Don Moe, son of Edwin and Marie Moe, was raised in Stoughton, WI. Don is the 7th of their 10 sons. In 1965 Don was encouraged to go out for wrestling by his older brother, Lyle.
Don began his wrestling career while he was a student at Stoughton High School, learning the basics of wrestling from Assistant Coach Gordie Marchionda (Hall of Fame 2000) and Head Coach Vern Pieper (Hall of Fame 1979). Don qualified for the WIAA State Tournament as a junior and was a member of the first Stoughton H.S. State Championship Team in 1968. As a senior, Don was a team captain, MVP and finished 3rd in the 1969 WIAA State Tournament. After graduation Don continued wrestling at UW - Whitewater for Coach Willie Myers (Hall of Fame 1982). While at Whitewater, Don earned 4 letters and qualified for 3 NAIA National Tournaments finishing 4th in 1974 to earn All-American honors. Don was a 1973-74 team captain and MVP. He was inducted into the UW - Whitewater Athletic Hall of Fame in 1992. "I was very fortunate to be coached by three members of the George Martin Wrestling Hall of Fame. My experiences with these coaches provided me with the inspiration to coach at the high school level."
Don began his coaching career as an assistant coach to Terry Kelly at Lake Mills High School during the 1974-75 season. A full-time teaching position took Don to Laconia High School in Rosendale, WI where he was an assistant to Dave Moon for 4 years. While at Laconia, Don also coached football and track. Don accepted a driver education and head wrestling coach position at Burlington High School to begin the 1979-80 school year. During his 25 years as head wrestling coach, Burlington High School wrestling teams have compiled a record of 257-141-5. Competing in the Southern Lakes Conference, Don had 29 individual conference champions, 8 division team championships, 2 SLC tournament championships and 7 SLC second place finishes. Competing in the Southeast Conference since 1997-98, Don has had 6 individual conference champions, 2 division team SEC championships and 2 SEC tournament runner-up finishes. He has coached 18 sectional champions, 22 sectional runners-up and 46 regional champions. At the state level, Don has coached 40 individual qualifiers, 10 individual place winners, 3 individual runners-up, and 3 individual champions.
During his 25 years at Burlington High School, Don has coached hundreds of young men in wrestling, football and baseball. He has had the thrill of coaching all three of his sons; Chad, Adam and Scot, at the WIAA State Tournament. He has also been extremely fortunate to have some great assistant coaches. In particular, Bill Berkholtz who has been involved with BHS wrestling as a wrestler, assistant coach, scorekeeper, tournament director and bus driver. "Coach Berk has been my right hand man and a true friend over all these years. He was very instrumental in all of our successes at Burlington High School."
Don was very active in the WWCA serving as a district representative for six years beginning with the 1984-85 school year. He followed that with a term as President -Elect, President, and Past President. While he was Past President, Don was also the state representative to the National Wrestling Coaches Association, a position he held for three years. While he was with the National wrestling coaches association he was the Region 5 representative. Region 5 consists of Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri, North and South Dakota.
"The sport of wrestling has given me the opportunity to succeed in life. Everything I have can be traced back to wrestling. By coaching, I had hoped to pass on the same fortune to others that wrestling had provided for me."
Don and his wife, Susan, who teaches 4th grade in the Burlington Area School District, have three sons. Chad and his wife, Jackie, live in Rockton, IL and are expecting their first child in November. Chad is a firefighter/EMT for the City of Rockford. Adam and Scot are both students at UW- Whitewater. Adam is a majoring in physical education and Scot is a pre-business major working toward a degree in accounting. Adam and Scot are both on the U.W.-Whitewater wrestling team. The Moe Family has enjoyed over 30 years of mat-side togetherness. It truly has been a family affair. We have wonderful stories, memories and friends generated from wrestling.
Don is very grateful to all of his coaches for their guidance and to his teammates for their support and camaraderie over the years. Many thanks go to all of the assistant coaches, scorekeepers and clock operators that have kept the dual meets and tournaments running smoothly. Lastly, Don would like to thank the many wrestlers, parents and supporters of the Burlington wrestling program. This election to the George Martin Wrestling Hall of Fame couldn't have done without your support!