Category: Athletics

Thirteen months after committing to play basketball for the University of Wisconsin, Vander Blue says he isn’t sure which school he will eventually attend and he plans to take his officials visits in the fall.

Blue, a 6-foot-4 junior guard from Madison Memorial High School who generally is rated among the top 30 players in the nation for the 2010 class, made the announcement during a news conference Tuesday afternoon.

“I feel like I made a decision prematurely,” said Blue, who was 15 when he gave UW a non-binding oral commitment after his sophomore season. “Now I’m more mature.â??.â??.â??.

University of Wisconsin officials for months cautiously projected a high percentage of their football fans would renew their season tickets for 2009, despite a struggling economy and a team coming off a disappointing 7-6 season.

The final numbers were released Monday and the 94% renewal rate left UW officials smiling.

MADISON — Baseball commissioner Bud Selig didn’t mention the ongoing steroid scandal or lagging baseball attendance in his commencement address to University of Wisconsin graduates on Saturday.

Instead, the Milwaukee native and 1956 Wisconsin graduate talked about how he dreamed of living a “baseball life” while a college student, not knowing exactly what that was or how to achieve it. He used his success story as an example for graduates, whom he encouraged to dream big and not be afraid of failure.

A melancholy milestone will likely be thrown in the direction of the University of Wisconsin menâ??s and womenâ??s track programs this weekend.

The Big Ten Conference outdoor meet will be held Friday through Sunday in Columbus, Ohio, and neither UW team stands to be a factor for the team title.

On the heels of similar outcomes during the indoor season â?? the men placed fifth, the women seventh â?? it would mark the first time in 10 years the Badgers failed to win at least one of the four championships.

Vander Blue met with representatives from his high school and the University of Wisconsin Monday night to discuss his academic future, leading to his vague declaration on a Facebook page that he is looking at other schools to play college basketball.

Blue, a junior guard at Madison Memorial who orally committed last summer to play for the Badgers, has struggled in the classroom, according to sources close to Blue and the UW menâ??s basketball team.

For Dan Woltman, the NCAA tournament took priority over a shot at playing in the U.S. Open.

The Daily Cardinal has a couple interesting stories related to the UW Athletic Board up on its website today (May 8). One is headlined “Athletic Board e-mails expose deep divisions” and the other “Lance Smith case stirs controversy among board members.” The student newspaper obtained university e-mails through the state’s open records law.

UW-Whitewater earned one of 13 at-large bids to the NCAA Division III baseball tournament, and was one of five state teams to make the 54-team field that was announced Monday morning.

The Warhawks will be joined by UW-Stevens Point, which earned the WIACâ??s automatic berth with a championship game victory over host Whitewater on Saturday, its fifth straight league title.

If youâ??re going to dive into this debate about the role of the University of Wisconsin Athletic Board, you might want to keep a reliable flotation device handy because the waterâ??s deep and the current is deceptively strong.

Both sides want us to believe that theirs is a simple premise, which is a sure sign that we should, at the very least, slap on a pair of water wings. What looks and sounds benign is anything but in this case. There are emotions and egos and agendas apparent in both camps, just as there are good, earnest people driving the discussion.

â??They wanted us to exercise discretion,â? said Elton Crim, former assistant dean in the Offices of the Dean of Students. â??I didnâ??t want him pressuring my associate dean.â?

Internal Athletic Board e-mails show more details about allegations of intimidation and mistreatment within the board than had been previously revealed.

MISSOULA, Mont. — Former Wisconsin standout Freddie Owens has been named an assistant basketball coach at the University of Montana.

So much has happened behind its massive sandstone clad walls. Now, the Field House may become an official Madison landmark.

The city Landmarks Commission on Monday recommended landmark status for the five-story University of Wisconsin-Madison structure, designed in Italian Renaissance style, built at a cost of $434,000 and opened in 1930.

A committee of seven to nine University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty members will be created to review the operations of the Athletic Board, following a vote by the faculty senate Monday.

The committee, proposed last month by former Athletic Board Chairman Bruce Jones, was in response to a self-study conducted by the board, which

These days when Morgan and Marcus Paige want to play a little one-on-one they head over to the Cedar Rapids YMCA. Someday they may be able to take their duels to the Kohl Center.

Morgan Paige plans on spending a lot of time at the Kohl Center beginning in the 2010-11 school year, as the 5-10 junior guard from Marion (Iowa) High School has become the first player to commit to the University of Wisconsin womenâ??s basketball program for that class.

Finances are at the heart of a review by University of Wisconsin Athletic Department officials of their performance bonus plan.

â??Everything I go to involves discussions on cost containment,â? UW athletic director Barry Alvarez said, referring to meetings on the local, Big Ten Conference and NCAA levels. â??That probably instigated it more than anything.â?

UW Athletic Board members heard Friday that all aspects of the policy will be weighed with recommendations from UW Athletic Department administrators coming up for a vote at the next board meeting June 12.

Barry Alvarez still believes in Lisa Stone.

Alvarez, the University of Wisconsin athletic director, made that clear Friday when he announced Stone would receive a one-year extension on her contract as UW women’s basketball coach. The extension, which was denied last year, gives Stone three years on her contract, carrying through the 2011-12 season.

Alvarez said he and associate athletic director Terry Gawlik, who oversees the women’s basketball program, were convinced Stone and her staff have the Badgers headed in the right direction after watching them compile a 19-15 record this season.

Finances are at the heart of a review by University of Wisconsin Athletic Department officials of their performance bonus plan.

“Everything I go to involves discussions on cost containment,” UW athletic director Barry Alvarez said, referring to meetings on the local, Big Ten Conference and NCAA levels. “That probably instigated it more than anything.”

In the seven months since Biddy Martin took over as University of Wisconsin chancellor, sheâ??s pretty much observed her athletic department from the sidelines.

Sure, there have been meetings with UW Athletic Department personnel and public displays of affection for all things Badgers, but nothing that would openly define her intentions about governing arguably the most visible entity on campus.

Well, guess whoâ??s about to get her uniform dirty?

Paul Combs, who last season led the UW-Platteville menâ??s basketball program to its first NCAA Division III tournament berth in a decade, was named the coach at Wayne State College today.

….Candidates to replace Combs at Platteville could include his top assistant, Jeff Gard, the brother of Badgers lead assistant Greg Gard; and Will Ryan, an assistant coach at North Dakota State and the oldest son of Bo Ryan.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could grade your own term paper or perform your own job review?

In the fall of 2007, the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Athletic Board put together an “Ad Hoc Self Study Committee” to review how it conducts its work and the Board’s role within the athletic department.

This study, titled “Role of the Athletic Board,” was then unanimously approved by the Athletic Board on Feb. 20.

“You can not have any organization simply reviewing itself,” said UW-Madison history professor Jeremi Suri, who resigned his post on the Athletic Board last fall because he felt the group had become a rubber stamp of sorts for the wishes of the athletic department.

The University of Wisconsin ranks fifth in the Big Ten Conference in terms of players it has delivered to the National Football League draft in the modern era.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is returning to a first-come, first-served policy for student football tickets, the school announced Tuesday.

Three University of Wisconsin football coaches were admonished in late March for violating National Collegiate Athletic Association rules by visiting prospective athletes during a â??quiet periodâ? for recruiting, according to records obtained by the Associated Press Friday.

Thousands of runners poured through the streets of Madison Saturday morning as a part of the 28th annual Crazylegs Classic, which drew a record number of participants despite heavy rain.

Dear Editor: This is the fourth year I’ve traveled from Minneapolis to Madison to run the Crazylegs Classic with my daughter at the University of Wisconsin. As always, this year was a lot of fun; the rain only made it more memorable.

I must add that whoever made the decision on the timing device this year made a major mistake.

I’m a little leery of sharing my bucket list with you because, frankly, it has zero pizzazz.

No mountains to climb, channels to swim or safaris to arrange.

No wonders of the world.

Three Wisconsin assistant football coaches have been admonished for violating NCAA rules by mistakenly visiting prospects during an off-limits recruiting period, according to records released Friday.

The coaches — defensive coordinator Dave Doeren, recruiting coordinator Randall McCray and wide receivers coach DelVaughn Alexander — made the Jan. 4 trips during a “quiet period” in which no recruiting visits to players can be made.

The University of Wisconsin’s 28th annual Crazylegs race is one for the record books.

More than 18,000 people participated, the most ever. Organizers were pleasantly surprised, especially given the less than ideal weather.

As many runners found their places before the start, they said the rain couldn’t keep them away.

If Saturday’s weather forecast of rain improves and some of the thousands of Crazylegs runners look for a nearby outdoor patio for food and drink, they will not find it at Stadium Bar.

For the first time in more than a decade, Stadium Bar on Monroe Street will not be allowed to open their beer garden on the afternoon of the Crazylegs run, which benefits the UW Athletic Department, finishes at Camp Randall Stadium and features more than 10,000 runners and walkers.

Approximately 19,000 runners took to the rain-soaked streets of Madison Saturday for the 28th annual Crazylegs Classic.

150 of those runners, who dubbed themselves “Crazylegs for Kevin,” were racing to remember one special boy.

No one ran with a heavier heart than Steve Peyton, the father of Kevin Peyton, who passed away in his sleep last fall at the age of 14.

Steve and Kevin had run Crazylegs together the two previous years.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Three Wisconsin assistant football coaches have been admonished for violating NCAA rules by mistakenly visiting prospects during an off-limits recruiting period.

Defensive coordinator Dave Doeren, recruiting coordinator Randall McCray and wide receivers coach DelVaughn Alexander made the Jan. 4 trips during a “quiet period” in which no recruiting visits can be made.

Southern Illinois selected Missy Tiber as its new women’s basketball coach, bypassing Wisconsin Badgers assistant Kathi Bennett, who had interviewed for the job.

The offseason continues to be eventful and productive for the University of Wisconsin women’s basketball program.

When Southern Illinois University officials on Thursday named Missy Tiber as their head women’s basketball coach, it meant UW assistant Kathi Bennett likely will remain with the Badgers for at least one more season.

Jeff Skiles has his own definition of a hero, and itâ??s one that doesnâ??t necessarily jibe with his inner fabric.

â??A hero is someone who runs into a burning building or something like that,â? Skiles said. â??We were just doing our job.â?

To a nation of admirers â?? and 150 people in particular â?? the Oregon resident, who will serve as Grand Marshal for Saturdayâ??s Crazylegs Classic, has justifiably been labeled a hero.

Lois Gilmore canâ??t remember the last time she placed second in her age group in a footrace.

Thatâ??s not a boast, she assures. Often, there simply arenâ??t many other runners her age.

“I think Iâ??ve eliminated a lot of the competition by now,” she says, laughing.

Lois Gilmore canâ??t remember the last time she placed second in her age group in a footrace. Thatâ??s not a boast, she assures. Often, there simply arenâ??t many other runners her age.

“I think Iâ??ve eliminated a lot of the competition by now,” she says, laughing.

At 78, Gilmore, of Janesville, is often the oldest runner in a race. But what a runner. Running Times magazine just named her the fastest runner in the country for women ages 75-79. Saturday, she will attempt to win her age group for the sixth consecutive year at the 2009 Crazylegs Classic.

Youâ??ve got to hand it to Bo Ryan.

When the University of Wisconsin menâ??s basketball coach doesnâ??t like what is happening, he doesnâ??t just sit back and gripe about it. He does something about it.

The announcement Wednesday that Duke will play UW in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge Dec 2 at the Kohl Center was the culmination of more than a year of serious arm-twisting by Ryan.

The University of Wisconsin menâ??s basketball team is finally getting a member of Atlantic Coast Conferenceâ??s elite to come to the Kohl Center.

The Badgers will play Duke in next seasonâ??s ACC/Big Ten Challenge, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on its Web site late Tuesday night. UW coach Bo Ryan hinted at the matchup at the teamâ??s reception Tuesday night.

UW and Duke last played in 2007, with the Blue Devils winning 82-58 in Durham, N.C.

P.J. Hill remade his body, but nobody cared. During three seasons at the University of Wisconsin, the Poly Prep grad established a reputation as a bruising tailback, using his 240-pound frame to barrell through defenders and become the third-leading rusher in school history.

The Big Ten Network announced Tuesday that it would be televising eight championships in spring sports — all in high definition.

The 2009 Big Ten Championships and Tournaments in the sports of baseball, men’s and women’s golf, rowing, men’s and women’s tennis and men’s and women’s outdoor track and field will air between May 3 and May 24.

Assistant coach Kathi Bennett, generally credited with bolstering the defense of the University of Wisconsin women’s basketball team in her first season on the staff, has interviewed for the head-coaching vacancy at Southern Illinois University

Multiple sources confirmed Bennett’s interest in the position.

Unfortunately, baseball is a sport that allows the Big Ten Conference to have truth in advertising. From Minnesota to Indiana to Pennsylvania, from Michigan to Iowa to Illinois to Ohio, 10 cold-climate schools are somewhere around 35 games into their schedules.

They all deal with weather to one degree or another, arrange extended road trips in February, meet expenses for a money-losing sport and comply with Title IX.

All Big Ten schools, that is, except one.

Noted: Among games Saturday with title or presenting sponsors: The Dish Network Orange and White Game at Tennessee, the Golden Flake A-Day Game at Alabama (Children’s Hospital, the U.S. Navy and Cook’s Pest Control also are sponsors), the Auburn A-Day Game Presented by the U.S. Navy, the Super Bulldog Weekend presented by Regions Bank at Mississippi State, Cal Day sponsored by Peterson Tractor, and the Wisconsin Spring Game Presented by the Wisconsin State Journal newspaper and Stadium Sports Bar and Eatery.

The University of Wisconsin football team will open the 2009 season with an evening game.

The Badgers’ opener at Camp Randall Stadium against Northern Illinois on Sept. 5 will start at 6 p.m., the Big Ten Conference announced on Wednesday.

UW had a great deal of success with night games prior to back-to-back losses to Ohio State (20-17) and Penn State (48-7) last season. It entered the 2008 season with a 10-game winning streak in night games, which improved to 11 with a win last season at Fresno State.

Bo Ryan didn’t hesitate for a second to say how honored he was to be named the coach of the United States men’s basketball team that will play at this year’s World University Games.

“I’m a pretty patriotic guy,” said the University of Wisconsin coach, who will take a squad of college players to the international competition from July 2 to 12 in Belgrade, Serbia.

He may not be donning his Badger-red jacket, but University of Wisconsin head basketball coach Bo Ryan will still be coaching this summer.

Bo Ryan didnâ??t hesitate for a second to say how honored he was to be named the coach of the United States menâ??s basketball team that will play at this yearâ??s World University Games.

â??Iâ??m a pretty patriotic guy,â? said the University of Wisconsin coach, who will take a squad of college players to the international competition from July 2 to 12 in Belgrade, Serbia.