Wisconsin Football Coaches Association

Coach Ken Krause graduated from West Allis Central High School in 1990, where he was team captain and All-Conference in football, wrestling, and baseball.  Both his football and wrestling teams were conference champions.

Coach Krause started coaching high school football at age 19, and, at the age of 23, became the youngest head coach in the state of Wisconsin when he took over at West Allis Central.

He was the head coach at West Allis Central for 11 years. They had six winning seasons and two quarterfinal appearances in 2003 and 2004. Coach Krause led the Bulldogs to their last conference championship in 1999 with a huge upset over state champion Marquette. While teaching at West Allis Central, Coach Krause was voted by the student body as Most Influential Teacher in 2004. 

In 2008, Coach Krause became the head coach of Muskego High School. Over his fifteen years at Muskego they have had 12 winning seasons, including having won seven of the past nine conference championships. Within those seven conference championships they have won a Classic Eight record five in a row. Coach Krause has led his teams to seven quarterfinal appearances, five state semifinals, two state championships (2018 & 2019), and finished 2020 ranked number one in the state (Covid year).  Over the past 13 years Muskego has averaged 35 points per game and holds the Classic Eight record for averaging 44 points per game in 2014. Muskego holds the 8th longest winning streak in Wisconsin high school history with 41 straight wins, has the Classic Eight record 26 straight wins, and had a 33-game home winning streak from 2018-2022. 

Coach Krause has been selected Coach of the Year 12 times and in 2018 was selected as the WFCA, AP, USA TODAY and Green Bay Packers State Coach of the Year. He was the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Coach of the Year in 2018 for all high school sports, a finalist for the Don Shula Head Coach of the year for the United States, and this year was nominated for the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Coach of the Year for 2023.  Coach Krause has won 174 games and has a playoff record of 29-13.

There are many influential coaches that have helped Ken as a coach and as a person: Dan Gaynor, Phil Sobocinski (WFCA, HOF, 2002), and Mike Taake (WFCA HOF, 2009). Coach Krause would also like to thank all the coaches that stayed together through the years including Barron Johnson, Steve Hluchnik, Tim Spata, Dax Rodriguez, and Rick Hoppert from West Allis Central. From Muskego, Jim Michlig, Eric Hetzel, Collin Smith, Ryan Lucchesi, Rob Domenosky, Dan Mlachnik, Nick Schmidlkofer, Larry Meeks, Paul Smith, Tyler Kunick, Jeff Wagner, Ryan Nault, Jeff Huckstorf, Todd Porubcan, Jason Henneberry, Troy Mendez, and Jon Andersen. We all share in this honor.

Krause is very grateful to the WFCA for this honor and he shares in this honor with his players, friends, family, and coaches. Last and certainly not least, he would like to thank his four sons Cody, Dylan, Aiden, and Ashton for all of the football memories they have shared together, and his beautiful wife, Julie, for her endless love and friendship! She is the rock to his family!