[media-credit name=’BRYAN FAUST/Herald file photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′]
[/media-credit]Last season had just about everything for Wisconsin football fans. Just about everything, except a home game at night.
That will not be the case this upcoming season, as the Big Ten Conference announced Tuesday the Badgers will host at least one primetime conference game in the fall.
Wisconsin's Sept. 22 Big Ten Conference opening game against Iowa will be a 7 p.m. kickoff and will be nationally televised on ABC.
UW will make another ABC appearance later in the year, when it travels to Happy Valley, Pa., to face Penn State Oct. 13 for a 2:30 p.m. game.
The final UW game time announced by the league is for the team's Oct. 27 home game against Indiana. This year's homecoming game, which also happens to fall on Halloween weekend, will have an 11 a.m. start time.
With the three game times now determined, the Badgers now know start times for four of their 12 regular season contests. A 9 p.m. CDT kickoff was previously set for the Sept. 8 game at UNLV.
Last season, UW fans were treated to a long line of 11 a.m. games.
"When I'm out in the general population, I always get grief over these 11:00 kickoffs, like I have something to do with it," joked UW head football coach Bret Bielema at a press conference earlier this spring.
In reality, most conference game times are determined in the weeks leading up to the game by the league and its television partner, ESPN.
Tourney time
On the strength of a 15-10 record and a fourth-place finish in the Big Ten, the Wisconsin men's tennis team received an at-large bid for the 2007 NCAA men's tennis championship.
UW will open the tournament by facing Washington in South Bend, Ind., May 11. The winner of that match will face the winner of fifth-seeded Notre Dame and Butler on May 12.
"We're really excited about the opportunity to compete in the NCAA tournament," head coach Greg Van Emburgh said. "A lot of hard work went into it, and we're looking forward to our match with Washington and hopefully advancing."
Wisconsin has not earned an NCAA tournament bid since 1998. This season will mark the third time Wisconsin has reached the national tournament, though the Badgers have never advanced beyond the first round.
The Washington Huskies earned their at-large bid after claiming third place in the Pac-10 with an overall record of 16-6. This is Washington's 13th straight NCAA tournament appearance and 25th overall.
Wisconsin and Washington faced several common opponents this season. Washington fell to Minnesota 5-2, a team that Wisconsin defeated 5-2. In addition, both teams dropped matches to Ohio State and Notre Dame.
In all, six Big Ten teams qualified for the NCAA tournament. Ohio State, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Penn State all joined Wisconsin with Ohio State claiming the No. 2 seed for the tournament.
That's Omole
Demi Omole, a senior on the University of Wisconsin men's track and field team, has been named the Big Ten Conference men's track athlete of the week, the league office announced today. It is his second weekly honor of the season and the third outdoor honor of his career.
The Milwaukee native became just the second athlete in the history of the Drake Relays to win four consecutive titles in the men's collegiate 100-meter dash, clocking in at 10.21 seconds to qualify for NCAA regional competition. Omole's time is the best in the Big Ten this season and the fifth fastest in NCAA Division I. Omole also ran a leg on the 4×200-meter relay squad that set a school record at 1:23.88.
Omole will run in his final home meet this Saturday as the Badgers host the Wisconsin Twilight at the Dan McClimon Memorial Track. Field events begin at noon with running events starting at 2 p.m. Admission is free.
The meet in the final preparation for both UW teams as they compete in the Big Ten Outdoor Championships on May 11-13 at Penn State University in State College, Pa. Omole will be going for his fourth straight titles in the 100 meters and 4×100-meter relay. No men's Big Ten athlete has won four straight titles in the 100-meter or 100-yard dash, while no school has ever won four straight titles in the 4×100-meter relay.
— UWBadgers.com contributed to this report
