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Former Badger hockey star, Rob Andringa passes away

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Rob Andringa – Photo UW Sports

Madison native and former Wisconsin Badger hockey standout Rob Andringa passed away on Friday after a long battle with stage 4 colon cancer.  He was 51.

Andringa played in a program-record 179 games from 1987-’91.  He finished seventh on the all-time list for assists by a Badger defenseman with 88.  Andringa was 10th  all-time in points for a UW defenseman with 103.

Andringa helped UW win the 1990 NCAA title under Jeff Sauer and later served as an analyst on both radio and television broadcasts for Wisconsin men’s hockey.  He partnered with Brian Posick on WIBA Radio in Madison to call the three overtime win (1-0) over Cornell in the 2006 NCAA Regional in Green [Read more…]

Badger football adds 4-star tight end

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Wisconsin football is adding a four-star recruit from Ohio for 2021.  Tight end Jack Pugh announced his commitment on Memorial Day to play for the Badgers.

Push also had offers from Michigan, Penn State, Indiana among others.  His older brother Trey is a tight end at Northwestern.

The 6’5 Pugh focused on basketball during his first two years of high school before joining the football team last fall.  But despite the lack of experience, Pugh received nearly two dozen offers.

UW  now has 11 known commitments for the 2021 class, although Pugh is the first tight end.

Fravert, Gard honored by WBCA

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Adam Fravert & Jeff Gard – Photo Courtesy of the WIAC & WBCA

University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh’s Adam Fravert has been selected the NCAA Division III Public School Men’s Player of the Year, while UW-Platteville head coach Jeff Gard was tabbed the NCAA Division II-III Men’s Coach of the Year by the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) for the 2019-20 season.

Fravert, the WIAC Co-Player of the year, led the conference with 8.8 rebounds a game and ranked third in scoring at 18.4 points a game.  Fravert started all 29 games for the Titans, scoring in double figures 27 times.  He wrapped up his 115-game career ranked second in program history with 158 blocks, third with 802 rebounds, fourth with 312 assists and 11th with 1,459 points.

Gard, the WIAC Coach of the Year, led the Pioneers to the regular-season conference title for the 21st time in program history.  UW-Platteville also made its third straight NCAA appearance – and 13th overall – and recorded 23 wins, which are the second most for the program in the last 21 years.

Marquette’s Markus Howard captured the WBCA Division 1 Player of the Year.  Wisconsin coach Greg Gard received the top coaching honor in Division 1 and Gard’s staff of Alando Tucker, Joe Krabbenhoft, Dean Oliver and Howard Moore captured staff of the year honors.

 

Caufield named Big Ten men’s hockey Freshman of the Year

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Cole Caufield – Photo Courtesy of UW Athletics

Wisconsin men’s hockey standout Cole Caufield was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year on Monday.  Caufield and defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk were named first-team All-Big Ten, and forward Roman Ahcan and defenseman K’Andre Miller were named to the honorable mention team for men’s hockey.

Caufield, who won the Big Ten scoring title with 24 points in Big Ten play, was also named to the All-Freshman Team.

The 15th overall pick by the Montreal Canadians in the 2019 NHL Draft, Caufield led the Badgers and the Big Ten in all games, and shared the national lead among freshmen with 19 goals, while leading the Badgers and ranking second among Big Ten players with 36 overall points.  His 36 points shared third in [Read more…]

Two Badgers selected in women’s hockey draft

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The Wisconsin women’s hockey duo of Presley Norby and Maddie Rowe were selected by the Minnesota Whitecaps in the 2020 National Women’s Hockey League Draft on Wednesday night.

Norby was selected by the Whitecaps in the third round, while Rowe went in round five.

Norby ended her Badger career with 94 points in 153 games and tallied at least 20 points in each of her four seasons in Madison.  Ten of her 38 career goals were game-winning scores.  She helped the Badgers win their fifth NCAA title in 2019.

A River Falls, Wisconsin native, Rowe was a versatile player in the Badgers lineup, splitting time between forward and defense her first two seasons before spending her final two years on defense.  Rowe recorded 30 points during her Badger career and a +50 plus/minus rating.  She tallied a career best 19 points during her sophomore season.

Wisconsin’s Taylor goes to Indianapolis in Round 2 of NFL Draft

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Jonathan Taylor

Two-time Doak Walker award winner Jonathan Taylor is the third running back off the board in the 2020 NFL Draft.  The former Wisconsin Badger was selected by the Indianapolis Colts with the ninth pick in the second round, 41st overall.  The Colts traded up to select Taylor, sending a fourth round pick to Cleveland for the rights to the selection.

Taylor became the first FBS player to rush for at least 6,000 yards in just three seasons.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire of LSU was the first running back off the board, with the final pick of the first round to the Kansas City Chiefs.  The Detroit Lions made De’Andre Swift of Georgia the second running back off the board with the 3rd pick in round two, 35th overall.

Taylor averaged 6.3 yards per carry last season, racking up 2,003 yards and 21 touchdowns.  For the first time in his career, Taylor became a part of the Badgers passing game out of the backfield, catching 26 passes for 252 yards and five touchdowns.

Taylor finished his career in Madison with 6,174 yards and 50 rushing touchdowns in his three seasons.

Wisconsin’s Baun had diluted test sample at Scouting Combine

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Zach Baun

Former Wisconsin Badger linebacker Zach Baun has informed all 32 NFL teams that he had a diluted urine sample at the NFL Scouting Combine in February.  ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported, it’s a red flag as it pertains to league drug testing mechanisms.

Schefter said a diluted sample doesn’t prove the presence of a banned substance, it typically constitutes a failed test.

Under the NFL’s previous collective bargaining agreement, the diluted sample would have counted as a strike against Baun, but Schefter noted it will not be under the newly approved CBA.  It likely means that Baun’s draft status will not be affected.  The new CBA puts weight on treatment more than punishment.

Baun reportedly attributed the finding to drinking too much water for weigh-in purposes, attempting to drive up his weight to impress talent evaluators.

Baun is projected to be selected late in the first round or early in the second round of the NFL Draft, which starts a week from Thursday.  The former Brown Deer High School star registered 12 1/2 sacks and 19 1/2 tackles for loss last season.  He was named first-team all-Big Ten and a second team All-American by the Associated Press following last season.

Badgers add running back to 2021 class

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The Wisconsin football team has secured a 10th oral commitment for their 2021 recruiting class.

Antwan Roberts is a 6’1, 190 pound running back from Pope John Paul II High School in Tennessee, announced on Twitter Tuesday that he had committed to the Badgers 2021 class.

Roberts picked the Badgers over Missouri, Vanderbilt, Memphis, Louisville, Duke, Kentucky and Cincinnati.  He is the 10th known commitment for the 2021 class and the third running back.  Verona running back Jackson Acker and Loyal Crawford of Eau Claire Memorial are the other two 2021 commits.

The Badgers have relied heavily on Jonathan Taylor over the last three seasons.  They had just one running back in the 2020 class, Jalen Berger from New Jersey.

 

Former Badger women’s star to coach men’s team (AUDIO)

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Former Wisconsin Badger and WNBA guard Tamara Moore has been hired as the men’s head basketball coach at Mesabi Range Junior College in Virginia, Minnesota.  Moore becomes the only female head coach of a men’s collegiate team in the entire country.

The 40-year-old Moore played for the Badgers from 1998-2002, finishing her career as UW’s leader in assists (554) and steals (353).  She’s UW’s 7th all-time leading scorer.  Moore was inducted into the UW Hall of Fame in 2017.

Moore was drafted by the Miami Sol with the 15th pick in the WNBA draft and played in the league from 2002 to 2007 for seven different teams.

Moore spoke with WCCO Radio in Minneapolis.

AUDIO: Tamara Moore says playing at Wisconsin and the WNBA has her ready :14

AUDIO: Moore says she’s influenced by 8 female assistants in the NBA :21

AUDIO: Moore says the attention has been crazy :09

Wisconsin not allowing senior spring-sport athletes an extra year of eligibility (AUDIO)

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Wisconsin Athletic Director Barry Alvarez

The University of Wisconsin will not be allowing senior spring-sport athletes an extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19 closing down their seasons early.

On his monthly radio show Wednesday night on the Badger Sports Network at Learfield IMG College, UW athletic director Barry Alvarez said the NCAA overreacted in restoring a year of eligibility to spring sports students amid the coronavirus-related shutdown.

The university issued a statement on Thursday afternoon and it said, “The NCAA Division I Council’s vote last month to allow institutions to provide an additional season of competition and extend the period of eligibility for spring-sport student-athletes comes at a time of unprecedented uncertainty in college athletics.  UW Athletics places tremendous emphasis on its student-athletes earning an undergraduate degree and having a great competitive experience.  In the case of the UW spring student-athletes to which the NCAA’s waiver would apply, a substantial percentage of the student-athletes are scheduled to earn their degrees before next spring.  In spite of today’s [Read more…]