[media-credit name=’BRYAN FAUST/Herald photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]For nearly 20 years, the University of Wisconsin football team has been in revival. Three Big Ten championships and subsequent Rose Bowls marked the most successful stretch in program history. All that came to a head this past season when the Badgers won the most games in school history (12), ranked in the top five nationally in several categories and garnered a top five ranking in the USA Today poll.

By almost any measure, UW has established itself as a heavy hitter on the college football landscape.

However, UW head coach Bret Bielema believes there is still one hurdle Wisconsin needs to clear to truly arrive as a football power.

"In the fall, we have one of the best environments in college football," Bielema said at a Monday press conference.

"Then we've got the spring game when there's 10,000 to 15,0000 to maybe 20,000 if you're lucky, and I see other programs we are equivalent with during the fall, and it doesn't carry forward into the spring. It does make a big difference, so we're trying to get the word out."

Some schools with rich football traditions, such as Texas and Nebraska, routinely attract more than 60,000 fans to watch the spring exhibition. While Bielema would love to attain that level of excitement around the game, he remains realistic.

"It's something that we've probably got to cultivate with time. … Obviously Wisconsin's tradition and history during coach Alvarez's tenure was dramatically different than before he was here," Bielema said.

"That should say something, and that shows tradition and history, but it's relatively short, and that has to take a bigger effect."

The motivating factors behind Bielema's desire for a large crowd are twofold: Give young and inexperienced players a chance to play in front of a large Camp Randall crowd and show highly touted recruits what a football gameday in Madison is all about.

"For us, it's a recruiting tool," Bielema said, noting several recruits will be on campus for the game. "If they can walk in and see, you know, 40,000, that's a lot better than 20,000."

UW's spring game — which will be a standard four quarters and be played between the first and second string offenses and defenses — will take place this Saturday, April 21, at Camp Randall. Game time is set for 3 p.m. Admission is free.

Kicking into gear

When the NCAA instituted a new timing rule last season, which lowered the height of the kicking tee one inch, many kickers struggled to adjust. Wisconsin's Taylor Mehlhaff was not among them. Bielema has lauded Mehlhaff many times in the past for his positive attitude toward rule changes enacted to toughen the kicking game.

That is why it was no surprise when the Badgers' head man discussed Mehlhaff's reaction to a new rule that will move kickoffs back 5 yards from the 35-yard line to the 30.

"His first reaction, however confident he is, is that it's going to help us again because he feels he can still drive the ball and get a certain number or a certain percentage of touchbacks," Bielema said.

"I have a certain philosophy in my mind, what we're going to do. I'm going to visit with a couple people this summer, one collegiate team and one pro team and kind of get some thoughts," Bielema said of what his approach would be to covering kickoffs under the new rule.

In related NCAA rule news, Bielema said he was happy about the decision to change timing rules back to what they were two years ago. The clock will now start on the reception of a kickoff instead of on the kick and on the snap of the ball instead of when the ball is set after a first down.

"You know me. I always want to affect the kicking game rules," Bielema joked in reference to an incident last season when he intentionally took advantage of the kickoff timing rule to run out the end of a half.

"I'm very glad that the kicking rule changed back … which I think is very, very important because really there was a lot of inconsistency, not only from game to game but sometimes within a game."