Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin Badgers | |
---|---|
UW Field House | |
Mascot | Bucky Badger |
Nickname | Badgers |
Fight song | On, Wisconsin! |
Colors | Cardinal and white[1] |
Website | www |
The Wisconsin Badgers are the athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin). They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) sub-level), primarily competing in the Big Ten Conference for all sports since the 1896–97 season. The women's ice hockey team competes in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA), while the men's crew team compete in the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges (EARC).[2]
The athletic director is
Team name origin
Wisconsin was dubbed the "Badger State" because of the lead miners who first settled there in the 1820s and 1830s. Without shelter in the winter, they had to "live like badgers" in tunnels burrowed into hillsides.[3] The badger mascot was adopted by the University of Wisconsin in 1889.
His name, "Buckingham U. Badger", a.k.a. "Bucky Badger," was chosen in a contest in 1949.[4] The emblem, a scowling, strutting badger wearing a cardinal-and-white striped sweater, was designed by Art Evans in 1940 and updated in 2003. A live badger from Eau Claire was used at the first few football games that year, but proved to be too fierce to be controlled and was retired to the nearby Henry Vilas Zoo. For a time, the school replaced the live badger with a live raccoon named "Regdab" ("badger" backwards).
In 2006, Bucky Badger became a charter member of the Mascot Hall of Fame's College Division.[5] Bucky Badger has a tradition of doing the amount of pushups that the football team has every time they score.
Sports sponsored
Men's sports | Women's sports |
---|---|
Basketball | Basketball |
Cross country | Cross country |
Football | Golf |
Golf | Ice hockey |
Ice hockey | Rowing |
Rowing | Rowing lightweight |
Soccer | Soccer |
Swimming and diving | Softball |
Tennis | Swimming and diving |
Track and field† | Tennis |
Wrestling | Track and field† |
Volleyball | |
† – Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor |
Wisconsin is the only Big Ten school and one of only four Power 5 schools that do not sponsor baseball, the other three being Colorado, Iowa State, and Syracuse. Wisconsin is also the only Big Ten school with a varsity men's rowing program. Badger men's rowing has won 9 national championships, making it Wisconsin's most successful athletics program.
Men's basketball
Wisconsin has made it to the
In the 2006–07 season the Badgers had victories at Marquette and at home against 2nd ranked Pittsburgh. Its lone non-conference loss was against
Dick Bennett is largely credited with beginning the turnaround of the program. During his six-year tenure at Wisconsin (1995–2000), the Badgers achieved a 91–68 record and had two 20-win seasons. Only twice previously had the Badgers won at least 20 games in a season, the most recent being the 1940–41 championship season. Coach Bo Ryan has been in charge since the 2001–02 season and has led the Badgers to the NCAA Tournament every year. During the 2006–07 season, he not only achieved his 500th win as a college coach but the Badgers were also ranked Number 1 in the AP Top for the first time in program history. On December 12, 2009, Ryan earned his 200th win with the Badgers (against 75 losses), defeating in-state rival Marquette. During the 2014–2015 season, the Badgers reached the National Championship game, but lost to Mike Krzyzewski's Duke squad.
Badgers currently in the NBA include Sam Dekker, Frank Kaminsky, Devin Harris, Greg Stiemsma and Jon Leuer.
Football
Wisconsin's football program has been among the most successful in the
The Wisconsin Badgers football team plays its home games at Camp Randall Stadium. Built in 1917, Camp Randall is the fourth-oldest college football stadium in the country and has a capacity of 80,321. The student section at Camp Randall is considered by many to be one of the best in all of college football.[7] Among the stadium traditions is a well-known student celebration to the House of Pain song "Jump Around," occurring at the end of the third quarter of every home game. The students also sing songs in unison, including "Sweet Caroline" and "(Build Me Up) Buttercup". The University of Wisconsin Marching Band performs its "Fifth Quarter" after every game.
Ice hockey
The Badger men won their sixth national championship in 2006, at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, with a 2–1 victory over Boston College Eagles. The men's team had previously won the national championship in 1973, 1977, 1981, 1983, and 1990.
The Badger women won their first title in 2006, at
The men's team plays their home games at the Kohl Center in Madison. The women's team plays their home games at LaBahn Arena. Both teams use the LaBahn Arena as a practice facility.[8][9]
Softball
The Badgers softball team began play in 1996. The team has made seven NCAA Tournament appearances in 2001, 2002, 2005, 2013, 2014, 2017, and 2018. The current head coach is Yvette Healy.
Wrestling
The University of Wisconsin wrestling team was established in 1911. Through the 2018–19 season, the UW Badger wrestling team has had 18 NCAA champions, 70 Big Ten champions, 112 All-Americans, and 4 Olympians.
Championships
NCAA team championships
Wisconsin has won 32 NCAA national championships:[13]
- Men's (22)
- Basketball(1): 1941
- Boxing (8): 1939 (unofficial), 1942 (unofficial), 1943 (unofficial), 1947 (unofficial), 1948, 1952, 1954, 1956
- Cross country(5): 1982, 1985, 1988, 2005, 2011
- Ice hockey(6): 1973, 1977, 1981, 1983, 1990, 2006
- Indoor track & field(1): 2007
- Soccer(1): 1995
- Women's (10)
- Cross country(2): 1984, 1985
- Ice hockey(7): 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2019, 2021, 2023
- Volleyball(1): 2021
- See also:
Other national team championships
Below are 21 national team titles that were not bestowed by the NCAA:[14]
- Men's (13)
- Basketball (3): 1912, 1914, 1916 (retroactive Helms and Premo-Porretta selections)[15]
- Football (1): 1942 (Helms; unclaimed)
- Rowing (9): 1951, 1959, 1966, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1986†, 1990, 2008
- Women's (8)
- Badminton (1): 1983
- Rowing (2): 1975, 1986
- Lightweight rowing (5): 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009
† All men's and women's rowing titles above included winning the eights. The men's 1986 title was not an IRA championship but rather a now-defunct finals-only meet that included three rowing squads with a history of snubbing the IRAs. In 1990, Wisconsin's men's titles included both this event and the IRA eights championship.
- See also:
Athletes of the Year
Year | Male athlete | Sport | Female athlete | Sport | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2013 | Michael Lihrman | Men's track and field | Alex Rigsby | Women's ice hockey | [16] |
2014 | Frank Kaminsky | Basketball | Ivy Martin | Swimming | [17] |
2015 | Zach Ziemek | Men's track and field | Ann-Renée Desbiens | Women's ice hockey | [18] |
Trademark dispute
The University of Wisconsin has been involved in disputes with a number of high schools, including Westside High School in Omaha, Nebraska, and schools in Iowa, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and West Virginia, as well as with D-II Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. The issue involved the use of the Badgers' athletic logo, the "motion W". As a result of the litigation, the high schools involved were required to change their logos.[19][20][21]
References
- ^ "Colors for Web". University of Wisconsin-Madison. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
- ^ "The History of the Wisconsin Mens Crew Team". Wiscorowinghistory.org. Archived from the original on June 10, 2006. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
- ^ "UWBadgers.com – The Official Athletic Site of the Wisconsin Badgers – Spirit Squad". uwbadgers.com. Archived from the original on 2011-09-07. Retrieved 2011-08-13.
- ^ [1] Archived November 12, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ David A. Tomar. "The Most Legendary Mascots in College Sports". TBS Magazine.
- ^ "Arkansas-Wisconsin Preview". Sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
- ^ [2][dead link]
- ^ "Kohl Center", UWBadgers.com, retrieved 22 March 2014
- ^ "LaBahn Arena", UWBadgers.com, retrieved 22 March 2014
- ^ 2018–19 Wrestling Record Book. uwbadgers.com. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
- ^ "UW Badger Wrestling Barry Bio". University of Wisconsin Athletics. 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-01-16.
- ^ Chris Bono takes over as coach of Wisconsin Badgers wrestling program
- ^ "Championships History (through July 2, 2014)" (PDF). Fs.ncaa.org. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
- ^ "UWBadgers.com – The Official Athletic Site of the Wisconsin Badgers – History". uwbadgers.com. Archived from the original on 2014-07-19. Retrieved 2013-02-10.
- ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
- ^ "Lihrman, Rigsby named UW's Athletes of the Year – UWBadgers.com – The Official Athletic Site of the Wisconsin Badgers". UWBadgers.com. 2014-06-17. Retrieved 2015-10-04.
- ^ "Kaminsky, Martin named UW's Athletes of the Year – UWBadgers.com – The Official Athletic Site of the Wisconsin Badgers". UWBadgers.com. 2015-06-12. Retrieved 2015-10-04.
- ^ "Desbiens, Ziemek named UW Athletes of the Year". University of Wisconsin.
- ^ "BRB". Typophile.com. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
- ^ "The Daily Cardinal – University of Wisconsin-Madison". Daily-cardinal. 2014-03-11. Retrieved 2014-03-28.[permanent dead link]
- ^ [3] Archived July 4, 2007, at the Wayback Machine