Tag: wisconsin athletics

Eric Musselman calls out USC fans over Galen Center atmosphere

Eric Musselman knows why USC men’s basketball lacks an electric home crowd.

It’s been an up-and-down season for USC men’s basketball thus far. After Saturday’s home loss to Wisconsin, the Trojans were clearly not in the NCAA Tournament field heading into Wednesday night’s matchup with Nebraska.

One thing that has remained relatively constant for USC men’s basketball is the less-than-imposing atmosphere at Galen Center. The Trojans have drawn more than 7,000 fans for just one home game so far, and that was a game against Michigan with a heavy contingent of Wolverine fans.

Following Saturday’s loss, head coach Eric Musselman was blunt about the attendance at USC’s home games thus far. “We had no home-court advantage,” Musselman said. “That’s just how it is. It’s been that way. And we gotta continue to work as a program to make it more of a home-court advantage.”

To his credit, Musselman did imply that the team needs to play better on the court in order for fans to come. However, his comments felt like a challenge toward USC fans, who have never been great about showing out to basketball games in large numbers.

Fortunately for Musselman, the Trojans’ next home game is against UCLA—the one matchup that traditionally draws a large crowd at Galen Center. For the team’s remaining five Big Ten home games, however, attendance will likely depend on how the Trojans perform on the court, for better or worse.

USC’s comeback attempt falls short in loss to Wisconsin

USC lost a game it badly needed for its NCAA Tournament hopes.

The winning streak for USC men’s basketball is officially over. After back-to-back victories, the Trojans fell at home 84-69 Saturday to No. 24 Wisconsin. The loss dropped USC to 11-7 overall and 3-4 in Big Ten play.

After trailing by 15 at halftime, the Trojans went on a 17-4 run early in the second half to cut the deficit to three points. However, the Badgers immediately responded with an 8-2 run of their own that put the game back out of reach.

After three Trojans finished with more than 21 points on Tuesday against Iowa, no USC player had more than 19 Saint Thomas’s Saturday. Meanwhile, the Trojans struggled to contain Wisconsin’s John Blackwell, who had a game-high 28 points while also securing five rebounds.

USC will get some time off this week, as the Trojans will play just one game in the next eight days: a visit to Nebraska on Wednesday night. After that, it’s back home to host UCLA in the first Big Ten Crosstown Showdown a week from Monday.

USC is still behind the bubble pack in the chase for an NCAA Tournament bid. USC needs a three-game winning streak to truly put itself in the hunt.

USC’s player problem is bigger than just the transfer portal

When players transfer out of USC, it stings, but if the player never really plays well for USC, that’s not a portal problem. Other factors are at work.

Two years after his departure from USC football, C.J. Williams went back to the transfer portal once again. A four-star wide receiver in the class of 2022, Williams was one of Lincoln Riley’s first big recruiting wins upon his arrival in Los Angeles. After a freshman season in which he caught just four passes for 34 yards, however, Williams elected to enter the transfer portal.

Williams landed at Wisconsin, where he spent the past two seasons. In two years with the Badgers, he caught 31 passes for 396 yards and two touchdowns. With his team’s season now over, Williams recently announced that he will be entering the transfer portal for a second time.

This past September, Williams returned to the Coliseum with Wisconsin. He caught one pass for 15 yards against the Trojans in a 38-21 loss. Now, Williams is back in the transfer portal once again. With one year of eligibility remaining, he will look to find a landing spot that will allow him to finally showcase why he was such a highly-touted recruit coming out of high school three years ago.

The story of C.J. Williams brings up the important point that while a lot of highly-rated football players have transferred out of USC, what’s arguably worse is that most of those players never really played like elite players when the Trojans and Lincoln Riley had them.

Either these players aren’t being evaluated well when USC considers which players to add, or the players aren’t being coached well enough once they get into the program. In Williams’ case, his lack of production at Wisconsin suggests this was more of an evaluation problem than a development problem, but either way, USC can’t be making deficient decisions which lead to washouts.

Examining the final Olympic roster of Wisconsin Badgers in Paris

Examining the final Olympic roster of Wisconsin Badgers in Paris

A total of seventeen current or former Wisconsin athletes will represent the Badgers at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 from July 26 to Aug. 11.

Following the opening ceremony on Friday, July 26, the 17 Badgers who clinched a bid will compete in seven separate sports. Badger faithful will be able to watch former UW greats take part in rugby, soccer, women’s rowing, men’s basketball, women’s volleyball, track and field, swimming and diving during the event.

The Badgers will be participating in all but one of the competition days during the Olympic window with former soccer star Rose Lavelle kicking things off on Thursday against Zambia.

The track and field pool includes All-American and All-Big Ten cross country selection Mohammed Ahmed (Canada), 2020 Olympian Ollie Hoare (Australia), four-time NCAA Champion Morgan McDonald (Australia), five-time Big Ten champion Adam Spencer (Australia) and two-time track and field Olympian Zach Ziemek (United States).

A total of four former Badgers will participate in women’s rowing. Lauren O’Connor (United States), Grace Joyce (United States), Maddie Wanamaker (United States) and Sophia Vitas (United States) will venture across the pond, each with four years of experience in Madison.

2024 200 Backstroke NCAA Champion and 2024 Big Ten Swimmer of the Championship Phoebe Bacon (United States) will compete in the 200-meter backstroke while 2024 NCAA Championship qualifier Taiko Torepe-Ormsby (New Zealand) will make his Olympic debut in the 50 Freestyle.

Former volleyball legends Lauren Carlini (United States) and Dana Rettke (United States) will sport the red, white and blue on the United States’ 2024 Women’s Olympic Volleyball Team.

Badger forward Aleem Ford (Puerto Rico) will compete in men’s basketball, women’s rugby star Alev Kelter (United States) will also suit up for her third Olympics and incoming Badger Jaden Eikermann Gregorchuk (Germany) will participate in men’s diving.

Local time in Paris is 6 hours ahead ET and 7 hours ahead CT. All events will be available via stream on Peacock.

Wisconsin Athletics reveals new courtside seating options in Kohl Center

Wisconsin Athletics reveals new courtside seating options in Kohl Center

Wisconsin Athletics displayed renderings for new courtside seating options at the Kohl Center in a press release Tuesday.

The construction will be completed in time for the 2024-25 basketball season.

Located adjacent to the rink and hardwood, visuals depict a few extra rows of seating for Badger fans next season. These seats will be located on each side of the ice sheet at the event level of the Kohl Center, per UW Athletics.

“These upgrades will help to create an exciting, new fan experience and drive additional revenue that will support Badger student-athletes across our 23 sport programs,” UW Director of Athletics Chris McIntosh told UWBadgers.com

The renovation will also include high-quality seating surfaces and access to the Krantz Club, an event-level club space, starting in January. Other amenities include parking priorities, inclusive food and drink services and a cash bar.

The renovation arrives shortly after the Kohl Center’s ice sheet dimensions were reduced to NHL proportions in February. This ultimately created extra space between the event level and the playing fields.

Wisconsin’s Kohl Center is home to the both the men’s and women’s basketball teams and men’s hockey team.

Wisconsin athletics among elite group ahead of Olympic Games Paris 2024

Wisconsin athletics among elite group ahead of Olympic Games Paris 2024

Wisconsin athletics will be well represented in France at Olympic Games Paris 2024.

As many as twelve former Badgers will make the trek oversees in search of a gold medal. Only a handful of collegiate programs, including Big Ten rivals Penn State, USC and UCLA, will send at least 10 Olympians to this summer’s games.

Among the recent qualified Badgers are former women’s soccer superstar Rose Lavelle, two-time track and field Olympian Zach Ziemek and current senior swimmer Phoebe Bacon in the 200-meter backstroke.

Former volleyball legends Lauren Carlini and Dana Rettke will sport the red, white and blue for the United States’ 12-woman 2024 Women’s Olympic Volleyball roster this summer while Lauren O’Connor, Grace Joyce, Maddie Wanamaker and Sophia Vitas will search for golds as members of the country’s rowing squad.

All-American and All-Big Ten cross country selection Mohammed Ahmed will represent Canada in men’s track, and current Badger school record-holder Taiko Torepe-Ormsby will swim for New Zealand as well.

Women’s rugby star Alev Kelter will also suit up as the final UW Olympian of 2024.

Badgers LB Jordan Turner Partners With The Road Home Dane County to Give Back

#Badgers inside linebacker Jordan Turner has partnered with The Road Home Dane County to give back:

Madison, Wisc. – With the new school year just around the corner, Badgers inside linebacker Jordan Turner has partnered with The Road Home Dane County to help collect donations of backpacks, school supplies, or other monetary contributions for families in need this fall.

The Road Home hopes to provide up to 500 backpacks filled with school supplies to children who’ve recently escaped homelessness and have moved into more stable housing.

“Throughout the course of my childhood, I have benefited greatly from the generous support and encouragement I received from my community, whether it be purchasing popcorn for my Cub Scout Troop, raffle tickets for my Pop Warner Youth Football team, or backpacks and school supplies as I started a new school year. Now it’s my turn to help give back in a big way! Together, we can put 100 students in the Madison, Wisconsin area in a position to succeed and get ready for a great year of school,” said Turner in a press release.

The Road Home will distribute Backpacks to the students at the “Families Moving Forward” school supply event on Saturday, August 13, from 12:00 noon – 2:00 pm at Brittingham Park located at 829 W. Washington Ave, Madison, WI 53715.

The Road Home Dane County is an organization that seeks long-term solutions to homelessness by helping families find and maintain stable, affordable housing.

If you’d like to help Turner in his efforts to help local children this school year, click the link below to donate and show support:

Contact/Follow us @TheBadgersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin news, notes, opinion, and analysis. You can also follow Dillon Graff on Twitter @DillonGraff.

Former Badgers TE Travis Beckum part of UW Athletics Hall of Fame class

A former Badgers TE will be inducted into the UW Athletics Hall of Fame this fall:

Last week, the University of Wisconsin announced it is inducting 11 new members into its Athletic Hall of Fame for the class of 2022.

The class will feature nine former UW athletes, one administration member, and a special service member.

Among the notable athletes who will enter the UW Hall of Fame this fall is former Badgers tight end Travis Beckum, who played for the program from 2005-08.

In 2007, Beckham earned first-team All-American and All-Big Ten honors after catching 75 passes for 982 yards and six touchdowns.

The former third-round NFL draft pick of the Giants still holds Wisconsin tight end records for receptions (159) and receiving yards (2,149).

You can read the entire list of inductees from the press release below:

Contact/Follow us @TheBadgersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin news, notes, opinion, and analysis. You can also follow Dillon Graff on Twitter @DillonGraff.

Johnny Davis named University of Wisconsin Male Athlete of the Year

Johnny Davis is going to need a bigger trophy case:

On Wednesday morning, the UW Athletic Department announced that former Wisconsin basketball star Johnny Davis was named the 2021-22 Male Athlete of the Year Award.

As a sophomore, the 6-foot-5, 196-pound guard averaged 19.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.2 steals – helping lead the Badgers to a share of the Big Ten regular-season title.

He was just the fourth Badgers player to finish the season averaging at least 19 points per game in the last 30 years.

The La Crosse, Wisconsin native, was also named the Big Ten Player of the Year, Lute Olson National Player of the Year, and a consensus first-team All-American before declaring for the NBA draft.

Last week, the Washington Wizards selected Davis with the 10th pick in the first round of the 2022 NBA draft.

You can read the entire UW press release below:

Contact/Follow us @TheBadgersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin news, notes, opinion, and analysis. You can also follow Dillon Graff on Twitter @DillonGraff.

Wisconsin partners with Opendorse to launch NIL program for student-athletes

Wisconsin Athletics is partnering with industry leader Opendorse to launch the ‘YouDub’ program, giving student-athletes an opportunity to

Wisconsin Athletics is partnering with industry leader Opendorse to launch the ‘YouDub’ program, giving student-athletes an opportunity to capitalize on their own name, image and likeness.

“College athletics is entering a new era and we are excited to embrace the opportunities that will come with changes in student-athletes’ name, image and likeness rights,” UW Deputy Director of Athletics Chris McIntosh said in a press release. “At our core, we exist to prepare student-athletes. Our approach to preparing them for success in the NIL arena will be no different than our commitment to setting them up for success on the field of play, in the classroom and in life beyond their time at UW. Partnering our outstanding staff with Opendorse, the industry leader, provides our student-athletes with tremendous educational and brand-building resources to grow their opportunities and maximize their potential in terms of NIL.”

The partnership coincides with the ongoing movement to pass legislation to allow college athletes to profit off of their name, image and likeness. The state of Wisconsin is yet to propose such a bill, though it is a fast-growing initiative throughout the country.

Here’s what Wisconsin Athletics had to say about the partnership in a press release yesterday:

Through YouDub, student-athletes will have access to Opendorse Ready, the market-leading NIL education resource providing custom brand value assessments, live consultation sessions with industry leaders and on-demand access to the NIL Masterclass, an education series featuring experts on brand building, monetization and financial literacy from leading experts at Instagram, Twitter, the Players’ Tribune, Overtime and more.

UW student-athletes also will be equipped with Opendorse Social, the brand-building platform utilized by thousands of athletes throughout college and professional sports to provide for easy access to photo and video content and simplified publishing to student-athletes’ social media channels.

Along with Opendorse Monitor, a tool that serves to protect UW student-athletes and their brands, these offerings will enhance the ongoing efforts and programming of UW’s Brand Engagement and Career & Leadership staffs to support and educate student-athletes in areas including communication skills, brand building, financial literacy and entrepreneurship.

“Wisconsin’s standing as a premier academic and athletic institution was incredibly clear throughout the search process that led to this partnership,” Opendorse CEO Blake Lawrence said. “Their team left no stone unturned, refusing to maintain the status quo or ‘check the box.’ The program’s commitment to build a program with a foundation of industry-proven products and resources will benefit Badger student-athletes for years to come. We’re proud to align with another program that puts athletes at its center, with a clear commitment to support and educate them as they embark on the new era.”

All UW student-athletes will have access to live educational sessions and their personal social media and brand value assessment through Opendorse Ready this summer.

Contact/Follow us @TheBadgersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin news, notes, opinion and analysis.

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