The University of Wisconsin Athletic Department wrapped up a month-long memorabilia auction Thursday with a gain of more than $20,000.
Jerseys and game balls for sale came from the three most popular UW sports teams — basketball, football and hockey.
Two team-autographed men's basketballs brought in the most of any items, selling for a combined $3,200. The balls were among other memorabilia, such as 26 game-issued men's hockey jerseys, 16 football jerseys and three Capitol One Bowl game balls signed by head football coach Bret Bielema.
Kevin Klunder, assistant athletic director for marketing and promotions, said the memorabilia is one-of-a-kind, including the specially designed hockey jerseys worn for the Badger Hockey Showdown in December 2006.
"It's a great promotion for the fans — I think they're unique items," Klunder said. "It's definitely a great way to reach different fans — the fans across the nation and even around the world."
The auction was run by Surplus with a Purpose, which auctions off extra sports equipment and confiscated DNR property. SWAP managing director of marketing Tim Sell said they sold $280,000 in one day in used Reebok gear after UW signed its current contract with Adidas.
Funds raised from the sales go directly back into the athletic department for all teams to utilize, according to Klunder.
"We're a self-sufficient entity — we have to support the facilities and over 800 student athletes," Klunder added.
According to Sell, NCAA regulations prohibit schools from selling their equipment on eBay. Nonetheless, in the last auction through SWAP, they sold throwback uniforms for between $4,000 and $6,000 each.
"We do [auctions] every so often," Sell said. "We had the throwback jerseys from the first (football) game of the year, the hockey jerseys from the games (at Lambeau Field) in Green Bay and game balls from Brett Bielema's first win."
Brian Wentz, UW alumnus and chief executive officer of BMW Sportscars in Madison, said he watched the auction closely for the price of the bowl-game balls. Wentz said he purchased a game ball from the 1999 Rose Bowl against UCLA, which he expects he could sell for a large profit.
Wentz said the university does a good job managing the extra equipment with the NCAA rules but would be better off allowing someone in the memorabilia market to help them.
"I've been over there, and I think they're doing a wonderful job with a lot of the surplus — with a lot of the junk that usually wouldn't get used," Wentz said. "With all due respect to Tim Sell, they really don't get the draw that would raise the prices — they would be better farming it out to people who know more about the market."
Wentz said he purchased a game jersey of former UW running back Brian Calhoun for $2,600 and sold it this year for $6,000 after Calhoun was drafted by the Detroit Lions.
In addition to what the university sells, Wentz wonders where additional equipment ends up.
"I have to question where all the other uniforms are — there are a lot of players on that team but (also) a lot of the collectors — where do they go?" Wentz said. "We watch it regularly. A lot of the equipment just disappears — maybe they've got it in a big warehouse selling it off little by little."