Based on their respective schedules, Notre Dame would appear to be a more likely option than Nebraska to appear on the University of Wisconsin football teamâ??s 2012 schedule. Badgers coach Bret Bielema said on his Twitter account Tuesday that UW is trying to secure either Notre Dame or Nebraska for games in 2012 (in Madison) and 2015 (on the road).
The University of Wisconsin menâ??s hockey team hopes to continue its quest for a seventh national title this afternoon when it battles Rochester Institute of Technology at the Frozen Four in Detroit.Wisconsin heads into the Frozen Four after a regional semifinal victory over Vermont and a regional final victory over St. Cloud State.
The UW menâ??s hockey team had a chance to test out the ice on another football field. UW will face the Rochester Institute of Technology on Thursday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. at Ford Field in Detroit. If Wisconsin wins it will play either Miami of Ohio or Boston College in Saturday nightâ??s championship.
The UW-Madison Athletic Board should be voting on all coach hiring decisions, according to a new report commissioned by the Faculty Senate.
Wisconsin resumes spring football practice later Tuesday but coach Bret Bielema tweeted to his fans that UW is trying to secure a home-and-home deal with either Notre Dame or Nebraska.
Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan and his assistants now have the flexibility to add a guard for the 2010 freshman class if they choose. Sophomore center Ian Markolf, who played a total of six games in two seasons, has decided to quit the team but plans to remain at UW and work toward a degree in personal finance and investment.
Wisconsin has been to the Frozen Four in Detroit twice before, and has brought home championships each time.
Senior tri-captain Blake Geoffrion began his career as an immature freshman whose most notable stat line was penalty minutes and was disliked by his teammates. He ends his career with the respect of his fellow Badgers and could be UW’s first Hobey Baker winner.
University of Wisconsin football coach Bret Bielema had no further comment Tuesday about a possible non-conference home-and-home series against either Nebraska or Notre Dame after posting on his Twitter page that he was trying to â??lock upâ? a series against one of the two traditional powers in college football.
An independent review of the UW Athletic Board found that it is not a “rubber stamp” for the will of the UW Athletic Department, despite charges to the contrary by a former member. History Professor Jeremi Suri resigned from the board in protest in 2008, in part prompting the review. He alleged that the board wasnâ??t offering proper oversight over the athletic department. The reportâ??s authors, seven faculty members from across campus, found that “the board fulfills its responsibilities in active, constructive ways, and that it is not a passive â??rubber stamp.â??”
MADISON, Wis. — The Denver Nuggets have reached an agreement to sign former University of Wisconsin Badger Brian Butch for the rest of the season, according to an ESPN.com report.
A 6-foot-11 center out of Wisconsin, Butch is averaging nearly 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Bakersfield Jam in the NBA D-League.
Family members of missing rural Cedar Rapids snowmobiler Martin Davis say sheriffâ??s deputies have asked them for his dental records to check against a body found near the Coralville Reservoir. Davis is the brother of University of Wisconsin wrestling coach Barry Davis.
University of Wisconsin menâ??s hockey coach Mike Eaves has been named a finalist for 2010Â NCAA Division I Menâ??s Hockey Coach of the Year.
Senior forward Blake Geoffrion is one of three Hobey Hat Trick finalists for the 2010 Hobey Baker Memorial Award, the Hobey Baker Memorial Award Foundation announced today.
Kathi Bennett emphasized her familyâ??s basketball tradition Wednesday when she interviewed for the head coaching position at Indiana State.Bennett, an assistant to Lisa Stone with the University of Wisconsin womenâ??s basketball team, is one of four finalists for the job at Indiana State.
The Badgers’ senior center said he ‘would have laughed and walked away’ if someone had suggested at the beginning of the season that he would be this close to winning college hockey’s highest honor.
University of Wisconsin wrestling coach Barry Davis got some sobering news while riding the team bus to the NCAA championships in Omaha, Neb., last week.
….â??I got a call on the way down to Omaha from the Johnson County (Iowa) Sheriffâ??s Department,â? Davis said. â??They found my brotherâ??s helmet. That was between me and them. I kept it to myself, and I focused on the team and moved forward.â?
Davisâ?? brother, Marty Davis, 52, who lives north of Shueyville, Iowa â?? midway between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City in Johnson County â?? has been missing since Jan. 3 when he left home on his snowmobile.
UW won the sixth meeting of the season with WCHA rival St. Cloud State because it imposed its rugged will right from the get-go and significantly altered the way it killed penalties against the Huskies.
While playing youth hockey in his hometown of Neenah, Wisconsin forward John Mitchell no doubt dreamed of playing for the Badgers someday. But itâ??s unlikely he envisioned leading them to a chance to win a championship at a football stadium in Detroit.
On Saturday, Mitchell did exactly that, scoring twice in Wisconsinâ??s 5-3 win over St. Cloud State in the title game of the NCAA West Regional.
When Mitchell and his mates next take to the ice, it will be April 8 inside Ford Field in Detroit. The Badgers will play Rochester Institute of Technology in a Frozen Four semifinal game.
ST. PAUL, Minn. â?? After every meal with his teammates on the University of Wisconsin menâ??s hockey team, Ryan McDonagh does the same thing.
Whether itâ??s a breakfast on the road or a dinner after practice at the Kohl Center, the junior defenseman and tri-captain walks over to Mike Cerniglia, the oft-harried director of hockey operations, shakes his hand and says thank you before leaving the room.
Itâ??s a daily display of respect and appreciation that doesnâ??t happen everywhere and doesnâ??t surprise anyone who knows McDonagh.
Eleven Chinese student-athletes, including two Olympics gold medal winners, will be coming to study at UW-Madison this summer and fall.
The first-of-its-kind collaboration between UW-Madison and the Beijing University of Sport is being announced on Saturday by UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin and Yang Hua, head of the Beijing University of Sport.
The Sweet 16 of the NCAA menâ??s basketball tournament tips off Thursday night.
In the spirit of March Madness, UW-Madison graduate Stuart Rojstaczer put together a group of 16 colleges and universities — from public commuter schools to elite privates — that grade tougher than their rivals. The post also includes a chart on grade inflation by athletic conference.
Cornell, Duke, Butler, Xavier and Purdue are proof that schools can have it both ways. These teams made it to the Sweet 16, and all graduate more than 60% of their basketball players. (Marquette Universityâ??s rate is 100%, and the University of Wisconsin-Madisonâ??s rate is 78%.)
Perhaps schools could offer kids who donâ??t make the cut in the NBA a chance to return to school to earn their degrees at a reduced cost.These players work hard on the court for their schools. Their schools owe them a chance at a life after their playing days are done.
Not only is Brian Posick the personable radio play-by-play voice of the Wisconsin men’s hockey team, he has a prominent sidelight: Hobey Baker Award voter.
The fourth-seeded Cyclones (25-7) got all they could handle from the feisty, 12th-seeded Phoenix before finally making a couple of big shots down the stretch to reach the regional semifinals for the second straight year and fifth time overall.
Wisconsin womenâ??s basketball coach Lisa Stone knew Vermontâ??s guard tandem of Courtnay Pilypaitis and May Kotsopoulos was very good. Stone found out just how good on Sunday.
The Ivy League champions were the better team from the start and thoroughly outplayed the fourth-seeded UW men’s team on both ends of the floor en route to administering an 87-69 butt-kicking in the second round of the East Region.
The Badgers menâ??s basketball teamâ??s victory Friday in the NCAA tournament sets up a second-round game against Cornell on Sunday that has UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin seeing red.
With the start of the NCAA Tournament, March is the best time of the sporting year for many. Around here, the 10th anniversary of Wisconsinâ??s Final Four appearance makes it especially memorable.But for the longest time, March 2000 was neither happy nor memorable for Julian Swartz.
“Looking back at it now, I donâ??t even know why it was good for me to try to play at all from a college standpoint,” he said this week.
One of the best high school prospects this state has produced in the last 20 years, Swartz averaged 23.2 points a game as a 6-foot-6 senior swingman at Waukesha South. He carried a 4.15 grade-point average as class president. A lot of schools wanted him. Swartz chose Wisconsin, where, along with his top-shelf athletic and academic skills, he brought a debilitating mental illness.
Mark Johnson returned to his old job Tuesday, feeling a little bit awkward.The University of Wisconsin womenâ??s hockey coach was back at work for the first time since last summer when he took temporary leave to guide Team USA in the Winter Olympics.
Ohio State center Jantel Lavender may be a three-time Big Ten Player of the Year, but sheâ??s got nothing on Dan Vechart. Michigan Stateâ??s 6-foot-9 Allyssa DeHaan may be one of the greatest shot blockers in NCAA history, but sheâ??s no Tom Novak. Just ask Lin Zastrow or Tara Steinbauer or Anya Covington, whoâ??ve had the opportunity to mix it up with all of them. Vechart and Novak are two of the male practice players who challenge the University of Wisconsin womenâ??s basketball players in practice to better prepare them for battles with the Lavenders and DeHaans of the Big Ten, and have helped them secure the programâ??s first NCAA tournament berth since 2002.
One team waited eight long years, another had to sweat it out for a few tenuous days. But the wait was worth it because both Wisconsin and UW-Green Bay are in the NCAA womenâ??s basketball tournament.
The Badgers (21-10) earned a No.â??7 seeding and will face No.â??10 seed Vermont at 11:20 a.m. Sunday at the Joyce Center in South Bend, Ind. The Phoenix (27-4), seeded No.â??12, will play No.â??5 Virginia at 6:30 p.m. Sunday at the Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa.
The University of Wisconsin womenâ??s basketball team earned an NCAA tournament bid last night. The Badgers are a seven seed and will face 10th seeded Vermont Sunday morning in South Bend, Indiana. Itâ??s the first trip to the tournament for Wisconsin since 2002.
University of Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan knows a group of versatile, veteran guards aren’t all a team needs to make a long tournament run, but it sure is a good starting point.
Wofford menâ??s basketball coach Mike Young was feeling pretty good about his teamâ??s first trip to the NCAA tournament until he watched the selection show Sunday and saw his first-round opponent. After seeing the 13th-seeded Terriers 26-8 matched up against No. 4 University of Wisconsin on Friday in Jacksonville, Fla., Youngâ??s heart sank.
The distance between the Rosedale neighborhood in Queens and the town of Delafield, Wisc., is approximately 925 miles. To a kid from the streets of New York, it can feel a whole lot farther than that.
The Wisconsin menâ??s basketball team has earned a #4 seed in the East region of the NCAA menâ??s basketball tournament.
Barry Alvarez of the University of Wisconsin is one of seven coaching candidates on this yearâ??s College Football Hall of Fame ballot, which was released Thursday.
University of Wisconsin redshirt freshman Cole Schmitt has earned an at-large bid to the NCAA wrestling championships, giving the Badgers seven qualifiers for the national meet in Omaha, Neb., March 18-20.
Schmitt, a 141-pounder from Belleville, joins six teammates who earned automatic bids based on performances as last weekendâ??s Big Ten Championships.
Former University of Wisconsin athlete Chris Chelios has played in the most games of any American-born NHL player, and he joins the Thrashers after getting five goals and 17 assists in 46 games with Chicago of the AHL. The team recalled Chelios on Wednesday.
The percentage of students who used their tickets at UW menâ??s basketball games at the Kohl Center this season, according to the UW Athletic Department.
The 2010 Winter Olympics were well represented by Wisconsin Badgers, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis. With at least 12 former or current Badgers competing in Vancouver, the University of Wisconsin provided the fifth highest number of U.S. athletes among colleges.
There have been few seasons when the University of Wisconsin menâ??s basketball team has provided more thrilling home games for its fans than this one. But UW students were erratic when it came to filling their sections at the Kohl Center despite the fact the Badgers 23-7 were ranked most of the season and contended for the Big Ten Conference title right down to the last game.
Since his arrival in the NBA as the 29th pick in 2007, sitting on the bench has been more commonplace than seeing court action for Alando Tucker. After a stellar career at the University of Wisconsin in which he led the team to their first ever #1 ranking in the nation, as well as becoming the schoolâ??s all-time leading scorer, Tucker still finds himself looking for an opportunity for playing time in the NBA.
Big Ten Network analyst Dan Dakich says Trevon Hughes and Bo Ryan were unfairly snubbed by voters for the Big Ten Conferenceâ??s postseason awards that were announced Monday night.
There’s been lots of talk about radical expansion in major college athletics. Leaders of the Big Ten and Pacific-10 conferences say they’re looking for new members. But don’t count on such moves any time soon.
A bill that aims to restrict ticket scalping was not voted on by the state Assembly Thursday, but lawmakers did propose amendments.
Itâ??s a mantra for players, coaches and commentators everywhere: Playing on the road is hard. There is something about playing on the road that drives players crazyâ?¦The ball. Throughout the course of the college basketball season, players could wind up playing with seven different brands of basketballs â?? Nike, Wilson, Adidas, The Rock, Spalding, Baden and Sterling. With that being said, the only way youâ??ll run into the Sterling ball is if you have to play Wisconsin at Wisconsin. Is it crazy to suggest that the Sterling ball could be a factor, however small, in Wisconsinâ??s 135-11 home record during Ryanâ??s tenure?
Noted: With that being said, the only way youâ??ll run into the Sterling ball is if you have to play Wisconsin at Wisconsin. Is it possible that what Flubber was to Fred MacMurray (or, more recently, Robin Williams), Sterling is to Bo Ryan? I can picture him at home in his basement, hand-stitching basketballs complete with pro-Badger bounce physics. But honestly, is it crazy to suggest that the Sterling ball could be a factor, however small, in Wisconsinâ??s 135-11 home record during Ryanâ??s tenure?
Samantha Prahalis scored 29 points and Jantel Lavender added 27 to help No. 10 Ohio State beat Wisconsin, 82-73, in a Big Ten tournament semifinal Saturday.
A memo to the members of the NCAA selection committee: If you watched Wisconsin dismantle Illinois Sunday afternoon at Assembly Hall, you saw one team surging and another team fading heading into the postseason.
The state Senate passed legislation Tuesday that seeks to restrict the resale of tickets outside entertainment and sporting event venues.
University of Wisconsin Athletics announced Tuesday they will postpone plans for a new hockey facility, which would connect the SERF and the Kohl Center and would include a new professional ice rink, due to funding problems.
A plan to build an on-campus practice and competition rink for the University of Wisconsin menâ??s and womenâ??s hockey programs has been shelved indefinitely. The announcement Tuesday prompted discouraged expressions from those affected by the delay, starting with UW menâ??s coach Mike Eaves. â??It is disappointing,â? he said. â??Thereâ??s no question about that.â?
Citing a lack of progress on its fund-raising drive, the University of Wisconsin has postponed plans to build a $25 million ice arena and make upgrades to the facilities for its swimming programs, athletic director Barry Alvarez said in a statement Tuesday. As of last week, $6 million had been gifted to UW for the project, whereas Alvarez told the Wisconsin State Journal he needed $8 million on hand to proceed.
A plan to build an on-campus practice and competition rink for the University of Wisconsin menâ??s and womenâ??s hockey programs has been shelved indefinitely.
A University of Wisconsin project that would include a new ice arena, locker room and team room functions for menâ??s and womenâ??s hockey and swimming programs has been delayed until further notice.
Jessie Vetter hasnâ??t had a lot of time to sleep lately. When she hasnâ??t been on the ice…sheâ??s been celebrating with teammates after the U.S. came away with the silver in Vancouver.” Itâ??s weird being back and you know being away from my teammates.”
It was a year ago at this time that I thought Lisa Stone should be fired as University of Wisconsin womenâ??s basketball coach. That Stone had failed to deliver a quality, consistent product in that time suggested to me that a change was needed. The decision by UW athletic director Barry Alvarez to retain Stone has been validated on multiple fronts this season. Stone was voted Big Ten Coach of the Year by her peers, an honor well-deserved. Good for Stone that sheâ??s figured things out. Good for her for proving me wrong.
Upon taking over as Big Ten Conference commissioner in 1989, Jim Delanyâ??s penchant for progressive thinking was tested almost immediately by the conferenceâ??s powerful old-guard coaches.
