University of Wisconsin- Madison players have returned from their trip to the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Games.
Team USA Women’s Hockey won gold in the Games against Canada in an overtime win February 19.
Taxpayers, the University of Wisconsin is desperate for your help. Athletic director Chris McIntosh made that perfectly clear last week while backing a bill that is making its way through the state Assembly.
How exactly will the $14.6 million McIntosh wants annually from the state — no, he needs from the state — be put to use as part of Assembly Bill 1034? Silly people of Wisconsin, that’s not for you to know.
Taxpayers, the University of Wisconsin is desperate for your help. Athletic director Chris McIntosh made that perfectly clear last week while backing a bill that is making its way through the state Assembly.
Madison-area hockey fans cheered on the Team USA women’s team Monday afternoon as they took on Sweden in the semifinals of the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Games.
The University of Wisconsin athletic department traditionally has been self-supporting financially, but that could change under a bill going through the state Assembly. Wisconsin would get $14.6 million annually from the state toward athletics facilities debt service under a measure that also would codify in state law name, image and likeness policies already in place at the school.
In addition to the UW-Madison hockey players competing in the Winter Olympics for the gold medal, five other Wisconsin athletes are competing. See how they’re doing.
UW-Madison is looking for an additional $14.6 million from taxpayers annually to maintain its athletics facilities.
But the state’s flagship public university also wants to ensure that name, image and likeness (NIL) contracts for the student athletes who train in them — and all other Badgers athletes — aren’t viewable by the public. Legislators on the Assembly Committee on State Affairs on Feb. 11 unanimously passed a bill which would exempt NIL contracts and revenue sharing for any UW campus from Wisconsin’s public records law.
The Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team gathered tonight for a meaningful celebration of resilience, faith, and community as they attended a premiere.
Forty-six years ago, on an ice rink in Lake Placid, New York, the United States shocked the world.
Thomas Aponte grew up in Connecticut, where people eat hot dogs more than bratwursts, but he’s learned to enjoy a good brat.
As a marketing intern for Wisconsin Athletics, the UW-Madison sophomore also has been enjoying his new role: running the Brat Blaster, which joined the T-shirt cannon this season in flinging projectiles into the stands during Badgers basketball games at the Kohl Center.
Luke Fickell’s request for “blind faith” from his first offseason as the University of Wisconsin football coach remains partially in effect.
The faith nowadays isn’t as blind as it is forgiving for Fickell and a Badgers staff that haven’t done their jobs at Wisconsin well enough to earn many passes with a 17-21 record and 10-17 mark in Big Ten Conference play. But the person tasked with assessing Fickell’s job with the program, athletic director Chris McIntosh, maintains his trust and belief in Fickell after a transformational offseason that saw nearly half the roster turn over.
The powerhouse Badger program has a knack for churning out Olympic hockey players. Four current and two former Badgers are in Milan representing Team USA in women’s ice hockey. With 23 players on the roster, that means more than one-quarter of the team has played for Madison. Along with Harvey, Simms and McNaughton, forward-turned defender and current Badger Laila Edwards is part of the team. Alumna forward Britta Curl-Salemme and five-time Olympian and forward Hilary Knight round out the Badgers’ representation.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is celebrating Badgers competing on the international stage with a Winter Olympics watch event on Tuesday, Feb. 10.
The University of Wisconsin athletic department hasn’t made scheduled payments toward a $20 million, interest-free loan from central campus in the last two fiscal years.
It also won’t make payments toward more than $15 million in remaining debt on the loan in the next two years but faces no penalty for delaying repayment.
Wisconsin football coach Luke Fickell did not receive the usual approval for a contract extension following the Badgers’ disappointing 2025 season.
The UW athletic board approved one-year extensions for the Badgers’ other coaches of fall sports – a longstanding common practice by the athletic department – but Fickell did not receive an extension at the board’s bimonthly meeting Feb. 4.
The UW Athletic Board has approved contract extensions for three University of Wisconsin head coaches.
Volleyball coach Kelly Sheffield, women’s soccer coach Paula Wilkins, and men’s soccer coach Neil Jones all received extensions to their five-year agreements, now running through January 31, 2031.
The University of Wisconsin has a practice where athletic contracts for coaches that include predetermined extensions, providing a level of security and continuity for the programs. Recently, Kelly Sheffield, along with the coaches for the men’s and women’s soccer teams, received their contract extensions, continuing their tenure with the Badgers.
Wisconsin football coach Luke Fickell did not receive the usual approval for a contract extension following the Badgers’ disappointing 2025 season.
The UW athletic board approved one-year extensions for the Badgers’ other coaches of fall sports – a longstanding common practice by the athletic department – but Fickell did not receive an extension at the board’s bimonthly meeting Feb. 4.
Wisconsin gives routine extensions to avoid ambiguity about where a coach stands with the university and avoid any negative recruiting that could be done regarding a coach’s contract status, a spokesperson told BadgerExtra last year. Badgers fans chanted “Fire Fickell” at multiple home games in 2025, a season that brought Fickell to 17-21 overall and 10-17 in Big Ten play as Wisconsin’s coach.
Fickell’s contract, originally signed in November 2022, was for seven years and remained at that term after receiving one-year extensions in 2024 and 2025. He now will coach under a six-year deal. His salary, which is set to increase $100,000 to $7.8 million per year April 1, and his buyout remain unchanged. Fickell’s buyout ranges from roughly $22.7 million to $21.3 million during the 2026 season.
(Video) The name Mark Johnson echoes through Olympic history with a particular resonance—1980, Lake Placid, the Miracle on Ice.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison will send five current players from the women’s hockey team and seven past players, the most the school has ever sent to a single Olympics (UW-Madison sent 11 players to the 2022 Games in Beijing). Four of the current players will suit up for Team USA; one, freshman Adéla Šapovalivová, will play for Team Czechia.
City staff and consultants are set to recommend the street become a three-lane road with expanded 8-foot sidewalks between Randall and Park Streets following a presentation at a Jan. 26 public meeting. The new traffic configuration would see one lane going in each direction with a central left turn lane.
“Miracle on Ice” remains a lingering light over any American triumph in the winter games. A Netflix documentary called “Miracle: The Boys of ’80” debuts Jan. 30 to again stir up the emotions of that incredible victory for the USA men’s hockey team over the Soviet Union in the medal round of the 1980 games.
It’s a triumph that almost certainly doesn’t happen without major contributions from Wisconsin.
UW-Madison Athletic Director Chris McIntosh discusses opportunities for college athletes to get paid through Name, Image and Likeness contracts and fan concerns over the transparency of NCAA policies.
UW-Madison Athletic Director Chris McIntosh considers impacts of a decline in Wisconsin Badgers football season ticket sales for the 2025 season and the significance of that revenue to the university.
UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin and Athletic Director Chris McIntosh consider the performance of and expectations for the Wisconsin Badgers football team in a changing college sports landscape.
ttorneys for six former University of Wisconsin women’s basketball players suing the school and its former coach in federal court urged a judge to reject what they called a “sanitized” version of events presented by the defense.
The players Thursday night filed a response to a motion by the Wisconsin Board of Regents, Marisa Moseley and former Badgers administrator Justin Doherty that sought to dismiss the lawsuit.
The University of Wisconsin has launched Badger Athlete Partners, a new name, image and likeness (NIL) program. The initiative aims to help student-athletes earn more and take full advantage of third-party deals.
Wisconsin is lowering the total price of football season tickets at Camp Randall Stadium ahead of a 2026 season that has only six home games.
The listed price of season tickets will drop across the stadium from $399 to $312 before taxes and fees. That is a 21.8% decrease in listed price for a season with 14.3% fewer home games, although that comes with an asterisk.
This State Journal editorial ran on Jan. 22, 1976:
It is only a matter of time before the members of the NCAA require athletic recruits to show need of financial assistance to obtain grants in aid.
Former University of Wisconsin basketball player Freddie Owens is preparing to release a memoir next month that traces his path from Milwaukee’s North Side to the NCAA tournament and, eventually, a long career in coaching.
The book, “Echoes of Stark Park,” draws its name from the Milwaukee park where Owens spent much of his childhood and where he says basketball became both a refuge and a guide.
Elijah Gray was dismissed from the Wisconsin men’s basketball team in October due to “events preceding his enrollment at UW-Madison.”
Now, some of Gray’s activity before enrolling at Wisconsin has surfaced in a federal indictment as part of a federal investigation into point-shaving.
Bouncing back from the Iowa loss in the Big Ten opener, the Badgers defeated Maryland, 28-13, at the Field House last Sunday to bring their overall record to 9-1.
It was the UW’s largest margin of victory against a conference opponent since beating Northwestern in February 2024. The Wildcats will be Friday’s challenge at the Field House.
Brady Collins was on camera next to University of Wisconsin football coach Luke Fickell late in a number of Badgers broadcasts this season.
Collins, the program’s director of strength and conditioning, is one of Fickell’s close friends whose positivity has helped stabilize emotions and the Badgers’ struggles. While Collins tried to keep Fickell’s and players’ eyes looking forward to success around the corner, his mind raced regarding what he and the strength staff could do better.
John Blackwell couldn’t believe the question.
The junior guard had lifted the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team to a stunning finish in Tuesday’s 78-75 win over Minnesota at Williams Arena, scoring 20 of his 27 points in a second half that was capped by a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer.
It had never happened before, and it hasn’t happened since — the men’s and women’s hockey teams from the same school winning NCAA championships in the same year.
But in 2006, both the men’s and women’s University of Wisconsin hockey teams won national titles, and the teams were led by a brother and sister who grew up playing youth hockey in Madison.
The salary pool for University of Wisconsin football coaches now represents more than what the Badgers pay to coaches in the rest of their sports combined.
Wisconsin’s 18 football coaches from the 2025 season totaled salaries of $14.61 million this school year. The 66 other coaches had a salary pool of $14.39 million, according to records released by the school.
In the heart of Milwaukee’s North Side, Stark Park thrummed like a drumbeat at the center of the neighborhood, wrote Freddie Owens, the former University of Wisconsin basketball player turned author.
It was the early 1990s and the neighborhood bore the bruises of a city wrestling with the crack epidemic, poverty and crime, he opined in his book, “Echoes of Stark Park.”
Years living with an autoimmune disease meant it was a matter of when, not if, Adam Barnes would need a liver transplant.
That time was approaching after he was hospitalized for a blocked bile duct in 2024. The idea of seeking a living donor came up but there was something about it that turned him off.
It’s a coincidence that the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team was preparing for a game against No. 5 Purdue on Saturday at the Kohl Center as coach Greg Gard was posed with a question about … well, a host of happenings in the “wild, wild world” of major college basketball — G League players and former NBA draft picks gaining NCAA eligibility, and programs making midseason additions that will play in the spring semester.
Dear Tom,
It’s hard to believe it’s been more than 11 years since we lost you. A lot’s happened since then, and now seemed like a good time to bring you up to speed.
You never even found out that you were voted the Sportswriter of the Year in Wisconsin for the third time in your career. There it is on the National Sports Media Association’s website: 2014 — Tom Mulhern, Wisconsin State Journal, Madison. Page down and you can see your name in 2005 and 2010, too.
Two Wisconsinites were given their first Pro Bowl selections, including one rookie who spent most of his college career at the University of Wisconsin, when the National Football League named its teams for the 2026 NFL Pro Bowl Games.
A Vietnam War and retired U.S. Air Force veteran received a refurbished vehicle at the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball game at the Kohl Center on December 22.
American Family Insurance, Gerber Collision, and Glass team up to present Mark Knowlton with the car during a first-half timeout. The companies collaborated with Veterans Outreach Wisconsin to select Mark for the gift.
There are a few main ways of looking at attendance for University of Wisconsin football games, and they all produced ugly results in 2025.
The Badgers played in front of the smallest average home crowd in the two decades that it has been tracked using ticket scanners. No-shows climbed to a level never seen in that same period.
Life is a whirlwind these days for Eric Mateos.
In the eight days since he was announced as the Wisconsin Badgers’ new offensive line coach he has met the linemen on the roster, offered scholarships to at least four high school prospects, watched a ton of film on high school players, potential portal targets and some of the Badgers’ games this season.
The number of alcohol unit sales at Badgers games at Camp Randall Stadium in 2025 fell 21% compared to the first year of availability at general concession stands in 2024.
That decrease was slightly more than the 20% falloff in the number of fans in the venue between the two seasons. Records obtained through public records requests showed there were slightly fewer alcoholic beverage units sold per ticket scanned in 2025 than in 2024.
Which performers headlined concerts at Camp Randall Stadium in 2025, marking the venue’s first concerts in decades?
Under the terms of her employment contract, University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin received a bonus this year for staying in her job and for “satisfactory” performance. How much did she receive from the bonus?
Mnookin’s base pay surpassed $892,000 by 2024 after pay raises for UW system employees and “catch-up base salary increases” for multiple chancellors. Her annual bonus for staying is set to increase each year, from $150,000 this year up to $350,000 in 2029.
Chuck Neinas, a longtime administrator in college athletics who was also a Wisconsin native and University of Wisconsin graduate, died Tuesday at 93.
Steve Stricker is playing with daughter Izzi, who plays at the University of Wisconsin.
In August, a group of former University of Wisconsin women’s basketball players sued former head coach Marisa Moseley, alleging psychological abuse.
The civil case, which also lists the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents and former UW senior associate athletic director Justin Doherty as defendants, seeks compensatory and punitive damages.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison won the Big Ten “We Give Blood Drive” competition, earning $1 million that will go toward student or community health initiatives.
The competition, sponsored by Abbott, challenged all Big Ten schools to collect the most blood donations to help address the nationwide blood shortage.
The addition of general managers for football and men’s basketball teams contributed to a 15% increase in the total salary for University of Wisconsin athletics administrators this season compared to the year before.
The Badgers are paying 17 people with a title of athletic director, deputy athletic director or associate athletic director a total of nearly $5.1 million in the 2025-26 school year, according to salary information provided by the university through a public records request and the contract for AD Chris McIntosh.
The University of Wisconsin won in the second season of Abbott and the Big Ten’s We Give Blood Drive, overcoming Nebraska in a close contest.
Running from Aug. 27 through Dec. 5, the “We Give Blood” competition, was announced at the 2025 Discover Big Ten Football Championship Game in Indianapolis.
Georgia returned home to Cross Plains in early August after 170 days in medical facilities. The vehicle pulled up to the house, and there waiting for her were members of the Wisconsin volleyball program.
Mike Leckrone led the UW Marching Band in support of the Badgers for many years, but when Bucky went missing, he rose to the challenge of donning the stripes himself.
The Regents unanimously approved a seven-year extension with the apparel provider that contains a three-year mutual option in a special meeting Tuesday morning.
Some details of the extension emerged Monday morning when the Board of Regents posted an agenda for a special meeting Tuesday at which it gave unanimous approval. The total amount of cash and merchandise credit for Wisconsin is increasing from $96.75 million under the existing 10-year deal to $104.5 million over the next 10 years.
The contract, which has to be fully signed before it’s released in response to a public records request, is for seven years with a three-year mutual extension, but both Wisconsin and Under Armour were considering it a 10-year arrangement
The University of Wisconsin-Madison and Under Armour have announced a landmark 10-year extension of their partnership. This agreement continues a decade-long relationship focused on innovation and elevating the university’s student athletes.
When Camp Randall Stadium started selling alcohol last fall during Badger football games, University of Wisconsin-Madison leaders said a portion of the revenue would go to campus.
They said the money would support “efforts to promote student wellness and to encourage responsible behavior around the use of alcohol, such as offering alcohol-free programming for students and supporting students experiencing challenges related to high-risk behaviors.”
So far, nearly $500,000 in revenue from alcohol sales at athletic events has been distributed for this purpose, said Gillian Drummond, a campus spokesperson. The university’s Student Affairs division received $442,000 last school year and University Housing received $50,000, she said.
On Nov. 23, 1889, the University of Wisconsin played its first football game. The game was one to forget for UW, who lost 27-0 against the Calumet Club of Milwaukee.
