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Badgers add to non-conference football schedule

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The University of Wisconsin has added another solid opponent to its future non-conference football schedule, reaching a agreement to play Utah in 2028 and 2033.

The Badgers will host the Utes on Sept. 16, 2028 and play in Salt Lake City on Sept. 10, 2033.

In 16 seasons, Coach Kyle Whittingham has posted a 134-66 overall record, 80-54 in league play.

Besides Utah, the Badgers will face Notre Dame this fall, then have home-and-home non-conference series against Washington State, Alabama, Pittsburgh, UCLA and Virginia Tech.

Wisconsin Volleyball falls short in NCAA Semifinals (AUDIO)

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Kelly Sheffield (File Photo)

The top-ranked Wisconsin women’s volleyball season came to an end on Thursday night with a 3-set loss to Texas in the semifinals of the NCAA Final 4 in Omaha.

The Badgers led the first set 20-16 before the 5th-ranked Longhorns rallied for a 26-24 victory.

Texas (27-1) took the second set 25-19 and built an early 8-2 lead in the third set before Wisconsin mounted an attack, only to fall short 25-23.

All-American Logan Eggleston had a match-high 17 kills for the Longhorns, who advanced to play 2nd ranked Kentucky in Saturday night’s title match.

Freshman Devyn Robinson had a team-high 14 kills for the Badgers, who finished 18-1.

Wisconsin was trying to reach the national championship match for the third time in coach Kelly Sheffield’s eight seasons and fourth time in program history, but fell short.

AUDIO: Sydney Hilley says all things considered, they had a heck of a season :21

AUDIO: Coach Kelly Sheffield on falling short of their ultimate goal :18

AUDIO: Kelly Sheffield said there’s nothing he can say to take the pain away :14

Wisconsin Volleyball team back in NCAA National Semifinals (AUDIO)

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Molly Haggerty

For the second straight year, the Wisconsin volleyball team will compete in the NCAA National Semifinals.  The Badgers (15-0) advanced with a 30-28, 18-25, 25-22, 18-25, 15-12 win over eighth-seeded Florida on Monday night from the CHI Health Center Arena in Omaha, Nebraska.

Redshirt senior Molly Haggerty led Wisconsin with 17 kills while Dana Rettke had 16 and Grace Loberg 10.

The Badgers had been forced to go five sets all season long, but they were put to the challenge by the Gators on Monday night.

Wisconsin hit a season-low .153 (59 kills – 30 errors – 189 attempts) against the Gators that hit .170 (63-31-188).

The Badgers were out-blocked 12-9, marking just the second time this season they have been out-blocked.  Freshman Devyn Robinson recorded a career-high six blocks to lead UW. [Read more…]

Badger women’s soccer advances to Big Ten title game

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For the second time in three weeks, the Wisconsin women’s soccer team took down No. 22 Rutgers, earning a 2-1 win in Thurday’s semifinals of the 2020-21 Big Ten Women’s Soccer Tournament at Jeffrey Field in University Park, Pennsylvania.

Senior Lauren Rice and sophomore Emma Jaskaniec scored second-half goals for the Badgers (7-3-3) to propel UW to their first Big Ten tournament title game appearance since 2014.

UW improved to 6-1-2 all-time against Rutgers.  Thursday’s win was the Badgers’ second over a ranked team this year.

Wisconsin will face Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament title game on Sunday at 11 a.m. CT.  The game, which is a rematch of the 2014 Big Ten title game that UW won, can be seen live on the Big Ten Network.

Wisconsin volleyball advances to eighth-straight NCAA Sweet 16

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Despite being tested in the second set, the No. 1-seed Wisconsin volleyball team swept Weber State in the second round of the NCAA Championship on Thursday night at the CHI Health Center Convention Center in Omaha, Nebraska.

Wisconsin (16-0) won its first tournament match with a 25-17, 25-19, 25-15 sweep of the Wildcats (19-2) to remain undefeated on the season.

As a team, the Badgers hit .408 (45-4-98), marking the third time this season hitting over .400, as Sydney Hilley put up 37 assists.  Weber State hit just .175 (36-16-114).

Wisconsin’s defense outblocked the Wildcats 11-4 behind a season-high nine blocks from Danielle Hart.  Devyn Robinson added a career-high five stuffs.

The Badgers advance to their eighth-straight NCAA Sweet 16 under head coach Kelly Sheffield.  Wisconsin will be making its 18th overall regional appearance in 24 tournament appearances.  UW improves to 52-23 all-time in NCAA tournament appearances with Thursday nights win.

The Badgers will play the winner of UCLA and BYU, which kicks off at 9:30 p.m. Thursday evening, either on Saturday or Sunday in the regional semifinals.

 

Davison to return to Badgers next season

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Brad Davison (Photo by David Stluka)

At least one veteran player will be returning to the Wisconsin Badger men’s basketball team next season.

Guard Brad Davison announced on Twitter on Wednesday that he plans to return to Wisconsin for his final season, taking advantage of the NCAA’s decision that athletes who competed in their sport during the 2020-21 academic year could so so without losing a season of eligibility.

Davison has started 124 of 218 games during his first four seasons and averaged 10 points and 3.5 rebounds a game last season.

“After taking some time to reflect, there is no place I would rather be than in Madison,” said Davison.

“Being a Badger is a privilege.  I am grateful for one last ride with my coaches and teammates this upcoming season!”

Teammate D’Mitrik Trice decided not to return for an extra season and Trevor Anderson, who originally started his collegiate career at Green Bay, has decided to transfer to Valparaiso for his final season.

 

Alvarez finalizes retirement plans from UW (AUDIO)

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Barry Alvarez

Barry Alvarez announced his retirement during a celebration in Madison on Tuesday, making official what had been reported by various media outlets in the past two weeks.

Alvarez has been at the University of Wisconsin for nearly 32 years, including the final 18 as the school’s Director of Athletics and will officially retire on June 30, 2021.

Under his watch, Wisconsin produced 16 National Championship teams and 74 conference regular-season or tournament crowns.  In 2017-18, the 74-year-old Alvarez captured Under Armour Athletic Director of the Year honors.

His impact goes beyond the playing field too.  Alvarez oversaw numerous capital projects and inspired donors to contribute more than $150 million over the past 10 years.  During his tenure, UW Athletics’ endowment to support student-athlete scholarships more than doubled and rose to one of the largest in the Big Ten. [Read more…]

UW Volleyball team awarded the top overall seed in NCAA Tournament

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The Wisconsin women’s volleyball team has been ranked number-one in the country all season long.  Sunday, for the first time in program history, the Badgers earned the top overall seed for the NCAA Tournament.

The tournament was reduced from 64 to 48 teams, giving the top 16 seeds first-round byes.  UW (15-0) gets a first-round bye and will open against either Bowling Green 922-1) or Weber State (18-1) at 6 p.m. on April 15 in Omaha.  Bowling Green and Weber State will meet in the first round at 6 p.m. on April 14.

Five other Big Ten teams were seeded in the top 16.  Minnesota at number-three, Nebraska 5th, Purdue 7th, Ohio State 9th and Penn State 13th.

The Badgers have only lost three sets this season, but they’ve played only three matches since Feb. 22, due to COVID-19 issues [Read more…]

Caufield signs with Montreal Canadiens

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It didn’t take long for Wisconsin sophomore forward Cole Caufield to take the next step.  Just over 24-hours after the Badgers fell to Bemidji State 6-3 in the NCAA’s East Regional opener, the nations leading scorer in goals and points announced he would forego his final two years of collegiate eligibility after signing a three-year, entry-level contract with the Montreal Canadiens.

Caufield was selected 15th overall in the 2019 NHL draft and helped the Badgers win the Big Ten regular-season title with his second straight Big Ten scoring title.  He also helped the Badgers reach the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2014.

The Big Ten Player of the Year and Hobey Baker top-10 finalist leads the country with 30 goals and 52 points in 31 games.  He holds a 12-goal advantage over the next closes goal scorer.  He also became the first Badgers since 1990 to tally 30 goals in a season.

Caufield finished out his collegiate career for the Badgers with 11 goals in a six-game goal streak.  He also wrapped up his career with a nine-game point streak that included 13 goals and 19 points.

In addition to his collegiate accolades, Caufield served as an alternate captain for Team USA to help the team capture gold at the 2021 World Junior Championship.

Caufield is expected to join the AHL’s Laval Rockets to start his professional career following a required quarantine period.

Wisconsin A.D. Alvarez expected to announce retirement soon

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Barry Alvarez

University of Wisconsin Barry Alvarez is expected to retire as the schools athletic director.  He’s served in that capacity since 2006 after first coming to Wisconsin in 1990 as the university’s head football coach.

Alvarez went 118-73-4 as head coach at UW from 1990 through 2005, leading the Badgers to three Big Ten titles and three Rose Bowl championships.  He held the dual role of head coach and A.D. from April 1, 2004 through Jan. 2, 2006.

According to Jeff Potrykus of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Alvarez is expected to make his retirement official in the next couple of weeks.  He turned 74 in December.

Chris McIntosh has been the school’s deputy athletic director since July of 2017 and was being groomed as Alvarez’ successor.  But [Read more…]