Former University of Wisconsin halfback Harland Carl shared the spotlight in the Badgers backfield with a Heisman Trophy winner before playing a season in the NFL, then embarking on a career in coaching and business.
The Badgers were ranked No. 2, one slot behind top-ranked Texas. UW received seven first-place votes, fewer than No. 3-ranked Stanford, but the Badgers’ 1,489 total points narrowly edged the Cardinal’s 1,449.
It’s rare for us to write about our own in this profession, but I’m breaking that unwritten rule this time. Punz is our ace University of Wisconsin volleyball reporter at the State Journal and BadgerExtra, a freelance role he gleefully stepped into after taking a buyout and “retiring” a few years ago.
The Badgers will open the season Saturday with a 1 p.m. exhibition against University of Illinois Chicago at the UW Field House, the site of last December’s pulsating, emotionally draining five-set loss to Pittsburgh in the NCAA’s Regional Final. The defeat snapped Wisconsin’s 21-match winning streak dating to September.
The Badgers spent a week working out in Platteville, about 70 miles from Wisconsin’s Madison campus. New Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell got the idea to train out of town from his coaching tenure at Cincinnati, which is spending a 25th straight year practicing about 30 miles from campus at Higher Ground Conference & Retreat Center in West Harrison, Indiana.
The sight of lightning near the McClimon Track/Soccer Complex stopped a University of Wisconsin men’s soccer home game against Tulsa last August just more than a minute shy of it qualifying as a complete contest.
Letter to the editor: I urge athletic director Chris McIntosh and head coach Luke Fickell to find a way to stop the continuation of the vulgar chant that fans shout back and forth at each other several times during the game.
The sport of golf isn’t always approachable or accessible, especially for people of color. A group of friends and former Wisconsin Badgers athletes started an organization to expand the game of golf and reduce the assumptions and misconceptions involved.
Mark Tauscher, whose playing career at UW included serving as one of the starting offensive linemen during Ron Dayne’s Heisman Trophy-winning season in 1999, will serve as color commentator alongside Lepay, UW announced Thursday.
Pat Richter was in grade school when Bob Teague broke a color barrier in the Wisconsin football program by becoming the first African American player to start for the Badgers. As he grew older, Richter began to better comprehend the historical significance of Teague’s breakthrough during the 1949 season.
“Unfortunately, his story has not received the attention it so richly deserves,’’ opined Richter, a former University of Wisconsin All-American tight end and the school’s athletic director during the Badgers’ football renaissance of the 1990s. “Many who could have benefited from hearing about his tales of perseverance may now finally have that opportunity.’’
Word started getting out to University of Wisconsin athletic department employees about a change in the men’s hockey coaching staff shortly before 3 p.m. March 6.
He began broadcasting in Appleton, including at Appleton Foxes baseball games, and spent time broadcasting University of Wisconsin football games. He latched on with a Columbus radio station in 1986, the first step toward his current gig in Cleveland.
From the University of Wisconsin website:Wisconsin’s loveable mascot, Bucky Badger, has always ranked high in fan appeal and enthusiasm. Although badgers in various forms had been the University of Wisconsin mascot for decades, the version that is currently known as Bucky, sporting a cardinal and white sweater, was first drawn in 1940 by professional illustrator Art Evans of Garden Grove, Calif. In 1949, a student first wore a badger outfit with a papier-máchê head at the homecoming game and the mascot came to l
“A warm Wisconsin welcome to old friends and new colleagues in Eugene and Seattle,” UW Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin tweeted Friday night after the conference made the transaction official.
But Badgers coach Paula Wilkins has seen a familiar element in U.S. games when Lavelle, who played for the Badgers from 2013 to 2016, has been on the pitch.
“The national team is reliant a little bit on her,” Wilkins said. “And she learned that here because a lot of times in games we were reliant on her. So she’s learned to carry that load a little bit.”
UW-Madison announced it will offer “enhanced beverage choices” at the Kohl Center and Bahn Arena in Madison this fall.
What does it look like to me? People will get drunk before and after the games, so we need to cash in on this, too. College athletics at UW will offer alcohol on a campus widely known as one of the biggest party schools in the U.S.
“Jump Around” is a nominee for Best College Sports Tradition and it needs your vote. It is currently ranked number two out of 20, with The Army-Navy Game ahead at the top of the leaderboard.
“As we look to enhance the customer experience inside and outside our venues, we have done a lot of listening and observing,” Athletic Director Chris McIntosh said. “It is critical that our fans have an enjoyable, safe, and efficient experience when they engage with us. I am happy to be able to announce a few new initiatives and I am excited about continuing to develop more ways to better serve our fans.”
Wisconsin was one of only a few Big Ten schools that did not allow alcohol to be sold at any sporting events. But the athletic department announced Thursday afternoon that it will sell beer, wine, and some other pre-packaged alcoholic beverages — like hard seltzers — in general seating areas for basketball and hockey games as well as concerts at the Kohl Center and LaBahn Arena.
University of Wisconsin fans have been unable to raise a glass (or in this case a plastic cup) to their beloved Badgers at sporting events.
But that will change somewhat this season.
Amy Fickell was wrapping up an interview in her family room last month when a face, covered with guilt, appeared from around the corner. One of her 8-year-old twins was requesting her presence in the basement. He needed to show her something.
UW will expand beer sales to the general public at the Kohl Center and LaBahn Arena starting this season, it announced Thursday.
Gatorade is boosting how much product credit it gives the University of Wisconsin athletic department in a contract extension between the sides.
We asked University of Wisconsin football players at Tuesday’s media day how they prepare for the four weeks of training camp, knowing that it’ll become a grind at some point before the Sept. 2 opener against Buffalo at Camp Randall Stadium.
There have been several high-profile transfers throughout the Big Ten, a total of 31 according to College VBall Transfers on Twitter. Several ended up at opposing Big Ten programs — like the University of Wisconsin’s All-American transfer outside hitter Temi Thomas-Ailara, who transferred from Northwestern — which Nebraska coach John Cook said “bothers me.”
Training camp starts Wednesday from UW-Platteville and the Badgers sat down for media day on Tuesday. First-year head coach Luke Fickell said his excitement for upcoming camp and the season is overwhelming. “Honestly, I’m not kidding, I couldn’t sleep last night,” said Fickell.
The University of Wisconsin volleyball team was picked to win its fifth-consecutive Big Ten Championship and several Badgers were awarded preseason individual honors with less than a month until the start of the 2023 volleyball season.
Conference championships and individual honors in the 2022-23 season meant extra bonuses for University of Wisconsin cross country and track and field coaches.
Wisconsin sports fanatics are hearty and a little nuts. Moreover, UW-Madison is the only school in the country to draw more than 8,000 fans for three different women’s sports programs. That includes 16,833 people at the Kohl Center last fall for volleyball.
Officials at UW-Platteville think University of Wisconsin football players will be surprised to see what kind of facilities they’ll be using when they arrive for camp Tuesday.
Preparing for his first full season as Wisconsin’s head coach after leading the Cincinnati program for the last six seasons, Fickell addressed reporters Thursday morning at the Big Ten preseason meetings.
Luke Fickell wasn’t sounding any alarms, but he sees an area for improvement in his program when it comes to player discipline. The University of Wisconsin football coach has had three players in legal matters this summer, though just two remain with the team.
It was mostly quiet in the Kohl Center last week as University of Wisconsin women’s basketball coach Marisa Moseley addressed the state of affairs within her program.
Several Badgers games will air on NBC this season, a trusted NBC15 source confirms Wednesday.
Luke Fickell’s first season has been met with high expectations and the program is expected to have three league games on NBC, Action Network’s Brett McMurphy reported. Those games include 2:30 p.m. Oct. 14 vs. Iowa, 6:30 p.m. Oct. 28 vs. Ohio State and 6:30 p.m. Nov. 18 against Nebraska.
On Tuesday, the University of Illinois revealed former University of Wisconsin defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard would join head coach Bret Bielema’s staff in Urbana as a Senior Football Analyst.
When the Big Ten conducts its 2023 Media Days on Wednesday and Thursday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, there will be only three holdovers from that ’11 gathering: Ferentz in his 25th season at Iowa, Bielema in his third season at Illinois and Fickell in his first season at Wisconsin.
The U.S. Women’s National Soccer team is poised to make history in Australia and New Zealand with a chance to win the FIFA World Cup for a third time in a row. And Wisconsin businesses are taking advantage of the hype.
Former Wisconsin defensive coordinator and interim head coach Jim Leonhard hosted a free youth football camp at St. Francis Xavier on Wednesday.
Chris Clark, the longest-tenured coach of any UW program, is leaving his position leading the men’s rowing program to enter a newly created role as director of rowing.
While much of the world swelters, Auckland is feeling a bit chilly. American midfielder Rose LaVelle has impressed journalists with her attire: while at least one reporter wore a winter coat during a USWNT training session, Lavelle, a University of Wisconsin alum, practiced sleeveless and in shorts. Lavelle is a key player, but a pre-World Cup injury has worried USWNT observers. Will she be ready to go? If Lavelle’s taking on the cold head up, that seems like a strong sign she’s thriving.
Chris McIntosh’s tenure at the University of Wisconsin as athletic director has paralleled a new era of major college athletics with the introduction of the Name, Image and Likeness rules.
In 1990, McCarney and Wyatt were the first two hires on Barry Alvarez’ inaugural Wisconsin staff. They took part in the introductory press conference at the McClain Facility, the setting for Alvarez’ infamous declaration to the fans, “We’re going to build it from the foundation. Don’t know how long it will take. They’d better get season tickets now because before long they probably won’t be able to.’’
Rose Lavelle, a star for the U.S. in the last World Cup four years ago, will be once again in the mix. The Cincinnati native played college soccer at the University of Wisconsin.
Badger football, volleyball, cross country, soccer prepare for fall 2023 season.
The University of Wisconsin women’s hockey team was “on top of the world” in March, and the feeling was well-deserved after the Badgers made history by becoming the first team to win seven NCAA championships.
Vicky Opitz grew up hearing stories. Her grandfather and parents alike exposed her from an early age to the University of Wisconsin rowing program, and the success stories within it.
Opitz is a former Badger, world champion, Big Ten champion, and All-American. Opitz becomes the seventh coach in UW program history.
There’s a new era underway for the Wisconsin women’s rowing team and it’s a perfect fit. Vicky Opitz takes over as the program’s 7th head coach and Badger rowing is in her blood.
New UW women’s rowing coach Vicky Opitz talks her history with Badgers rowing ahead of taking over the women’s rowing program.
Wisconsin Republicans released two proposals Wednesday that would ban transgender girls and women from participating in female sports at every grade level and in college.
The bills, authored by Republican Rep. Barbara Dittrich of Oconomowoc and Sen. Dan Knodl of Germantown, would bar male and transgender female students attending publicly-funded K-12 schools, University of Wisconsin System campuses and state technical colleges from competing in sports designated for females.
They’ve shared a household, a Pewaukee High School legacy, an NFL football field and now a cereal box.
Wheaties, the iconic brand that’s pictured prominent athletes on its orange cereal boxes since the 1930s, will release a new box that features J.J. and T.J. Watt on the front. The University of Wisconsin standouts have combined for four NFL Defensive Player of the Year trophies, and J.J. has been busy in his first offseason of retirement, recently announcing he’d be joining the NFL on CBS crew in the fall.
Ball, a two-time All-American tailback and 5,000-plus-yard rusher with 83 career touchdowns, learned in late March that he will be inducted into the Wisconsin Athletics Hall of Fame. As one of 13 members in the 2023 Class – headlined by J.J. Watt – Ball will be recognized on Hall of Fame weekend, Sept. 15-16 in Madison.
The University of Wisconsin men’s hockey team was just two days removed from wrapping up its second straight losing season when program legend Tony Granato was shown the door in March.
Letter to the editor: I took several trips to that campus to watch the 1985 Chicago Bears team practice at that facility. When watching their practice, you could basically stand near the sidelines and watch the 1985 Bears defense scrimmage against running back Walter Payton. The players and coaches were very accessible after the scrimmage.
Athletic director Chris McIntosh reinstated Turner after an inquiry into his OWI arrest on June 26, according to a news release Monday. Turner’s arrest triggered the athletic department’s student-athlete discipline policy, which was changed last year to include OWI in the offenses that warranted automatic suspensions. Turner was not allowed to participate in practices, but had access to the weight room and sports medicine facilities.
Badger linebacker Jordan Turner was reinstated to the football team, UW-Madison Athletic Director Chris McIntosh announced Monday.Turner was indefinitely suspended from the team last month for violating the student athlete discipline policy.
Turner was previously suspended in June from competition and practice after violating the UW Department of Athletics’ Student-Athlete Discipline Policy.
Renowned broadcaster and reporter Mike Lucas, who has covered University of Wisconsin sports for more than 50 years, is rejoining the Cap Times.
Thomas played for the Badgers from 2003-2006, earning All-American honors during his junior and senior seasons.
