In the past 15 years, the University of Wisconsin Athletic Department has made its way through two distinct stages of health.
There was 1990, when reality was a $2.1 million budget deficit, a pathetic football program, an antiquated business model and more than $3 million in deferred facilities maintenance.
“They were more in triage mode,” UW deputy athletic director Jamie Pollard said of a time defined by the cutting of five sports and the infusion of new blood, led by athletic director Pat Richter and football coach Barry Alvarez. “They just had to fix things.”