Walker said.
He’s felt it. Walker walked into the River Falls High School gym for his daughter’s girls basketball game on Monday and was immediately showered with Falcons chants.
“I worry about my daughter being embarrassed,” he said with a smile. “But yeah, pretty cool. Pretty cool stuff.”
Falcons running back Trevor Asher said folks will come up to him while eating breakfast in town to offer congratulations and express their pride.
“You don’t have that everywhere,” he said, “and we’re lucky to have this town be so behind us.”
This one, and others. Falcons freshman linebacker Noah Nusbaum is from neighboring Roberts, Wis., and is surprised every week by texts from folks he had no idea were paying attention.
“Sometimes there’s more people that show up where it’s like, ‘I didn’t even know you cared.’ It’s really cool to get the support that you didn’t know you wanted or needed,” he said. “You’re just playing football with the guys and trying to win a national championship, but you don’t realize the impact it makes on the town and everyone. So, it’s really cool.”
A decade ago, when the Falcons had no recent success and outdated facilities, one of Walker’s recruiting pitches was simply the “charm of the town.” People care, never more so than now. Hart noted the growth the university’s athletics department has seen in recent years, with the women’s hockey program winning consecutive national titles and the football team now in the hunt for one of its own.
“I’ve definitely seen the community rally behind that,” he said.
Particularly last week.
“It was pretty cool, because (it wasn’t) people that aren’t necessarily alums that you see coming into all the games, it was just regular people, non-university affiliated people calling to see, ‘Are you guys going to have the game on? We want to come watch it.’ ” Hart said. “That’s kind of cool. You expect it from the people you always see, but when you start seeing the new people, it’s something special.”
River Falls is quickly becoming a Falcons football town, one that rivals what’s been built across the other, more established Division III communities across the state.
“Doing it over here is just different and new,” Asher said. “There’s a lot of excitement over here that we’re drawing from the town.”
Falcons running back Trevor Asher scores one of his three touchdowns during University of Wisconsin-River Falls’ 46-21 victory over Wheaton in a NCAA Division-III quarterfinal in River Falls, Wis. on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (Courtesy of University of Wisconsin-River Falls)
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