By: Troy MacNeill

WISCONSIN DELLS, Wisc. (September 12, 2022) -- ​Keith Noll is a longtime volunteer and leader with the Amateur Athletic Union. In 1987, Noll took the AAU Girls Basketball Programs to his home-state of Wisconsin. Now, he is being recognized for his many years of dedication to the program.
 
The Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced that Keith Noll is being inducted into the WBCA Hall of Fame with the Class of 2022 Inductees. In 2021 Noll was honored by the WBCA with the WBCA Tribute Award, but this year he is ready to be inducted into the Hall.
 
“I am extremely humbled to receive this honor from the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame. I want to express that this WBCA honor is not just for me, but for my family,” said Noll. “My daughter Natalie, my son Mark, my daughter in law Kara, and my wife Lydia have had an integral part of the success of Wisconsin Viking Club and Team Wisconsin girls AAU basketball club. I could not have done it without their undying support and years of dedication to AAU basketball.  For all the coaches and athletes that play AAU basketball, kudos to them! They know the commitment and hard work it takes to succeed at the game we all love… BASKETBALL!”
 


Since bringing AAU Girls Basketball to Wisconsin, Noll has been the Director of the Wisconsin Viking Club/ Team Wisconsin Basketball, a role that Noll still holds. Noll has coached teams to numerous State AAU Girls Basketball titles from 1987-2000 and coached his team to the AAU Women’s National Championships in 2004. Noll's Wisconsin Viking Club Basketball has seen more than 500 athletes receive Division 1 & Division 2 scholarships with several alumni currently competing in the WNBA. Thousands more went on to play Division 3 & NAIA basketball. And to add to the list of accomplishments, four athletes will be joining Noll in the 2022 Hall of Fame induction class.
 
Four of the six athletes being inducted in the Female Players category played for Noll in the 1990s. These players include: Mistie Bass, Nicki (Taggart) Collen, and Molly O’Brien.
 
“Wisconsin Viking Club was the first girls AAU basketball club in Wisconsin and our players came from all over the state. To see over 500 plus players get college scholarships is so rewarding,” Noll stated. “They have become successful adults, leaders in their professions, which is what I am the proudest of.  Many are high school coaches now, along with Lawyers, Doctors, teachers and business owners, making a positive impact in their communities.”
 
Mistie Bass got her start in her hometown of Janesville, Wisconsin. Bass led her high school team to back-to-back state championships and is the only player in the state of Wisconsin to be named Player of the Year three times. After playing in the inaugural McDonald’s All-American Game, Bass joined Duke University before being drafted to the WNBA in 2006 by the Phoenix Mercury, where she won a championship in 2014.
 
Nicki Collen was playing basketball in Platteville, Wisconsin before taking her skills to Purdue and later transferring to Marquette University. Collen became a standout in the coaching game, getting her start as an assistant at Colorado State. She would earn her first head coaching role with the Atlanta Dream, where she was selected as the WNBA Coach of the Year in 2018. In 2021, Collen was hired as the head coach of the Baylor University Bears, finishing with a 28-7 record in their first year under Collen’s leadership.
 
Molly O’Brien was a standout player in Columbus, Wisconsin before going on to play at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.  O’Brien finished her career ranked fourth on the UW-Milwaukee Panthers’ career list for games played and steals, and fifth on the all-time rebounding record book. She has now turned her attention to growing the game as a Girls’ Basketball coach and administrative assistant with the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.
 
Noll and these athletes changed the game in Wisconsin forever and are being honored for all of their accomplishments. A Hall of Fame Banquet is scheduled for Saturday, September 24th at the Glacier Canyon Lodge of the Wilderness Resort in Wisconsin Dells.
 
Currently, Noll serves on the AAU Board of Directors as Zone C Chair, and AAU National Chair for the sports of hockey and Football. Noll also serves as the Wisconsin AAU Governor and Girls Basketball Director.
 
“I am so very proud of the athletes that played in the AAU for the Wisconsin Viking Club and Team Wisconsin over the past 36 years. They came from all walks of life. Farm kids, city kids, rich and poor. Big cities and small towns. All skill levels. The AAU provided them the opportunity to improve their basketball skills, play against top notch competition, and make lifelong friends along the way! This is the positive impact that AAU has had on thousands of Wisconsin AAU athletes.”
 
A full list of his accomplishments can be found here: Keith Noll's Sports Achievements