This petition has been created for all University of Wisconsin Men's Hockey Fans, Alumni, and Boosters to collectively voice our vote of confidence in Mike Eaves and communicate our strong desire for UW's Athletic Administration to continue supporting Mike in his head coaching duties.

This petition is intended to rebut the short-sighted fans who may otherwise point to our beloved Badgers slow start and unreasonably clamor for his replacement. This petition is a validation of Mike Eaves’ complete body of work, both as a player and coach.

As a player, he was a TWO-time All-American and a NCAA Champion, learning under Bob Johnson’s tutelage. He remains Wisconsin’s all-time leading career scorer with 267 points (94 goals, 173 assists) in 160 games. He later went on to play in the NHL.

As a coach, his success is legendary - he leads the Badgers to multiple Frozen Fours, winning the 2006 NCAA championship (our school’s 6th!) and coming within 1 game of a 2nd NCAA title in 2010.

So how DOES Eaves respond to slow starts? HE KICKS BUTT AND TAKES NAMES! Eaves righted a team that began 1-7-3 (just TWO short years ago!) and molded them into the 2013 WCHA Final Five champions to capture Wisconsin’s first Broadmoor Trophy as WCHA tournament champion since 1998. That same team finished strong (21-6-4!) over the final four months.

One year later, Eaves led the Badgers to a SECOND consecutive playoff title, this time capturing the inaugural B1G tournament. Did you know that it was Wisconsin’s first back-to-back conference playoff titles since the 1982 and 1983 WCHA tournaments? That’s history, baby.

You want to talk about developing players? Eaves also let us boast our sixth Hobey Baker Memorial Award finalist in six seasons during the 2013-14 campaign.

You want to beat a hated rival, Minnesota? He oversaw the program's 1000th victory of Wisconsin Hockey's modern era (since 1963) with a win over the Gophers.

He was the head coach of the United States National Junior Team which won the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship. Clearly, he can coach at ANY level.

This petition is the chance for EVERYONE in the Badger community to sign their name on the dotted line, and ensure that our collective voice of reason and sanity is heard by the UW Athletic Department leadership. PLEASE forward this to anyone and everyone you think wants to take the required first step to ensure that Wisconsin’s living legend, Mike Eaves, continues to guide our young men behind the bench at the Kohl Center. Mike Eaves continues to raise banners – let’s not let a slow start cloud our judgment. He’s beaten down a slow start before – he’ll do it again.

GO BADGERS!!!