Bob Gansler, a graduate of Marquette University, is linked at nearly every level to Milwaukee's soccer history. He founded the Milwaukee Marquette High School soccer program and later coached at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee from 1984 to 1988. He played and coached for the Bavarian Soccer Club and was a fixture on some of its nationally prominent teams in the 1960s and 1970s.

He coached the Milwaukee Rampage in the A-League in the mid-1990s, leading the Rampage to the league championship in 1997. He went on to coach the Wizards in Major League Soccer for eight seasons, including an MLS Cup title in 2000 and a U.S. Open Cup trophy in 2004.