Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium
Madison, Wisconsin, is home to one of the most historic and competitive programs in the Big Ten Conference. The University of Wisconsin at Madison first fielded a team in 1889, and since then, it's won 14 Big Ten titles (including the first, in 1896) and five division titles. The Badgers play at Camp Randall Stadium, which was originally built in 1917 and houses a current capacity of 80,321. The Wisconsin Badgers are coached by Luke Fickell, who succeeds Paul Chryst, who coached the team from 2015 to 2022 and led them to two Big Ten West championships and wins in the Holiday, Cotton, Orange and Pinstripe Bowls.
Wisconsin Badgers Football History
While Wisconsin had periods of success in the early and mid 20th century, the program fully took off when Barry Alvarez became head coach in 1990, building a national power after years of poor performance on the field (and red ink off of it). Under Alvarez, who coached until 2005 and was Wisconsin's athletic director from 2004 to 2021, the school won Big Ten championships in 1993, 1998 and 1999, also winning the Rose Bowl after each of these seasons. Running back Ron Dayne won the Heisman Trophy as a junior in 1999, becoming the first Badger to win the honor since Alan Ameche in 1954. Other notable players in Wisconsin history include Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch, running back Melvin Gordon, former Cleveland Browns offensive tackle Joe Thomas and Super Bowl–winning quarterback Russell Wilson.
The Camp Randall game-day experience is second to none in college football, with the marching band performing "Fifth Quarter" to entertain fans in the post-game spectacular since 1969. Since 1998, the crowd gets pumped between the third and fourth quarters as "Jump Around" by House of Pain is blared from the public address system. Wisconsin's rivals in the Big Ten West include Iowa, who they battle for the Heartland Trophy, and Minnesota, who they once fought with over a wooden "Slab of Bacon" but since 1948 have competed against for Paul Bunyan's Axe. Since Nebraska's entry into the Big Ten in 2011, the Badgers and the Cornhuskers have developed a new rivalry, in which the Freedom Trophy is on the line every fall.
