SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Springfield College announced Tuesday that Mike Theulen, son of noted 1943 Perry High School graduate and former Perry Mayor Glenn Theulen, will be inducted into the Springfield College Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday, April 6.
Mike Theulen, a 1983 graduate of Springfield College, was the only figure in the college’s history to serve as head coach of both the men’s basketball and women’s basketball programs, according to the college’s announcement. He was elevated to the position of head coach of the men’s basketball team at Springfield in 1990.
Theulen was a three-time coach of the year honoree in 1984, 1994 and 1998, and he led his teams to three conference championship titles from 1996-1998. For their efforts, all three of those squads appeared in the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament.
Theulen set the single season wins record in 1997-1998 as the Springfield Pride went 26-2, posted a 17-game winning streak and ranked as high as fifth nationally, ultimately giving Theulen a combined 173 wins between both programs.
While at Springfield, he also served as a teacher-coach, including positions as assistant professor and faculty advisory, and he was named the director of the Physical Education Skills program.
After his time in Springfield, Theulen went on to serve as director of athletics at Western New England University in Springfield and Elms College in Chicopee, Massachusetts. He recently returned as an assistant professor of sport management at Springfield College.
News of Theulen’s induction into the Springfield College Athletic Hall of Fame brought many warm compliments to the college’s Facebook page, such as the one from Sam Adolt, a former student of Theulen, who said, “From teaching us to juggle in Motor Learning so we ‘could join a circus’ (if we didn’t make it through school) to The Hall! Congratulations Coach T!”
Theulen received a bachelor’s degree in 1980 from Keene State College in Keene, N.H., where he and his brother, Matt, played basketball under their father, Glenn Theulen, then the head coach. Mike was a three-year starting guard and Matt held a forward spot for three years on their father’s Keene State team, which went to the national NAIA tournament in Kansas City in 1977.
Glenn Theulen was himself an outstanding athlete at Perry High School and Buena Vista College in Storm Lake in the 1940s and was a member of the Perry Sports Hall of Fame and the city’s mayor from 1989 to 1993. He died in Perry in 2014. Mike Theulen’s mother, Sharon Theulen, passed away in 2023 in Perry.
Mike Theulen earned a master’s degree from the University of South Dakota and doctorate from Springfield College. He was chosen Northcast-8 Conference women’s Coach of the Year in 1984 after guiding the Maroons to a 20-5 record. His overall mark with the women’s team was 41-33.
He served as assistant men’s basketball coach at Keene Slate during the 1979-1980 season and at South Dakota in 1980-1981. He and his wife, Midge, were co-directors of competition in the Special Olympics at Springfield College beginning in 1990.
Friends and fans wishing to attend the April 6 induction celebration and toast Theulen’s career and impact on Springfield College may register online.
