PLATTEVILLE — Bo Ryan certainly left his mark at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, winning four national championships during his 15 years as head coach of the Pioneers.

On Saturday afternoon, however, Ryan literally left his mark as the basketball court at Williams Fieldhouse was dedicated to him during halftime of the Pioneers game against UW-Eau Claire.

"It's a great honor for my dad and the family," said Will Ryan, Ryan's son and the director of basketball operations at UW-Madison. "It brings back so many memories coming to this gym. To come back here to see it packed here all the way to the rafters again for Dad. … It's a lot of fun."

Williams Fieldhouse, the compact, rustic home of UW-Platteville was jam-packed — certainly over the listed capacity of 2,300 — as orange-and-blue clad fans crammed into the creaky wooden bleachers and everyone was there to cheer on Ryan. The sixth-year Badger head coach will forever have his signature adorn the court once the arena goes through a series of renovations in the offseason.

He spoke to the crowd for just more than six minutes, pledging not to name names as he thanked his greatest supporters for fear he would leave someone out.

Ryan made it through but had to fight back tears, his voice cracking at one point.

"Kelly and I, in 1984, were deciding where we were going with our lives," Ryan said in his speech's emotional crescendo. "We came to the city of Platteville, the university, southwest Wisconsin with a lot of things in mind other than just to develop a professional career as a coach. We came here to raise a family.

"We came with three [children]. We liked it so much we had two more."

The Badger basketball team accompanied Ryan and received a pair of standing ovations from the crowd. The event was just the latest highlight in an already memorable Wisconsin hoops season.

"I've had a feeling since after the Italy trip that this is going to be a special year and this adds on to it," Wisconsin senior forward Alando Tucker said. "Coach Ryan is leaving his legacy here and we are building a legacy as a team. It's just adding on to a brilliant year that we've had so far."

The Pioneers' average attendance for home games this season was 872 heading into Saturday's ceremony, but the Platteville-Eau Claire game had been sold out for weeks, as fans showed up in droves to support their former head coach.

"He's Platteville's legend," Tucker said. "To actually be here and see the responses that he gets as soon as he gets off the bus, it's amazing. It's truly an honor for him."

It was hardly a surprise considering Ryan's body of work at the tiny southwest Wisconsin outpost with an enrollment of only 6,200. Besides the four championships, Ryan went 353-76 at Platteville (.822) including an astonishing 266-26 (.909) in the 90s. He also coached two of the only three teams in Division-III history to ever have undefeated seasons (1995 and 1998).

"Twenty-three years ago, a young man by the name of William Francis Ryan Jr. was introduced to us as the new UW-P men's basketball coach," said John Krogman, UW-Platteville's associate vice chancellor of information services. "While we knew a little about Coach Bo Ryan, we had no idea of the historic ride that we were about to take."

At the end of the ceremony the stencils reading "Bo Ryan Court" that will decorate the floor at Williams Fieldhouse were unveiled and Ryan was given a plaque featuring the design. Ryan wouldn't agree to the floor naming until it was official that it would highlight a large fundraising effort to aid the school and the renovation.

"We were not just Platteville, we were southwest Wisconsin," Ryan said. "We felt like we represented a heck of a lot more than just the university."

Ryan closed his speech with a tribute to his former players and the university.

"The wins and the record is a whisper. What's going to speak the loudest is how you conduct your personal lives, what you give back to your communities," Ryan said. "And to me, in that respect the University of Wisconsin-Platteville people are the best."

Chancellor David Marquee, the man who hired Ryan, perhaps summed it up best when, as the crowd roared its appreciation, he spoke eight words quietly into the microphone.

"It's a great day to be a Pioneer."