Willis Lawrence “Bill” Zorn was a Dean of Men, athletic director and a celebrated coach of the UW-Eau Claire basketball and football teams. Zorn was born March 30, 1899, in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. He attended high school in Stevens Point, graduating in 1918. After high school, Zorn attended Stevens Point Normal School and enrolled in the Student Army Training Corps (SATC) during World War I. In 1920, he enrolled at the University of Chicago. On June 30, 1924, he married his high school sweetheart Virginia; they had one son, Bill Jr., and one daughter, Amy Lou.

After graduating from Chicago, Zorn took his first teaching position in 1924 at Hedding College in Abingdon, Illinois and in 1925 he accepted a position as the football coach at Waite High School in Toledo, Ohio. In 1928 he was hired by the Eau Claire State Normal School as a football and basketball coach. Zorn coached Blugold football until 1943 and continued to lead the basketball team for 40 years. Nicknamed “Mr. Enthusiasm,” he was known for his strong character and leadership both on and off the court. Zorn led the team to conference championships in 1938, 1939, 1955 and 1956, as well as the National Intercollegiate Basketball tournament in Kansas City in 1939, 1945, 1946, 1951 and 1956. When he retired as the basketball head coach in 1968, he had compiled a record at Eau Claire of 387-357. During his tenure at Eau Claire, Zorn was also the athletic director and dean of men. His responsibilities included overseeing the athletic program for the university and the supervision of male students, with duties including discipline, providing counsel, housing and other administrative duties. From March 1943 to June 1944, Zorn coordinated the Army Air Force and civilian pilot training program that was held on campus. In addition to his work at Eau Claire, from 1954-55 Zorn served as the president of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and in 1958 was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame. He fully retired from the university in 1969 and passed away in 1987.