Steve Meier

Steve Meier is a 1978 Belleville High School graduate. He was a three-sport athlete, participating in football as the starting quarterback, basketball, and in track as an accomplished sprinter. Steve stayed in the community, and with his high school sweetheart Karen (Root), raised his family here.

In 1993 with high school football in a co-op and numbers dwindling, Steve filled a void and launched the Belleville Bobcat youth football program for players in grades 4-8, as part of the Dane County Area Youth Football League (DCAYFL). Steve fundraised, recruited coaches, and purchased equipment. Steve and the Bobcat program worked tirelessly to keep the cost of participation low so that all could join and play.

Wildcat Wall of Fame Committee member Bart Morrick noted, “Steve worked closely with the high school athletic program, various athletic directors, and administrations in both Belleville and Albany to assist in building up the program so that today's Bobcats would become tomorrow’s Wildcats.”

Steve’s entire family was involved in Bobcat football. His wife put up with football equipment and uniforms stacked in their home, as well as coaches’ meetings in their basement. His mother, Elaine, served as the program’s seamstress- mending and patching uniforms and gear many times over to keep it usable.

Over the next 25 years, Steve remained the Bobcat director and coached one team each season to stay connected to the players. He continues to coach Belleville youth football today.

As a coach, parents recognize that Steve has an incredible knack for connecting with kids. His players also realize that, for Coach Meier, football is a conduit to teach life lessons. The skills, teamwork, focus, and determination taught in football can be applied to one’s everyday life. Former Bobcat Ogden York added, “Steve coached the kids in the program as if they were his own and always made sure they had everything they needed to participate no matter their situation.”

Bobcat parent and school board member Jill Remy remarked, “He is an example of how a single person can make a longstanding difference in their community… Simply put, Steve Meier helped to save football in Belleville.”