You may not believe this but high-profile Dallas Cowboy quarterback was originally going to come to UW-Whitewater to join another former Burlington teammate, Steve Tenhagen, as a member of the UW-Whitewater football team.
Tenhagen, a grade ahead of Romo, had a huge impact on Romo’s high school sports career.
According to Pete Dougherty of the Green Bay Press Gazette (11/27/07) article: “Tony Romo probably would have attended the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater as a football and basketball player had not Division I-AA Eastern Illinois stepped in late and offered him a football scholarship.
The truth be told, it was the pass-catch combination of Romo to Tenhagen that brought statewide attention to the Burlington duo.
While Burlington went 3-6 during Romo's senior season in 1997, the Demons went 9-3 despite an 0-2 start in 1996 and advanced to the third round of the WIAA Division 2 playoffs. After never having played quarterback in high school prior to his junior season, Romo completed 126 of 193 passes (65.2 percent) for 1,863 yards, with 26 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Steve Tenhagen, Romo's favorite receive during the 1996 season, graduated. The 6-foot-5 Tenhagen earned first-team All-State honors after catching 56 passes for 934 yards and 14 of Romo's 22 touchdown passes.
(Editor's note: please note the adjacent photo of former UW-Whitewater reciever, Steve Tenhagen, in a 2001 game vs. UW-River Falls at Perkins Stadium - photo courtesy of Jeff Seisser, Daily Jefferson County Union)
But by far the biggest reason was Burlington being moved from the Southern Lakes Conference following the 1996 season and being moved to the much more competitive Southeast Conference in 1997 for the sub-500 1997 season.
"I would say it was more the league change," said Tenhagen, who watched Burlington regularly during the 1997 season
While Tony went on to a record-breaking career at Division 1AA Eastern Illinois University, Tenhagen, without Romo had a hugely successful Warhawk football career.
Tenhagen is currently the head football coach at Delavan-Darien High School in nearby Delavan, Wisconsin.
I’ll have a “Where Are They Now” story on Tenhagen in the next few days on the Warhawkfootball.com News Wire.
wow...that would of been fun watching Romo at the Perk while I was still enrolled at Whitewater.
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