It’s hard to imagine that in the early 1990’s, the University of Wisconsin struggled to fill its football home, Camp Randall Stadium, with enough fans to sell out conference games.
Now at UW, it’s difficult to picture a game at Camp Randall without a packed home crowd donning the Wisconsin cardinal and rooting for the Badgers, no matter who they’re playing.
Wisconsin’s recent sports success began when current athletic director Barry Alvarez led the Badgers to three Rose Bowl titles in seven seasons, after winning only five conference games in his previous three seasons. Since then, the Badgers haven’t looked back. But UW’s success isn’t measured simply by wins and losses; Madison prides itself as a school and a town that loves its sports.
While College GameDay wasn’t able to swing by Wisconsin during the 2008 football season (and given the Badgers’ disappointing season, that might be a good thing), ESPN is bringing one of its most popular shows to Badger Land during a more competitive basketball season.
After a Final Four appearance in 2000 under head coach Dick Bennett, Badger fans felt spoiled. A year removed from a Rose Bowl win, then an unprecedented run in the NCAA Tournament? Let’s just say that when current Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan took over the basketball program near the beginning of the 2000-2001 season, few could have imagined that a perennial featherweight in the Big Ten would soon turn into a conference powerhouse.
Well, it happened, and now the entire nation will see why the reigning Big Ten champions, their seven consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and The Grateful Red deserve to be on the national spotlight.
Once crowned the nation’s “best college sports town” by Sports Illustrated, Madison, along with the students who go to school in Wisconsin’s capital, are beyond excited to be on the country’s center stage on College GameDay.
During Ryan’s reign as head coach, Badger fans have crammed the Kohl Center to put Wisconsin’s attendance rankings atop the Big Ten for five of the last six seasons. Now, GameDay gets to show the entire nation what UW’s time-honored sports tradition is all about, where the fans are as much a part of the games as the teams are.
Perhaps GameDay’s arrival in Madison couldn’t have come at a more perfect time this season. After losing six straight games, the Ryan-led Badgers won consecutive games, including a home win over No. 23 Illinois, which soundly beat Wisconsin two weeks earlier, and a grinding road win over Penn State.
Now, with a much-anticipated matchup against the Ohio State Buckeyes, the Badgers may have a chance to rejuvenate their bid for the NCAA Tournament, and you can bet their fans will be there to root them on.
Badger fans might not hate Ohio State quite as much as Marquette or Minnesota, but with a fan base like this, those watching GameDay will understand why until this season, the Badgers averaged only one loss over their last seven seasons at the Kohl Center.
Simply put, no matter who the Badgers play, their fans get riled up. When GameDay gets here, I wouldn’t necessarily say I’m afraid to see what they’ll do, but let’s just say there will be more than the typical face-painting for ESPN viewers to see.
So maybe a repeat of last year is out of reach. The Badgers are long shots (OK, let’s be realistic – they have almost no shot of winning the Big Ten), and even a tournament berth is in jeopardy.
But now, finishing atop the conference is an afterthought to these Badgers, and you can bet that on GameDay, Ryan, Wisconsin and its fans will be ready to show the country why Madison is still the best college sports town, and why a repeat of the 2000 season isn’t all that far-fetched.
For more information on College GameDay, check out www.espn.com/gamedaybasketball
