Category: Athletics

Wisconsin’s varsity eight defeated No. 1 Washington and the rest of the field Saturday to win the 2008 Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championships for the first time since 1990.

Second-ranked Wisconsin and defending nation Washington remained undefeated with narrow victories in the semifinals of the 106th Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championships on the Cooper River in Camden, N.J.

Two of the most important figures in University of Wisconsin athletics had raises approved by the UW Board of Regents Friday.

The board approved a $150,000 raise for athletic director Barry Alvarez, boosting his salary for the 2008-’09 school year to $750,000. Men’s basketball coach Bo Ryan received a $225,000 bump in pay, which, according to Regent figures, increases his salary to $1,175,000.

CHERRY HILL, N.J. – The University of Wisconsin’s men’s and women’s crew teams both claimed national titles Saturday.

The men’s varsity eight defeated top-ranked Washington and the rest of a strong field to win the 2008 Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championships.

The UW women’s lightweight varsity eight beat Georgetown by over four seconds later in the day. The Badger women were clocked in 6:35.117. The Hoyas were second in 6:39.617 with Stanford placing third.

Tyler Donovan is trying to make the most with limited reps.

As the fourth quarterback on the Edmonton Eskimos depth chart, he’s fortunate to get any passes in at all.

But with every tight spiral that comes out of his hand, the more he’s going to force the Eskimos into a difficult decision.

MILWAUKEE — The UW System Board of Regents approved a significant pay raise for UW-Madison athletic director Barry Alvarez and men’s basketball coach Bo Ryan on Friday. However, those raises are not coming from state funds.

Alvarez will see his current salary of $600,000 increase to $750,000 for the 2008-09 school year, which officially starts July 1. All of Alvarez’s raise will come from non-state funds pursuant to an outside compensation agreement. Overall, $250,000 of Alvarez’s salary comes from such funding.

Ryan, meanwhile, will see his salary jump from $950,000 to $1,175,000 for 2008-09, with the majority of his salary ($775,000) coming from outside compensation agreements. All of Ryan’s $225,000 raise comes from such funding.

Chicago – Life is great for Jolene Anderson.

It’s Sunday afternoon and the former University of Wisconsin standout is standing outside the Connecticut Sun locker room she shares with some of the best players in the WNBA. Among those shuffling in and out of the cramped quarters at the UIC Pavilion are Lindsay Whalen, one of the league’s top point guards, and forward Asjha Jones, a reigning all-star.

You don’t want to use the word “rejuvenate” around Washington Redskins defensive line coach John Palermo unless you’re proposing that the former University of Wisconsin assistant is looking forward to helping restore one of his former UW pupils, Erasmus James, to his youthful self and the dominating edge-rusher that he showed that he could be at times as a collegian. “When I met with him the other day, it was like old times,” Palermo gushed. “His attitude was awesome.”

So, yes, in this context, Palermo is hoping a change of scenery and a return to health will rejuvenate James, a former No. 1 draft choice of the Minnesota Vikings, whose productivity as a pro has been limited by knee injuries.

Tony Granato returned as coach of the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday, four years after he was demoted from the job.

It’s not like Bret Bielema has been chained to his desk on the eighth floor of Camp Randall Stadium the last month, although it’s probably felt that way at times for the University of Wisconsin football coach.

A new NCAA rule has grounded Bielema and other head coaches during the important spring evaluation period, which runs from April 15 to May 31. Assistant coaches are still allowed to visit high schools and evaluate prospects.

It’s been quite a change for Bielema, who spent all but a handful of days on the road during last year’s spring evaluation period.

The University of Wisconsin football team is ranked No. 12 in Athlon magazine’s preseason poll, the Web site announced today.

“On paper, Wisconsin looks like a team that can challenge for a Big Ten title,” Athlon Sports senior editor Mitch Light said in a release.

The last thing Chris Solinsky sees before he closes his eyes at night is his summer to-do list, posted on the ceiling above his bed.

You don’t know Bill Nayes, and that’s a good thing. It means he’s doing his job well.

They might not notice Nayes in the University of Wisconsin football offices, but they know he’s there. Coach Bret Bielema sits in an office just a few feet from him. Bielema has to be within yelling distance of the guy who takes care of all those dirty details that keep his team humming.

The University of Wisconsin men’s and women’s rowing programs had a banner day Sunday.

The men’s team collected the Rowe Cup by winning the title at the Eastern Sprints in Worcester, Mass. It was the Badgers’ first team title at the Eastern Sprints in 62 years and just the third in program history.

How eager are Fresno State officials to host the University of Wisconsin next season in football?

So eager that they turned down an offer from a third party to move the Sept. 13 non-conference game against UW from Fresno to Lambeau Field for a payday in excess of $1 million.

Paul Kix of Salon.com laments the direction hip-hop music has taken, with the sudden necessity to have a dance to sell your song. How does this involve UW?

Well, Kix points to Bo Ryan’s version of the the “Soulja Boy” dance as proof positive.

University of Wisconsin senior defensive end Matt Shaughnessy has been named to the watch list for the Bronko Nagurski Award, the top honor for defensive players in college football.

He is one of 88 players on the early list for the award, which is sponsored by the Charlotte Touchdown Club.

Local sports fans are about to lose a major source of weekend news.

WMTV-Ch. 15 is canceling “Wisconsin Sports Sunday,” a weekly staple of local news and features hosted by sports director Robb Vogel for the past four years. The show’s finale is set for June 15.

Vogel said that station management wants to focus its resources on the regular 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. broadcasts. While the cancellation will lighten the workload for Vogel and his staff, which includes weekend anchor Nick Austin and reporter David Kmiecik, Vogel says he will miss the show.

Chris Clark and Eric Hansen have much in common beyond the fact they’re highly regarded coaches at the University of Wisconsin.

Both are among the longest-tenured in their positions at UW: Clark has overseen men’s rowing since 1997, while Hansen has handled men’s and women’s swimming since 1999.

Both men have tremendous passion for the so-called “suffering sports” –such as crew, cross country, swimming and wrestling — which are defined by the prolonged, intense exertion involved.

For the third straight year, the University of Wisconsin football team will kick off its homecoming game at 11 a.m.

The Badgers will host Illinois the morning of Oct. 25 at Camp Randall Stadium in a game that will be televised by either ESPN, ESPN2 or the Big Ten Network, UW announced Sunday.

Wisconsin also had 11 a.m. start times for homecoming against Minnesota in 2006 and Purdue in 2007.

This week, a University of Iowa committee on athletics approved new guidelines that will allow school administrators the right to randomly check the social networking sites of Iowa athletes, and discipline those who violate school policies.

Erin Andrews was telling a Bo Ryan story on the way to the airport and her next assignment — air time being an occupational hazard and occupation. Pick a day, any day, and there’s a good chance that the ESPN sideline reporter will be in transit from one airport to the next, as dictated by her all-consuming schedule.

With the release of its latest set of data on academic performance, the NCAA has begun to take action against poorly performing Division I schools.

The new academic progress report was released Tuesday, and it showed more than 700 sports teams fell short of a 925 score (out of 1,000), a mark that equates to a graduation success rate of nearly 60%.

In Wisconsin, none of the four Division I schools faces any penalties. However, the NCAA has its eye on the men’s basketball program at UW-Milwaukee.

For years, officials with the National Collegiate Athletic Association have predicted that strikingly high numbers of college sports teams could be at risk this year of losing scholarships because of their athletes’ poor performance in the classroom.

But on Tuesday, when the NCAA released its fourth annual report measuring how much progress athletes are making toward completing their degrees, the number of teams penalized represented just over 3 percent of the more than 6,000 programs that exist in Division Iâ??only a slight increase from last year, and far less than the dire predictions.

When the University of Wisconsin men’s hockey team prepared to play its first Western Collegiate Hockey Association games of the second half of the last two seasons, it did so without some key players. Those series coincided with the final days of the World Junior Championship, the top international under-20 competition and an event to which the Badgers often lose multiple skaters.

The weekends of the World Juniors are supposed to be clear of WCHA games, and Badgers coach Mike Eaves said the league has apologized for the scenarios over the last two seasons. There are no such worries in the 2008-09 schedule, which was released Tuesday.

Former University of Wisconsin hockey players Jinelle Zaugg, Kerry Weiland and Molly Engstrom are among 18 players who have been selected to participate in the U.S. Women’s National Program’s residency program.

The University of Wisconsin men’s golf team will be heading west in an effort to earn a spot in the NCAA finals.

The Badgers qualified for their second straight NCAA appearance as the 20th seed in the West Regional, the NCAA announced Monday.

As expected, the University of Wisconsin Athletic Board has decided not to give Badgers women’s basketball coach Lisa Stone a contract extension, instead opting to maintain her deal on Friday.

Stone, who entered the season with a team that had big expectations and only finished 16-14 overall and 9-9 in the Big Ten Conference, has three years remaining on her five-year contract.

The Board also opted to maintain the contracts of wrestling coach Barry Davis through 2010 and men’s basketball coach Bo Ryan through 2013.

Two exhibition games into her pro career, Jolene Anderson already is making an impact.

The all-time leading scorer in University of Wisconsin women’s basketball history had eight points and eight rebounds in 16 minutes Sunday as the host Connecticut Sun pasted the Phoenix Mercury 94-66 in a preseason game in Uncasville, Conn.

GREEN BAY â?? Riding shotgun in Justin Beaver’s girlfriend’s Mercury Mystique Thursday afternoon, Ken DeBauche found himself thinking about all the times he had made the very same drive between Madison and his hometown of Suamico â?? starting up on Highway 151, shortcutting on Highway 26 and finishing up on U.S. 41 â?? by himself over the years.

Kathi Bennett insists, with sincerity and passion, that she has not joining the University of Wisconsin women’s basketball staff with the intent of one day taking over the program.

MADISON, Wis. — Former University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh women’s basketball coach Kathi Bennett has been named an assistant coach at UW-Madison.

The daughter of former Badger men’s head coach Dick Bennett and sister of Washington State men’s head coach Tony Bennett was named on Thursday by Wisconsin women’s head coach Lisa Stone.

Stone said that Kathi Bennett is one of the best defensive coaches and basketball minds in the country and comes from an outstanding coaching family.

A familiar name in Wisconsin basketball has joined the coaching staff of the University of Wisconsin women’s basketball team.

Kathi Bennett, the former Indiana University head coach who has been living and working in the Madison area, was named today to fill an opening on Badgers coach Lisa Stone’s staff. She will begin her new job today.

Badger women’s basketball head coach Lisa Stone named Kathi Bennett as an assistant women’s basketball coach in the Badger program. She will begin her appointment May 1.

Bennett, the daughter of former University of Wisconsin men’s coach Dick Bennett and the sister of former UW assistant coach Tony Bennett, now at Washington State, has many coaching ties to the state and to the Big Ten. She battled against Stone (who was then at UW-Eau Claire) as the head women’s coach at UW-Oshkosh from 1989-96 where she amassed a 155-32 career record. Her teams made six NCAA appearances including two Division III Final Four appearances that resulted in the 1996 national championship (31-0 record) and runner-up championship (28-3 record) finish in 1995.

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — There will be no playoff for the BCS anytime soon.

Bowl Championship Series officials rejected a plan today to turn the controversial system for deciding a national champ into a four-team playoff, starting in the 2010 season.

Vander Blue, a talented sophomore guard who led Madison Memorial to the WIAA state tournament last March, has verbally committed to play basketball for the University of Wisconsin.

“I’ve been discussing it the last couple of weeks with my family. We took a visit up there and we really are excited about the whole thing,” said Blue in a phone conversation Monday night. “There’s a lot of good news about Wisconsin and, looking at the background and what’s coming in the future, by the time I get there it’s going to be a real good fit for me.”

A plea settlement involving Jack Ikegwuonu fell through at the last minute on Friday when it was rejected by his brother, leaving the former University of Wisconsin cornerback facing a potential July 14 trial in Illinois.

“It was supposed to happen Friday and it did not,” said Stephanie Klein, the assistant state’s attorney in DeKalb., Ill., who is prosecuting the case.

Ikegwuonu — who was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth round of the NFL draft on Sunday — has been charged with residential burglary, a felony, and criminal trespass, a misdemeanor, related to an incident in November 2006.

Former University of Wisconsin defensive back Jack Ikegwuonu appears to have accepted the fact a knee injury suffered in January will prevent him from playing until the 2009 NFL season.

He sounded relieved Sunday after being drafted earlier than expected, in the fourth round and No. 131 overall, by the Philadelphia Eagles.

“Having this opportunity is a blessing in itself,” Ikegwuonu, who bypassed his senior season at UW, told reporters. “I am just happy to be in the NFL. It is a dream of mine.”

Yet while his new teammates will be participating in training camp this summer, Ikegwuonu could be in an Illinois courtroom facing charges of residential burglary (a felony) and criminal trespass (a misdemeanor) stemming from an incident in November 2006.

The University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team is scheduled to open the 2008 Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands against Iona, according to the tournament Web site.

Thousands of participants made their way from Capitol Square to Camp Randall Stadium Saturday for the 27th annual Crazylegs Classic, an eight-kilometer run and two-mile walk to benefit Badger Athletics.

A record number of people participated in the 27th annual Crazylegs Classic Saturday morning in Madison despite cold, windy conditions.

Near the finish line, Codie See was asked if hot chocolate was more in order than bottled water.

“No, but I am expecting some beer,” said the 24-year-old See, a Madison resident and former University of Wisconsin runner who said he still runs about 80 miles per week.

fter suffering a serious knee injury during a workout in late January, questions abounded about when â?? or if â?? Jack Ikegwuonu would be selected during the NFL draft.

That answer was provided early Sunday afternoon when the Philadelphia Eagles selected the former University of Wisconsin cornerback in the fourth round, with the 131st overall pick.

It took awhile, but the National Football League draft ultimately proved fruitful for players with state ties.

Four former Wisconsin Badgers were selected on the second day of the seven-round draft Sunday. Though the Badgers didn’t have a player picked in the first three rounds for the first time since 1996, only 11 teams in the country had more draft selections. In the Big Ten, only Michigan (six picks) fared better.

A lot of NFL teams would have passed over Jack Ikegwuonu yesterday, even if he weren’t recovering from a knee injury that is expected to keep him out until 2009.

The University of Wisconsin cornerback is facing a felony charge of residential burglary and a misdemeanor charge of criminal trespass for allegedly stealing an Xbox from an apartment in November 2006. He also had a positive drug test at Wisconsin last year, according to published reports.

MADISON – Welcome to the sixth round of the NFL Draft, unofficially presented by the University of Wisconsin.

After a quiet day first and second round on Saturday where no Badgers were selected for the first since 1996, All-American kicker Taylor Mehlhaff, defensive tackle Nick Hayden and wide receiver Paul Hubbard were all taken within mere minutes of each other Sunday afternoon in the sixth round of the annual NFL Draft in New York.

Mehlhaff was the No. 178th overall selection and the 12th pick in the sixth round by the New Orleans Saints, Hayden was selected shortly after Mehlhaff by the Carolina Panthers with the 181st pick overall and Hubbard was the 191st pick by the Cleveland Browns.