THE OFFICIAL ONLINE MAGAZINE OF WISCONSIN ATHLETICS DECEMBER 14, 2010 • VOL. 1 NO. 2 INSIDE: BADGERING ... MIKE TAYLOR § THIS WEEK IN BADGER HISTORY § ROSE BOWL PREPARATIONS UNDERWAY Varsity is published weekly by: Wisconsin Athletic Communications Kellner Hall, 1440 Monroe St., Madison, WI 53711 IN THIS ISSUE Subscribe to Varsity Whirlwind week has us looking ahead 4 Wrestling 24 UW off to first 5-0 start since 2006-07 Director of Athletic Communications By the Numbers 5 Brian Lucas | Email Women’s Basketball 26 Step Up To The Mike 6 Badgers head to Wyoming Editor - Varsity Mike Lucas answers fans’ questions Brian Mason | Email Men’s Hockey 27 Question of the Week 8 Sweep of Bemidji sends Badgers to break Lead Writer How do the Badgers study for finals? Mike Lucas | Email Women’s Hockey 28 Badgering ... Mike Taylor 10 Badgers close calendar year with wins Columnist Matt Lepay COVER STORY This Week in Badger History 30 Hauling in the Hardware 12-18 Contributors A coast-to-coast journey for awards season Badgers Give Back 31 Karl Anderson | Email Student-athletes’ Toys for Tots drive a success Paul Capobianco | Email State supremacy 20-21 Mandy Hansen | Email Rivalry sweep has men’s hoops riding high The Voice with Matt Lepay 33 Patrick Herb | Email Pausing to reflect on UW’s year to date Allison Metcalf | Email Pasadena Smith’s ‘second home’ 22 Football’s Devin Smith knows site well Diane Nordstrom | Email Photography David Stluka / Greg Anderson / Greg Dixon Gene Boyers / Edward Brown / Brian Lucas Problems or Accessibility Issues? Email: [email protected] © 2010 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. All rights reserved worldwide. GOOD AS GOLD Freshman guard Josh Gasser walks toward the Badgers’ bench after forcing a late turnover that helped ice UW’s 69-64 win over Marquette on Saturday. (David Stluka photo) IN THIS ISSUE Wrestling 24 UW off to first 5-0 start since 2006-07 Women’s Basketball 26 Badgers head to Wyoming Men’s Hockey 27 Sweep of Bemidji sends Badgers to break Women’s Hockey 28 Badgers close calendar year with wins This Week in Badger History 30 Badgers Give Back 31 Student-athletes’ Toys for Tots drive a success The Voice with Matt Lepay 33 Pausing to reflect on UW’s year to date A whirlwind week at Wisconsin has us looking ahead Anyone else excited for Jan. 1? The preparations for the Rose Bowl are kicking up to high gear as the hours countdown to game day. Before we get there, though, there was a little time last week to enjoy some of the fruits of the football team’s labor as a number of players traversed the country on the famous award banquet tour. Some of the biggest names in college football were honored at different events last week and the Badgers were right in the middle of most of it. I was lucky enough to tag along on a couple of the trips and wrote a first-hand account of our adventures inside (pages 12-18). All of the Rose Bowl talk has conjured memories of past trips to Pasadena. One guy who knows plenty about Southern California on Jan. 1 is former Badger Pat Richter. Richter played in one Rose Bowl and was the UW’s Director of Athletics when the Badgers made three trips to Pasadena under Barry Alvarez. This week also marks the anniversary of his hiring as Wisconsin A.D. (page 30). The men’s hoops team had a big week as well, getting a tough road win at Marquette and beating Green Bay at home two days later to complete a sweep of the in-state Division I teams for the first time since 2006 (page 20). Both hockey teams entered the semester break on a good note, winning their four games over the weekend by a combined score of 17-3 (pages 27-28). The upcoming week is a little light on events (the women’s basketball team plays at Wyoming on Wednesday) as final exams take center stage. Find out how some UW student-athletes attack finals week (page 8). You may have noticed some changes from last week’s edition. We will continue to try and improve with each issue. Please let us know your thoughts. All our contact info can be found on page. 2. - Brian Lucas, Director of Athletic Communications BY THE NUMBERS 14 30 Women’s Hockey | Senior Meghan Duggan is riding a Men’s Basketball | Consecutive home games the career-best 14-game point streak after leading Wiscon- Badgers have held their opponent to fewer than 70 sin with six points on a goal and five assists during the points — excluding overtime games — the longest ac- Badgers’ series against St. Cloud State. tive streak in the nation. Ohio State’s 26 straight games holding opponents under 70 ranks second. 18 Men’s Hockey | Wisconsin can boast a total of 18 5 former Badgers currently listed on the active rosters of Wrestling | With a win over Northern Iowa last Sat- NHL teams, more than any other college program in urday, the Badgers improved their record to 5-0. That the nation. marks the first time the team has started a season unbeaten in its first five dual meets since the 2006-07 season. STEP UP TO THE MIKE WITH MIKE LUCAS ML: The possibility exists. John Will John Clay go pro after this before the Tar Heels got the lead on Clay needs 64 yards and Montee season? a 14-0 run. But the UW didn’t fade Ball needs 136 to join James White - Jason Kowalski and closed within one point of tying who has already rushed for 1,029 the game three times before finally yards. Quarterback Scott Tolzien ML: Clay, J.J. Watt and Nick Toon losing. Before you can win it all, you is averaging 191.7 yards per game each have to make a tough deci- have to get to a Final Four, which through the air. He needs 200 to sion. Based on Clay’s age – he will is the challenge now for Wiscon- reach 2,500. Nevada is the first and be 23 years old on Jan. 4 – he may sin. What may bode well for Bucky Each week, Mike Lucas, the radio only school to have three 1,000- have the clearest choice. Running someday is the script that Butler color commentator for Badger yard rushers in the same season. backs have a very short shelf life. wrote and followed to the very end football and men’s basketball and In 2009, Luke Lippincott, Vaia Taua The variable for all three is the CBA, – to the very final shot before falling UWBadgers.com Insider, aswers and quarterback Colin Kaeper- the Collective Bargaining Agree- short of a national crown. questions from fans about nick all rushed for over 1,000 in a ment. If Watt is projected to be a Wisconsin Athletics. This week’s ground-hugging offense that aver- first-round draft choice, it will be dif- I’m a UW student and was one questions came via Facebook. aged 344.9 per game. ficult for him to return for his senior of the lucky ones to get tickets year. On paper, Toon must weigh for me and one of my friends. How do you feel about How do the Badger football the advantages and disadvantages What do you think of the Nebraska coming to the Big and basketball programs stack of leaving early, particularly since he scalping of student Rose Bowl Ten next year? up with some of the other elite didn’t post “first-round’ numbers tickets? two-sport schools in the - Joe Gruber because of injuries. With the gradu- - Bryan Peake nation? ation losses of Lance Kendricks, ML: Terrific addition for football. The - Tom Fauk Isaac Anderson and David Gilreath, ML: To each his own. Do I like the conference now has four of the top you could see where Toon would process, no. Do I like the mindset, six winningest programs of all-time ML: Wisconsin ranks among the have a chance to enhance his mar- no. Do I like seeing a half-empty in Michigan (884-309-38), Nebraska best of the best. The usual sus- ketability by returning. North end zone midway through (837-344-41), Ohio State (830-309- pects include (in no particular the first quarter of most games, no. 53) and Penn State (819-356-43). order) Ohio State, Florida, Texas, Last year, Clark Kellogg said But I’m not about to pass judge- The Cornhuskers seem like a natu- Oklahoma, Boston College, Pitt, he thought Bo Ryan will one ment on others since my generation ral fit with their passionate fan base Tennessee, West Virginia. Any such day win a national champi- was not flawless, either. Be advised: and tradition. The men’s basketball list can vary from year to year. Note onship at Wisconsin. Your scalping is a dirty word to anyone program, meanwhile, may be on the the BCS status (justified or not) of thoughts? who suffered the indignity of the same competitive level as the Wol- UConn football to go along with an - Adrian Klasen 1994 Rose Bowl ticket scam. verines and Nittany Lions – average established hoops program. Ditto at to below average, and overshad- Michigan State, where Mark Danto- ML: Besides good players, you owed by football. nio has a Big Ten co-champion and obviously need good timing, and Tom Izzo might have the makings of the luck of the draw. Not much was Is there a real chance that another Final Four team.