When it comes to college athletics, the University of Wisconsin hasn't received its due on a national level time and time again. Is it location? Is it history? Is it a lack of big names? The problem still persists and hasn't lost its precedence even heading into 2007.
But if there ever was a Year of the Badger, 2006 would be it.
The UW men's basketball team is one great example of how Wisconsin came up in national conversation more often this year than it has in the past. The Badgers constantly struggle, regardless of sport, to gain notoriety in preseason rankings, but Bo Ryan's squad returned four starters from last year's team, including Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year Alando Tucker. The polls consistently started UW inside the top eight, and some pundits were even discussing Wisconsin as a potential Final Four team down the road.
And the greatest evidence of UW's national repertoire came in the form of the Badgers' first Sports Illustrated cover in any sport as the featured subject. Brian Butch and Alando Tucker's participation as part of an SI college basketball preview proves UW basketball may finally be getting the respect it deserves.
On Jan. 2, the No. 21 Badger football team upset No. 7 Auburn in the Capital One Bowl. The 21-10 victory moved Wisconsin up to No. 15 in the final postseason poll. But with Barry Alvarez retiring, and only three offensive starters returning for the 2006 season, Wisconsin was nowhere to be found in this year's preseason polls.
No problem, thought first-year head coach Bret Bielema and his Badgers. Away from the spotlight, without grabbing many headlines, UW systematically rolled off a school-record 11 wins coming to its grand return to the Capital One Bowl. Wisconsin, now ranked No. 7 in the BCS rankings, is actually the underdog against No. 12 Arkansas, most likely due to the slight home field advantage going to the Razorbacks.
But Wisconsin became the center of debate in America, when they were "shut out" of the BCS games by that pesky two-teams-per-conference rule. Many writers roared that Wisconsin has the talent to match up with the best teams in the country and should have been granted a chance to play with the likes of USC or Oklahoma in a BCS bowl match-up. It goes to show Bielema and his Badgers are here to stay as a team making noise in the national forums.
Of course, there were the men's and women's hockey teams sweeping their respective national championships in March and April. The men's hockey team was featured in an SI article in mid-April and both teams held on to the No. 1 ranking coming into this 2006-07 season.
Individuals were not forgotten on either team. Sara Bauer became the first Badger to win the Patty Kazmaier Award as the best women's college hockey player in the land, and men's goaltender Brian Elliott was a Hobey Baker finalist, making the top three in the voting for best men's college hockey player.
The UW volleyball team is consistently one of the best attendance draws in America in its sport. Pete Waite and his team were awarded, thanks to the Badgers' top 10 ranking and their fans' support, the host site for the 2006 AVCA College Volleyball Showcase. Wisconsin participated in the four-team tournament alongside defending champion Washington, as well as top 20 teams Texas and Ohio.
UW has apparently done a great job in hiring its coaches. Bielema won Big Ten honors for his rookie year effort; women's hockey coach Mark Johnson was National Coach of the Year after winning the championship and was selected in July to coach the 2007 U.S. Women's National Team; Waite was the coaches' pick for Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2006; and men's cross country coach Jerry Schumacher was named Great Lakes Region Men's Coach of the Year on Nov. 16.
The University of Wisconsin still may not receive enough credit for its outstanding athletic programs. But 2006 was certainly a big step in the right direction.
