Jay Bilas and Fran Fraschilla, who will provide analysis on ESPN?s presentation of the NBA Draft, both said Marquette?s Jimmy Butler and Wisconsin?s Jon Leuer will be among the 60 players chosen Thursday night.
The University of Wisconsin women?s basketball team suffered another future personnel loss stemming from the Badgers? coaching change. Nicole Smith, a 6-foot-4 center from Rockton (Ill.) Hononegah who was to join UW in 2012, has opted to play for Iowa, according to the Iowa City Press-Citizen. Smith is the second recruit to defect after Lisa Stone was fired this spring.
The best of Big Ten Conference from 2010-11 will be front and center Monday night when the Big Ten Network airs its fourth annual awards show at 7:30. As a team or individually, the University of Wisconsin is nominated in seven of the nine categories.
Frequently Asked Question: Will the Badgers ever bring baseball back? Typical Alvarez Response: “I?m not looking to add any sports.”
PARK RIDGE, Ill. — The Big Ten and CBS Sports said they have reached a multiyear agreement to broadcast basketball games through the 2016-17 season. The announcement came Thursday. Terms were not disclosed.
Celebrated quarterback prospect Russell Wilson made a great impression when he visited Madison last week, but he kept his intentions very close to the vest while checking out the University of Wisconsin football program. A source who has spoken with Wilson said he gave the impression his toughest decision was not which college he would attend, but rather which sport should be his priority at this point.
For the first time in five seasons, a University of Wisconsin football game apparently won?t be televised ? at least in the traditional sense. The Badgers? game on Sept. 17 against Northern Illinois at Soldier Field will kick off at 2:30 p.m., the Mid-American Conference announced Wednesday. It?ll be live streamed on ESPN3.com, an online-only channel that is available free to subscribers of Charter Communications and many other providers nationally.
Bo Ryan is one of 12 athletes, coaches and executives who will be inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame later this year.
Two UW swimmers will compete in the World University Games in Shenzhen, China. Ashley Wanland will swim for the United States, while Daniel Lester will compete for his native Australia.
Word that an NCAA recruiting rule was broken by University of Wisconsin football player Nick Toon last week brought back an embarrassing memory. I was involved in a similar situation years ago involving the UW men?s hockey team, much to my sheepish dismay.
Wisconsin inadvertently committed an NCAA violation related to the recruitment of former North Carolina State quarterback Russell Wilson.However, the violation appears to be minor and should not affect Wilson?s eligibility or prevent him from transferring to UW if he chooses.
New Orleans coach Sean Payton slept with the Lombardi Trophy after his team won Super Bowl XLIV. Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy just seems to be taking it everywhere he goes.
?I?m noticed a little bit more because of this thing,? McCarthy said Sunday afternoon during a news conference at the American Family Children?s Hospital on the University of Wisconsin campus.
The UW Athletic Board met Friday afternoon and approved contract extension for spring sport head coaches at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
As new University of Wisconsin men?s golf coach Michael Burcin toured the campus and University Ridge Golf Course last week, he kept searching for something missing from the program that was holding it back. He came up empty.
Assumptions are unwise, especially in the case of Dorcas Akinniyi and Jessica Flax. Both are members of the University of Wisconsin women?s track and field team who qualified for the heptathlon in the NCAA outdoor championships that run through Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa.
As the University of Wisconsin football program made its pitch this week to land North Carolina State transfer Russell Wilson, Ohio State was waving goodbye to the troubled Terrelle Pryor era. Those two significant developments involving quarterbacks ? which unfolded at basically the same time ? could have a drastic impact on the Big Ten Conference landscape in the fall.
Red Line Report, an independent international scouting service, came out with its final prospect rankings for the 2011 NHL Entry Draft this week. Left winger Michael Mersch, a 19-year-old sophomore-to-be with the University of Wisconsin men?s hockey team, is 50th, which projects to him being chosen in the second round when the draft is held June 24 and 25 in Minneapolis, Minn.
If Bo Ryan felt ? or looked ? like one of the oldest Division I men?s basketball coaches, then maybe he?d think about retirement.
Donna Freitag has breast cancer. Eight days ago, the former assistant women?s basketball coach at the University of Wisconsin underwent the second of six rounds of chemotherapy. The toll of the treatments is predictably heavy, from the nausea and body aches to the loss of appetite, hair and energy. Freitag desperately wants to take part in the 14th annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Saturday in Madison. But even though she maintains it will be a “game-time decision” to walk the course with dozens of family members and friends, she knows her body and must cater to its delicate whims.
The Big Ten Conference?s football title game will be held indoors, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, for the first five years in an agreement announced on Sunday. The indoor facility beat out Chicago?s Solider Field, which also bid to hold the conference championship game outdoors.
Apparently the calendars in the NCAA offices are permanently stuck on the 1950s. By refusing to allow college athletes to be paid, NCAA officials would like us to think they?re preserving some idyllic moment in history when the “student” role dominated a student-athlete?s focus. All the collegiate athletics-ruling organization preserves with that stance is its own hypocrisy.
After a scandal at Ohio State University brought down highly touted football coach Jim Tressel and scarred another legendary program, NCAA leaders should finally acknowledge what the rest of the world knows: They?re taking advantage of the athletes.
Former North Carolina State quarterback Russell Wilson is scheduled to visit the University of Wisconsin next week, a UW source said. Wilson has been granted his release from North Carolina State and has one year of college football eligibility remaining. Because he has graduated, he is eligible to play immediately.
Given a distinct choice of venues for future Big Ten Conference football championship games, University of Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez and football coach Bret Bielema agree. It should be played indoors, which means the league should make a commitment to staging the game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
How fortunate was the University of Wisconsin football team to retain offensive coordinator Paul Chryst during the offseason, despite overtures from Texas? Rivals.com lists Chryst, who is entering his seventh season as offensive coordinator for the Badgers — and eighth season overall as an assistant with the team — as the third-hottest assistant football coach in the nation. Chryst trails only Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn and Florida State defensive coordinator Mark Stoops.
There?s a new Bear in town?and he?s Jewish! Gabe Carimi, former co-captain and star offensive lineman of the Big Ten champion Wisconsin Badgers was the Chicago Bears? number one draft pick in 2011. At 6 foot 7 and 327 pounds, Carimi has already been appropriately nicknamed the ?Bear Jew? after the character from the movie Inglourious Basterds; his other nickname is the ?Jewish Hammer.?
….With new allegations surfacing that Buckeyes players have been selling memorabilia and getting sweetheart deals on cars since 2002, the message being sent is even more loud and clear: This isn?t a Jim Tressel problem or an Ohio State problem, it?s a college football problem. At its highest levels, the sport is out of control.
As tempting as it might be, University of Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez doesn?t view the ongoing ethical storm atop the Big Ten Conference summit as a good thing. Allegations of major rules violations at Ohio State led to the resignation of football coach Jim Tressel earlier this week. The NCAA is investigating the flagship school of the league a year after another premier program, Michigan, was placed on NCAA probation for the first time in school history. “You never want to see that, particularly with one of your brand schools,” Alvarez said Wednesday. “I don?t feel good about it for our league.”
It ain?t gonna happen. Much to the chagrin of The Sconz circa 2009, UW students will never be able to drink at Badgers games. The idea of selling beer at Camp Randall popped onto the radar screen recently when West Virginia athletic director Oliver Luck proposed such a plan for Mountaineers football games. In addition to tapping into a lucrative revenue stream, Luck told his Board of Governors that allowing and controlling beer sales would help cut down on the problem of fan intoxication.
It is ironic that West Virginia, which surveys show has one of the lowest rates of alcohol consumption in the country, is considering a more liberal drinking policy than Wisconsin, the heaviest drinking state in the country, and home to Memorial Union, perhaps the proudest university-sponsored drinking venue in American history.
Badgers coach Bret Bielema is in a position to benefit, although he likely doesn’t relish the circumstances.
The University of Wisconsin?s athletics department begins its Badger Days tour on Wednesday with a stop in Milwaukee. The event at the Harley-Davidson Museum includes many of Wisconsin coaches and administrators, including athletic director Barry Alvarez, football coach Bret Bielema, men?s hockey coach Mike Eaves and women?s hockey coach Mark Johnson. Similar stops will be made on Friday in Wisconsin Dells and Tuesday in Green Bay.
University of Wisconsin football coach Bret Bielema has always expressed only the utmost respect for former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel.
The Wisconsin athletic director admits he?s curious to see how it works out at West Virginia if the Mountaineers athletic department opts to sell beer at football games.
DETROIT — Could the University of Wisconsin help the Red Wings once again?
The Academic Progress Report measures classroom performance of student-athletes on every Division I team. Teams scoring below the 925 cutline in one year can face immediate penalties. Those scoring below 900 or with low scores for several years face tougher historical sanctions.This year?s data covers 2006-07 through 2009-10. A perfect score is 1,000. Every University of Wisconsin program posted a passing score, ranging from 1,000 (women?s golf) to 956 (wrestling). Women?s basketball scored a 997, while men?s basketball was at 970 and football at 967.
News that defenseman Chris Chelios was chosen for induction in the University of Wisconsin Athletics Hall of Fame later this year wasn?t a huge surprise. After all, he might be the greatest American hockey player ever. But the UW Hall of Fame should be predicated on what an inductee did in school, not as a professional.
Defenceman Brian Rafalski appears set to end his 11-year NHL career.
When Barry Alvarez attended Nebraska and played football back in the late 1960s, his full scholarship included a monthly stipend of $15 designed to pay for things beyond room, board, books and tuition. That memory came to life to this week when Alvarez, now the University of Wisconsin athletic director, listened with surprise as Big Ten Conference commissioner Jim Delany broached the topic of augmenting athletic scholarships during a meeting in Chicago. A full tender still covers the basics ? room, board, books and tuition ? but research suggests there is roughly a $3,000 gap between that value and the actual cost of attendance, which includes travel, clothing and living expense.
Many scheduling challenges remain unresolved, but the new men?s hockey initiative in the Big Ten Conference is moving closer to a definitive playoff format.Administrators and coaches at the six schools have a list of three options and are being asked to submit their preferences to the Big Ten offices by the end of this week.
UW-Eau Claire finally has a mascot. Sort of. The student senate announced Wednesday that students chose the image of a blue and gold bird for a school mascot, based on a student-wide survey. But UW-Eau Claire leaders are not taking on the image as the official university mascot.
….Upon returning to Madison, Smith reiterated his plans to play another season at the college level. That?s good news for the Badgers, who have already lost two underclassmen to the pros in defenseman Jake Gardiner and winger Jordy Murray.
“I made my decision before I left,?? Smith wrote in a text message. “That?s what felt right in my heart.??
University of Wisconsin football coach Bret Bielema can remember a time in the not-so-distant past when the Badgers seemed to play all of their games at 11 a.m. Central time. In fact, in Bielema?s first year as head coach in 2006, UW kicked off all of its Big Ten Conference games at that time.
This year, the Badgers have four nationally televised night games, a sign of their growing national reputation. But with that prestige comes some challenges.
Back in 2000, when Roy Williams was the head coach at Kansas, he took a subtle shot at the University of Wisconsin basketball program.
If you know just one thing about Gabe Carimi, it?s that he?s the star University of Wisconsin lineman who the Chicago Bears chose as their first round pick in the NFL draft last month.
The Big Ten Conference is flush with cash and looking to possibly divert some of it to athletes? pockets to cover the full cost of going to college. That bit of news came out of this week?s Big Ten meetings in Chicago.
When we learned Nebraska would be joining the Big Ten Conference, excitement spread past our state borders.We went to Madison, Wisconsin, where the Huskers will kick off their first Big Ten tour, to see what fans there are saying about their newest rival.
Bobbie Kelsey is bringing in a couple of familiar faces in her University of Wisconsin women?s basketball coaching staff. One is familiar to Badgers fans, another to Kelsey. Kyle Black Rechlicz, who played for the Badgers from 1998-2002 will join Kelsey?s staff, as will Stacy Cantley, who coached along with Kelsey at Virginia Tech. Also named to the new staff is Alysiah Bond, a former point guard at Ohio State who most recently was on the staff at Arizona.
Photo: Jerry Kelly as SuperFrog on the tee box.
The University of Wisconsin women?s rowing team earned an at-large berth to the 16-team NCAA championships on Tuesday night. The Badgers will make an unprecedented fourth straight trip to the championships, slated for May 27-29 at Sacramento State Aquatic Center in Gold River, Calif.
Oties Epps wasn?t sure where his coaching path would lead after he lost his job when the University of Wisconsin fired women?s basketball coach Lisa Stone. But he was eager to find out. Despite some initial pain and several weeks of uncertainty, Epps said he never lost faith that there was an appealing basketball destination in his future.
Two weeks ago Jordan Smith thought his future for at least the next four years was clearly mapped out. He was going to attend the University of Wisconsin, where he would major in business and walk on to the men?s basketball team and hopefully work his way into earning a scholarship.
The journal starts with this: “The first night I was here, I didn?t sleep well.” They are the words of a young Dane County woman, a victim of domestic violence.
“I felt intimidated,” she continued. “I was ashamed that I ended up here.” The woman writing in her journal was staying at the emergency safe house of Domestic Abuse Intervention Services (DAIS), which since 1977 in Dane County has been providing support services to victims of domestic violence and their children.
CORAL GABLES ? Miami athletic director Shawn Eichorst is bringing one of his former colleagues from the University of Wisconsin down to work with him.
The University of Wisconsin football team will play four games under the lights this fall, the networks announced Thursday, matching the most ever for the Badgers. UW drew the prime time slot for home games against UNLV (Sept. 1) and Nebraska (Oct. 1), as well as road dates at Legends Division rivals Michigan State (Oct. 22) and Ohio State (Oct. 29).
MADISON, Wis. — The national spotlight will be shining brightly along with the lights at Camp Randall Stadium following the Wisconsin Badgers football team?s Big Ten Championship and Rose Bowl appearance.
After nine years on task, Sharon Cole will graduate Friday from the University of Wisconsin.
?Just insane,?? she said with a laugh. ?Just shy of a decade.??
Four years after getting her undergraduate degree in biology, a 3.8 grade-point average to boot, Cole will get her doctorate from the school of pharmacy and start making a living as a pharmacist with a Walgreens outlet in Madison. Cole isn?t out the door and already she?s giving back generously to her alma mater in a way that might surprise you.
Mark Johnson is glad he looked into the opportunity of becoming the first men?s hockey coach at Penn State and is content with how the process played out. Contrary to a report last last month, Johnson said he wasn?t offered the job to take over in Happy Valley, where brand-new men?s and women?s programs will debut in 2012-13.
?It never got to the point where, ?Yes, I want the job? or ?No, I don?t want the job,? ? Johnson said Wednesday after taking part in a ground-breaking ceremony for LaBahn Arena, the $34.09 million hockey and swimming facility being built adjacent to the Kohl Center.
Chuck and Mary Ann LaBahn wrote a check worth $5 million for the $34.09 million hockey and swimming facility ? hence their name on the facility that ceremoniously broke ground Wednesday ? but $10,000 gifts such as the one from former Badger Sharon Cole send a powerful message of their own.
WESTON — The University of Wisconsin football team is coming off its second consecutive double-digit victory season, a Big Ten championship and a berth in the Rose Bowl.
University of Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez released a statement Monday night pledging support for women?s tennis coach Brian Fleishman after questions were raised about his treatment of players. Alvarez?s vote of confidence came in the wake of a report in Thursday?s Badger Herald in which four unnamed members of the team alleged Fleishman subjected players to unhealthy eating habits and psychological abuse.
The University of Wisconsin athletic department contributed about $50,000 to the School of Nursing building project with funds generated from ticket sales at the spring football game. School of Nursing dean Katharyn May believes a $1 million donation received about three weeks prior to the spring game probably would not have happened without the affiliation with the football program. Fans were charged $5 for admission to the spring game, which had been free in past years. The official crowd was a disappointing 11,169, though UW athletic director Barry Alvarez remains committed to using the game as a fundraiser for campus projects. Proceeds from next year?s game will go to the Human Ecology department.
