Category: Athletics

University of Wisconsin football coach Bret Bielema announced Wednesday he will retain wide receivers coach Henry Mason as part of his new staff.

The easiest thing in the world this week is to pile on Marcus Vick, the disgraced Virginia Tech quarterback who was thrown off the team after a series of embarrassing incidents on and off the field.

DeAaron Williams’ leave from the Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team apparently will be permanent.

The redshirt freshman, who took what was called a temporary leave from the team for personal reasons before its game against Iowa on Thursday, will leave the program immediately and enroll at Illinois Central College, Williams’ high school coach, Dave Mott, told the Peoria Journal Star.

Although Bret Bielema has not commented publicly regarding the makeup of his first coaching staff at Wisconsin, several candidates have emerged recently.

The latest appears to be former Colorado defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz. According to the Denver Post, Hankwitz is in the running for a similar position at UW.

University of Wisconsin junior tailback Booker Stanley on Monday was charged with one count of second-degree sexual assault, four counts of battery, three counts of bail jumping and one count of reckless endangerment.

University of Wisconsin junior running back Brian Calhoun will hold a news conference Thursday to announce he is leaving school early to enter the NFL draft in April.

After poring over all the available information from National Football League personnel and examining what he had accomplished in his one season at Wisconsin, Brian Calhoun’s next move became clear: NFL or bust.

MADISON, Wis. — Badgers football running back Booker Stanley was in court on Monday to face more charges after he was arrested for allegedly beating and choking his girlfriend.
Stanley, 22, is charged with second-degree sexual assault, bail jumping and another battery charge for attacking the 20-year-old woman at his University Avenue apartment in December.

DeAaron Williams is leaving the University of Wisconsin, and after a trip through Illinois Central College, the Limestone product could play at Bradley.

Wisconsin issued a release Thursday that Williams, a redshirt freshman, had left the team “temporarily” and for “personal reasons.” Two sources confirmed that Williams, who is reportedly unhappy with his role on the team, intends to transfer from Wisconsin.

MADISON, Wis. – The UW Athletic Department will be honored at the 2006 Best of Madison Business Awards on Jan. 9 at the Monona Terrace Community & Convention Center.

UW Madison’s win over Auburn in the Capital One Bowl put the Badgers at 15th overall in the polls…
But, the school ranks in the top five in terms of athletics making money.

Although All-American tailback Brian Calhoun still has not ruled out returning to Wisconsin for his senior season, he continues to lean heavily toward entering the 2006 National Football League draft.

Barring a setback in negotiations, Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Brad Childress will be named the Vikings’ head coach. Before joining the Eagles, Childress was an assistant at the University of Wisconsin.

A recent letter to the Tribune criticized the University of Wisconsin-Madison Athletic Department for its use of taxpayer dollars to support the salaries of our athletic director and our new football coach.

For the record, please note that the UW-Madison Athletic Department is self-supporting and does not utilize taxpayer dollars to support those salaries or any other part of its operations.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) ââ?¬â? Ohio State’s athletic program is the nation’s top collegiate sports moneymaker.

Ohio State made $89.7 million from ticket sales, royalties, advertising, broadcast agreements and other sources during the 2004-05 academic year, about $50,000 more than second-place Texas, according to U.S. Department of Education statistics.

The Buckeyes’ top rival, Michigan, placed third on the list at $78.4 million, followed by Florida ($77.4 million) and Wisconsin ($75.3 million).

Chicago may not have to build a $1 billion stadium to make a serious bid to host the 2016 Summer Games, Mayor Daley said Wednesday, suggesting stadium venues as far away as Wisconsin and Indiana.

With a seating capacity of 80,795, the University of Notre Dame stadium could be an option. So could 80,321-seat Camp Randall Stadium at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

For sentimental reasons, University of Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez initially thought it might be fitting to draw Alabama as an opponent in his final bowl game since his first appearance in a bowl as a Nebraska linebacker was against the Crimson Tide. There was also the matter of the Badgers potentially matching up better with Alabama (which had struggled offensively) than Auburn (which had won its fourth straight game over the Tide for the first time since the late ’80s). But when the Capital One Bowl pairing was announced – pitting Wisconsin versus Auburn – Alvarez liked the matchup and shared that sentiment with his players.

“I wanted to get any doubt out of their mind that we couldn’t beat them,” Alvarez said. “I just wanted them in the right frame of mind, I just wanted them to know we trusted them. But I was very honest with them – I knew we’d have to play very well.”

Bret Bielema now has the keys to the kingdom.

“I passed the baton as I walked in,” Barry Alvarez said moments after he closed his UW coaching career with a stunning 24-10 victory over No. 7 Auburn in the Capital One Bowl. “I said: ‘You’ve got the baton. The office is cleared out. . . .’ “

….As head coach at Wisconsin, Barry Alvarez brought back pride to the school’s football teams. He made us eager to see Badger football games for the games, not just for the (rightly barred now) sight of tipsy fans lifting students and passing them along up the rows of stands.

Wisconsin has always taken pride in its excellent university system but usually in a kind of offhand, proud-of-our-really-smart-kid-brother kind of way. For good or ill, passion often comes with athletic success. Got a first-rate history department? Terrific. Got a Rose Bowl contender? I’ll be there, and here’s my check for your fine school.

Alvarez made us expect a Rose Bowl winner every year, and he gave us three of them. His final game as coach against heavily favored Auburn at the Capitol One Bowl on Monday was a reminder of what we may miss. We’re sure, however, that he’ll continue to bring the same energy and success to his job as the school’s athletic director, and we wish him all the best.

In the past few weeks, Barry Alvarez has been surprisingly forthcoming about the number of lucrative job offers that could have pulled him away from the University of Wisconsin over the past 15 years.

ORLANDO, Fla. – It took Brian White about five minutes of coaching Ron Dayne in his freshman year at the University of Wisconsin in 1996 to realize the talent he would be entrusted with over the next four seasons.

One of the first drills of practice was a simple cut drill, in which the back runs directly at White, who leans to the left or right. The back is supposed to make a jump cut in the opposite direction.

ORLANDO, Fla. – When he was hired as the University of Wisconsin football team’s coach in 1990, Barry Alvarez was greeted with a warning from some of the program’s fans.

“One of the things I kept hearing when I took the job,” Alvarez said, “was, ‘Don’t embarrass us.’ ”

That seems like such a laughable request now, considering the legacy Alvarez will leave from his time on the sidelines. Namely, Alvarez won 118 games, including three Rose Bowls, and turned a program from a laughingstock into one that is respected nationally.

ORLANDO, Fla. – University of Wisconsin linebacker Mark Zalewski had a Dennis the Menace grin on his face, a playful, mischieveous grin. He was responding to a question about his new head coach, who just happens to be his old coach, his old position coach, Bret Bielema.

How, Zalewski was asked, will life change, if at all, now that Bielema was in charge of the whole football program and not just the linebackers or the defense. After kidding about the potential for giving Bielema some grief if he didn’t like the way the new head coach was running practice, Zalewski turned serious and said, “I can’t see a better candidate for head coach – just based on the energy that he brings and how much he loves the game….”

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Jim Sorgi sometimes tells Peyton Manning to pipe down.

He does so gingerly. After all, Sorgi values Manning’s guidance, not to mention an Indianapolis Colts roster spot. But when Sorgi takes the field – as he will at some point against Arizona on Sunday at the RCA Dome – Manning maintains an electronic link to Sorgi’s helmet.

Barry Alvarez will be paid $600,000 next year in his role as University of Wisconsin athletic director, while his hand-picked successor as football coach, Bret Bielema, will earn $750,000 under contracts signed by the two men on Friday.

The UW released Alvarez’s and Bielema’s new five-year contracts on Friday night, a day after the deals were approved by the UW Board of Regents.

Orlando, Fla. – In a game where almost nothing else went wrong for the University of Wisconsin, the Badgers suffered one notable loss.

Junior offensive tackle Joe Thomas of Brookfield, a National Football League prospect who was to decide soon whether to return to UW or declare for the draft, suffered a right knee injury Monday during the 24-10 victory against Auburn in the Capital One Bowl.

Orlando, Fla. – In celebration of his magnificent sendoff, the 24-10 victory against Auburn in the Capital One Bowl that was as dominant as it was shocking, Barry Alvarez will spend a little down time at his winter retreat just southwest of here. He may do some public speaking, and he most assuredly will reflect on a job well done in 16 years at Wisconsin.

When Barry Alvarez came to the University of Wisconsin in 1990, the Badgers’ football program was at one of the lowest points in its history.

The miserable tenure of previous coach Don Morton � combined with the mismanagement of the UW athletic department altogether � had eroded fan interest in the football team.

MADISON, Wis. – Barry Alvarez will earn $600,000 as University of Wisconsin athletic director, and his successor as football coach will earn $750,000 under contracts the two men signed.

Alvarez picked Bret Bielema, now in his second year as the Badgers’ defensive coordinator, to succeed him in July. The two men signed the new five-year contracts Friday night, a day after the UW Board of Regents approved the deals.

Going out with a win is a fitting way to say goodbye to Barry Alvarez.

“Pretty surprised, I thought they were gonna be killed today, but they’re doing well.”

“It’s a great game for Barry, glad it’s going out hopefully on top,” say some fans watching the Capital One Bowl.

Wisconsin head coach Barry Alvarez coached his final game Monday afternoon. It’s one he’ll remember for a long time.

Wisconsin, a 10 point underdog to SEC power Auburn, ran wild in Orlando, dominating the Tigers in a 24-10 victory in the Capital One Bowl.

Incoming University of Wisconsin football coach Bret Bielema and athletic director Barry Alvarez both signed five-year contracts Friday night.

He is the bowl master, once again and forever.

University of Wisconsin football coach Barry Alvarez reestablished that reputation, if ever there was any doubt, with a performance that had to rank with some of his most stunning bowl victories.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Auburn’s goal in the Capital One Bowl was to beat the University of Wisconsin Monday so it could finish high in the polls and use that as a springboard for a national championship run next fall.
Surprise, surprise.

“You’re absolutely right,” admitted Wanda, the 95-year-old Mifflin Street mystic.
“I’ve been doing these New Year’s predictions for almost a decade now – and I haven’t gotten a single one right.”

So why would I subject my readers to this one more time?

(These tongue-in-cheek predictions include a couple of UW-Madison mentions.)

ORLANDO, Fla. – Sophomore wide receiver Marcus Randle El knows there will be plenty of skeptics when they read what he had to say after the University of Wisconsin football team’s practice Wednesday.

It has been 11 years since Mike Verstegen last suited up for the University of Wisconsin football team.

But he’ll never forget the lessons he learned, especially off the field, while playing for head coach Barry Alvarez.

“One of the most important things coach Alvarez taught me was to have confidence in myself and my ability to do whatever I’m doing, whether it’s on the football field or in the office,” said Verstegen, a former Kimberly High School star who works as an LPL Financial Services adviser in Appleton.

Cindy Bennett has plenty of reasons for going to the Capital One Bowl.

For one, her brother’s never been to a bowl game, and Bennett, of rural Portage, convinced him to go to Orlando.

Bennett, a University of Wisconsin alumna herself, also has a son in the Wisconsin Marching Band.

“It’s been a lot of fun following them around,” Bennett said. “To go to a game when the band isn’t there isn’t very good.”

It’s the last game in a losing season, but for cornerback B.J. Tucker the 49ers’ matchup with the Houston Texans on Sunday represents an improbable first.

On the NFL’s fringes the past two years, Tucker, 25, is slated to make his starting debut because of injuries to Derrick Johnson (groin) and Bruce Thornton (knee).

ORLANDO, Fla. – University of Wisconsin football coach Barry Alvarez has a parting plea for the team’s fans on his way out the door. All he is saying is give Bret Bielema a chance.

Brian Calhoun didn’t want to switch positions, and Kenny Irons couldn’t bear life on the bench. So the two tailbacks changed schools, Calhoun transferring to Wisconsin and Irons to Auburn. Apparently, their brilliant moves aren’t limited to the field.

An executive committee of the UW Board of Regents on Thursday approved multi-year contracts for UW-Madison football coaches Bret Bielema and Barry Alvarez, promising to release details such as salary and perks after the documents are signed over the weekend.

College athletics is big business, and football is the granddaddy of them all.

In 2004, the top 10 NCAA Division I-A football programs raked in a combined $417.87 million in total revenue, according to the U.S. Department of Education�s Office of Postsecondary Education. The University of Texas topped the list with $47.5 million, but even mid-tier Division 1-A schools like the University of Oregon, Boston College, and Stanford University generated well more than $10 million in revenue last year�enough to make any university president salivate.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Brian Calhoun, Joe Thomas and Stanley McClover are all doing their best to focus on the Capital One Bowl, but they’re also weighing decisions for their futures.

The three juniors for Wisconsin and Auburn said Tuesday they haven’t made up their minds on whether to return for their senior seasons or enter the NFL draft.

Although Wisconsin defensive coordinator Bret Bielema remains mum on the makeup of his first coaching staff at UW, a handful of familiar candidates have applied for positions.

Wisconsin Badgers wide receiver Marcus Randle El bloodied a former teammate’s face in a dispute over some missing money, according to charges filed Tuesday in Dane County Circuit Court.