Lane closures in and around Madison could make for some slow going in town, but the closures are scheduled to end before the city is inundated with UW-Madison students and football fans later in the week. The state Department of Transportation has issued five traffic advisories for potential tieups on area roads.
Here are five players who could make or break UW’s season with their performance in 2011. If enough of them take a step up, the 10th-ranked Badgers might just live up to the lofty expectations they and others have for this season.
Two major personnel changes have altered the makeup of the University of Wisconsin Athletic Board heading into the new school year. Law School professor Walter Dickey stepped down as chairman of the body that oversees the UW Athletic Department to step across the administrative aisle to work for UW athletic director Barry Alvarez. Dr. Dale Bjorling, a professor in the UW School of Veterinary Medicine, was appointed the new chair by interim chancellor David Ward, who was acting on a recommendation from the university committee.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is reminding drivers to plan ahead if you?re driving to and from Madison for any Badger home games.
We?ve asked the question before, but with the 2011 season opener four days away, it seems timely to ask it again: Why not Wisconsin?
Bret Bielema and Paul Kujawa, friends since they first joined forces at Iowa in 1989, have shared good food, laughs and a few tears over the years.
Kujawa, from Cudahy High School, shared something else with Bielema several months ago, the book “Good to Great.”
“The main emphasis is that a lot of people settle for being good and get complacent and accept being at a level that is (slightly) better than everybody else,” Bielema, entering his sixth season as Wisconsin?s head football coach, explained. “But to get to an elite status, to get to the great level, you have to continue to research within yourself what you can do better.
A: The Bucky Wagon, which carried the Spirit Squad to Camp Randall on Badger football game days, was deemed unsafe in 2001. The Athletic Department was concerned about the 1932 LaFrance fire engine running over band members and being easy to fall from, but it?s now undergoing repairs and will emerge more eco-friendly. Students from UW-Madison?s College of Engineering are working to make the wagon electric, said Glenn Bower, an automotive faculty advisor at UW working on the project.
Billy Garcia, 19, a UW-Madison student from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was at a friend?s house near the Capitol on Sunday and dreaded the long walk back to his dorm. He looked at the B-cycle docking station at Wisconsin Avenue and East Mifflin Street and discovered it was free. He had read about the bike sharing program in other cities before. “I just assumed it would be a matter of time until they installed these here,” he said, noting that Madison is one of the most bike-friendly cities he?s seen.
Badger football returns this week with a glow from last season?s conference title and Rose Bowl appearance, the electricity of a night crowd, the promise of an accomplished quarterback ? and the first $100 game ticket in school history.
The inaugural Big Ten 7s Tournament, featuring a faster-paced game than traditional rugby, will be held Saturday in Madison. The one-day tournament features eight club teams from Big Ten Conference schools, including the University of Wisconsin, with matches starting at 9 a.m.
University of Wisconsin senior quarterback Russell Wilson?s superb numbers in play action are due to his work ethic and ballhandling skills.
In this column last month, former UW-Madison chancellor John Wiley paid homage to Donna Shalala, a predecessor as Madison chancellor. We were talking about Biddy Martin?s recent resignation from the same post. Wiley, not prone to effusive praise, glowingly described Shalala?s Madison years.
If the University of Wisconsin football team had to play a game today, redshirt freshman Joe Brennan would be the backup quarterback behind senior Russell Wilson. The question now is whether that scenario will continue throughout much of the season. There is legitimate concern around the program concerning the status of sophomore quarterback Jon Budmayr, who is scheduled to see a nerve specialist on Thursday due to continued numbness in two fingers on his throwing hand.
In the midst of revising plans to build new headquarters for 800-plus student-athletes, University of Wisconsin Athletic Department officials thought about using one of the last bits of green space in their campus footprint. A grassy area near Camp Randall Stadium was considered for a place to put a football practice facility with a complex of locker rooms, sports medicine and weight training beneath it. That idea for the Athletic Performance Center was ultimately rejected because of potential cost overruns and the disruption to the adjacent Breese Terrace neighborhood.
Quarterback Russell Wilson can?t help but stand out among Wisconsin?s four captains for 2011, even as he tries to blend in with his new teammates. Wilson, defensive tackle Patrick Butrym, free safety Aaron Henry and fullback Bradie Ewing are all seniors.
Just as a team needs a solid game plan to win a football game, a fan needs a sound strategy to succeed at Badger Football Family Fun Day, the annual event in which thousands of UW-Madison faithful trample the turf in Camp Randall stadium to score autographs from players and coaches. For Brad Schroeder of Delavan, the key is beating everyone else off the line by being first in line.
The UW Athletic Department recently announced it is unveiling Badgerville, a free party before Badgers football games. Billed as the “official pre-game event of Wisconsin Athletics” – presented by Johnsonville Sausage – it will be located on the grass field just north of Camp Randall Stadium along Breese Terrace. The event will feature food, beverages, a chance to get autographs from UW-Madison athletes (past and present) and members of the UW Marching Band.
Whether or not quarterback Russell Wilson was elected as a captain, he was going to be one of the leaders on the University of Wisconsin football team this season. His new teammates just made it official, with Wilson being selected as one of four senior captains, along with fullback Bradie Ewing, defensive tackle Patrick Butrym and free safety Aaron Henry. ?My goal is always to be a leader on the team, whether it?s a title or not,? Wilson said after practice on Monday, one day after the results of the team voting were announced.
University of Wisconsin football coach Bret Bielema wanted to see the current eight-game Big Ten Conference schedule stay intact, but that wasn?t enough to sway his boss. Late last month, UW athletic director Barry Alvarez voted with the majority of his peers to enact a nine-game league schedule beginning in 2017. “The fact that people want to see us play other Big Ten teams,?? Alvarez said this week. “We?ve got great TV contracts; they?ll even get better. Fans don?t want to see Big Ten schools playing (Football Championship Subdivision) teams.??
Wisconsin is ranked No. 11 in The Associated Press preseason college football poll, released Saturday.
Despite significant losses to the NFL, the Badgers still have the personnel to approach last season?s school-record offensive output.
With speculation swirling that Texas A&M will soon jump from the decaying Big 12 Conference to the Southeastern Conference, a move that could set off another round of conference musical chairs, fans have wondered what the next move is for the Big Ten Conference. If you believe Big Ten officials, their next move is to hold fast at 12 schools (with the addition of Nebraska), barring Conference Armageddon.
Wisconsin?s 2012 non-conference football schedule, released Thursday, is highlighted by a Sept. 8 matchup against Oregon State.
The University of Wisconsin athletic director says that despite his family filing claims for at least $1 million, he doesn?t expect to recover any of the money he invested with jailed Ponzi schemer Nevin Shapiro, the man at the heart of a massive Miami football scandal.
Miami athletic director Shawn Eichorst put on a brave face Thursday, speaking out for the first time since Miami football players were accused of getting cash, gifts and prostitutes from ex-booster Nevin Shapiro.
Less than a week after NCAA President Mark Emmert promised sweeping changes to the rules and the reputation of college sports, another scandal is exposing the tenuous grip that many universities have on their high-flying athletic programs.
The annals of major college sports scandals are littered with the damaged careers of coaches and athletics directors, but surprisingly few presidents lose their jobs in connection with NCAA infractions cases. While it may be cold comfort for Donna E. Shalala, who as president of the University of Miami is dealing with some of the most serious allegations in the history of college sports, Ms. Shalala?s odds of surviving the scandal are pretty good, if recent history is any indicator.
To get to University of Wisconsin football coach Bret Bielema, you have to go through Lisa Powell.
A man convicted in a Florida Ponzi scheme and Barry Alvarez met only once, according to a statement released by the University of Wisconsin athletic director Wednesday.
Even as the Big Ten grew from 10 to 12 schools, it was palatable because the conference expanded incrementally. And when the Big Ten couldn?t come up with anything better than Leaders and Legends for its division names, at least the opponents were familiar. If, however, Texas A&M moves from the Big 12 to the SEC as many expect it to do, decorum in college athletics will be lost forever. The resulting land grab will dramatically alter the NCAA landscape, and not for the better.
Zak Showalter sat in Bo Ryan?s office at the Kohl Center earlier this week and listened as the University of Wisconsin men?s basketball coach made a proposal. Ryan said he couldn?t offer a scholarship ? at least not right away ? but that he really wanted Showalter in the program. That was all the Germantown senior needed to hear.
University of Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez and members of his family filed claims for at least $1 million from convicted Ponzi schemer Nevin Shapiro, the Associated Press reports. Alvarez is not the focus of the AP article, which instead zeroes in on an NCAA investigation examining Shapiro?s connections with the University of Miami Hurricanes? football program.
University of Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez and his family have filed claims for at least $1 million against convicted Ponzi schemer Nevin Shapiro, whose intermingling with the University of Miami football program prompted an NCAA investigation, according to a report by The Associated Press.
Nevin Shapiro, a former Miami booster who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for masterminding a $930 million Ponzi scheme, told Yahoo! Sports he provided impermissible benefits to 72 of the university?s football players and other athletes between 2002 and 2010. Shapiro said he gave money, cars, yacht trips, jewelry, televisions and other gifts to players.
Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez and members of his family are among the creditors listed as those who are owed money by Shapiro. Court records show Alvarez?s family has filed claims for at least $1 million.
Nevin Shapiro, a former Miami booster who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for masterminding a $930 million Ponzi scheme, has told Yahoo! Sports he provided impermissible benefits to 72 of the university?s football players and other athletes between 2002 and 2010.
University of Wisconsin Athletic Director Barry Alvarez has filed claims for at least $1 million against a man convicted in a Florida Ponzi scheme, according to an Associated Press report.
After getting sacked by the economy in 2008, a hotel project in downtown Madison hopes to score success by catering to Camp Randall clientele and beyond. While its name may be Hotel Red, this new business hopes to be running in the black soon. After being in the works for three years, the hotel opened to the public on Tuesday.
Like many of their colleagues across the country, Wisconsin?s assistant coaches went to summer school. The course: NCAA Rule Changes 101.
“In all of my years as a head coach,” UW head coach Bret Bielema said, “we?ve had more meetings with officials than at any other point.”
A $76.8 million building project on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus that once was slated to house space for the College of Engineering and contain a sports medicine clinic in conjunction with UW Hospital now is solely going to benefit the university?s athletic department and its student athletes.
We have reached that moment in the discussion ? begun last month in this space ? on whether it might be possible to move ?Nail?s Tales,? the Donald Lipski sculpture adjacent to Camp Randall Stadium that many people have regarded as an eyesore, to put it kindly, ever since it was unveiled in 2005.
UW coach Bret Bielema?s goal is to take the program from ?good to great,? which is possible if the team can show more consistency from year to year.
Bradie Ewing doesn?t fit the profile of someone who strives to irritate opponents every weekend. With blond hair, pale eyes and a boyish grin that never seems to disappear, Wisconsin?s senior fullback looks more like someone who shows up at your front door seeking donations for the Boy Scouts.
Senior transfer quarterback Russell Wilson has already been dumped in the ice tubs that sit outside the locker room by his new University of Wisconsin teammates. He also took part in an impromptu dance contest with some of the guys. And when UW coach Bret Bielema had Wilson get up at the first meeting and state his name and where he is from ? a ritual normally limited to the freshmen ? there were good-natured catcalls and hooting.
Wisconsin freshman Derek Watt understands the comparisons are inevitable. “It?s not a concern,” he said.
Watt heard the comparisons when he followed big brother J.J. Watt to Pewaukee High School.
Junior defensive end David Gilbert sat on one of the folding chairs that dotted the Camp Randall Stadium turf Sunday, leaned back and surveyed the surreal scene that played out during Wisconsin?s football media day.
Gilbert was alone, as were many of his teammates. Two chairs and about 20 yards to Gilbert?s left was quarterback Russell Wilson, who transferred to UW from North Carolina State and is expected by many observers to win the starting job.
Gilbert couldn?t see Wilson. Yet he knew the throng of reporters and photographers – at least two dozen strong – had gathered there to interview UW?s No. 1 offseason story.
John Clay kept waiting for the phone to ring during the NFL Draft in April.
Former University of Wisconsin men?s basketball player Jon Leuer has signed a pro contract with a top-level German team, but will be allowed to return to the NBA if and when the lockout ends, according to multiple reports.
The face of Big Ten Conference football continues to change.Big Ten officials announced Thursday the league?s football teams will begin playing a nine-game conference schedule in 2017.
Aside from the recruitment of quarterback Russell Wilson, the No.?1 off-season story involving the Wisconsin football program has been the ability of Bret Bielema and the UW staff to adequately replace the talent that left after the 2010 season.
Five UW players were taken in the NFL draft, including first-round picks J.J. Watt and Gabe Carimi. Six other players signed free-agent contracts.
Yet with UW set to open camp Friday afternoon, a review of the roster reveals a deep talent pool.
The expectations for the University of Wisconsin football team were raised considerably when the Badgers added transfer quarterback Russell Wilson from North Carolina State. That was confirmed in the first USA Today coaches? poll, which was released on Thursday. The Badgers are 10th in the poll, the highest-ranked Big Ten Conference team, one spot ahead of newcomer Nebraska at 11th. Five Big Ten teams are in the poll, with Ohio State at No. 16, followed by Michigan State (17) and Penn State (25).
The Big Ten Conference went against the wishes of its coaches Thursday and approved a nine-game conference schedule starting in 2017.
Wisconsin?s $76.8 million Athletic Performance Center, approved as part of the state?s 2011-?13 biennial budget, has a new design and slightly different location since the project was first made public last year.
“We?ve done some painstaking work to bring this thing in the fold of what we need to do here,” John Chadima, UW?s associate athletic director for capital projects and sports administration, said Wednesday. “In the end it?s going to be a neat plan and it?s going to be very, very functional.”
Ruth Hirsch, the widow of iconic University of Wisconsin athlete and athletic director Elroy Hirsch, died Monday. She was 87.
The national spotlight continues to shine on the University of Wisconsin football team, much to the pleasure of coach Bret Bielema. Bielema said the Badgers will be part of a program on ESPN called “Depth Chart,” and UW is one of four college teams that will be featured. The show will focus on the quarterbacks and the cameras will be on hand throughout preseason camp. Players report Thursday and the first practice is Friday.
Bret Bielema isn?t afraid to provide the Wisconsin football program with national exposure when the opportunity arises. When the NFL Network approached Bielema about offering commentary during the NFL draft in April, UW?s head coach jumped at the chance.
The program gained even more exposure earlier this summer with the recruitment of quarterback Russell Wilson, who joined UW after starting for three seasons at North Carolina State. Now ESPN?s cameras are set to visit UW?s pre-season camp, which opens Friday, to give viewers an in-depth look at the program.
Chris Chelios and Gary Suter just missed being on the same University of Wisconsin men?s hockey team, but the two record-setting defensemen managed to get a great friendship out of the deal and have had a spectacular time collaborating ever since.
Two months and two days from now, when Nebraska comes to town for its Big Ten Conference debut, we could be looking at an unrivaled spectacle that extends the boundaries of hype. UW and Nebraska are favored to win their divisions in the newly aligned league and meet in the first Big Ten title game on Dec. 3 in Indianapolis.
CHICAGO ? As a brash, young head football coach who got his first job with the University of Wisconsin in 2006, Bret Bielema was never reluctant to make his voice heard.
“I probably spoke too much when I was a rookie,” Bielema said with a chuckle on Thursday, during the first day of the Big Ten Conference Football Media Days.
“I?m sure the conference coaches would agree with that.” The difference now, entering his sixth year, is people pay more attention to what Bielema has to say.
CHICAGO ? When Jim Delany started the national discussion on cost-of-attendance scholarships in May, it was perceived as the Big Ten Conference commissioner trying to divert attention from the NCAA-related mess at his premier football school, Ohio State. If the proposal was a smokescreen, however, it hasn?t blown away yet. At separate media days events in the last week, Delany?s counterparts in the Southeastern and Atlantic Coast conferences trumped him by calling for far-reaching changes in the way intercollegiate sports are conducted.
The dozens of readers who responded to my whimsical ?Good Doug/Bad Doug? column Monday about the Camp Randall Stadium sculpture known as ?Nail?s Tales? should take heart. In the words of one, Carl Strayer of Fort Atkinson, ?Dreams can come true.?
The overwhelming majority of respondents agreed with my contention that after a fair trial ? more than five years ? the Donald Lipski sculpture that resembles nothing so much as a diseased appendage unique to the male anatomy remains so reviled in Madison that it needs to be moved to someplace less prominent.
