Wisconsin Badgers

The Wisconsin Badgers are a Big Ten school in the NCAA Division I. They are located at the Madison campus of the University of Wisconsin. The Badgers team colors are cardinal red and white. They were given the name “Badgers” because the original settlers in that area were lead miners who had to burrow like badgers in underground tunnels. The Wisconsin Badgers’ mascot is, of course, a badger named “Buckingham U. Badger,” or “Bucky Badger” for short. He is often picture on logos with an intimidating look on his face, wearing a red turtleneck sweater with the white “W” logo on his chest. Originally, they tried to keep a live badger as a mascot, but the animal quickly proved himself to be too uncontrollable for such a job. The Badgers football team has been one the Big Ten’s best teams since head coach Barry Alvarez was hired in the early 1990s. Under his direction, the Badgers men’s football team won the Big Ten Conference three times and also won the Rose Bowl three times. They have also won the 2005 and 2006 Capital One Bowls. Badgers’ home games are played in the Camp Randall Stadium, the fourth-oldest college football stadium in America. The Wisconsin Badgers jersey for home games has a red shirt with white sleeve trim and white numbers. The away jersey is white with red sleeve trim and numbers. Both uniforms are worn with white pants that have two red stripes running down each pant leg. The Badgers helmet is white and has the red block-letter “W” logo on each side. Several Badgers football players have gone on to play successful careers in the NFL, including players like Travis Beckum, Nick Hayden, and Mark Tauscher, and Joe Thomas. The Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team is also a competitive team. They have played in the Final Four twice - in 1941, they won the national championship, and in 2000 they were defeated by the Michigan State Spartans. The 1995 season marked a turning point in the Badgers basketball program. Coach Dick Bennett brought the team back to life and made it a conference competitor again; current coach Bo Ryan has kept the team near the top of its conference. The Badgers play basketball in the Kohl Center in Madison, WI. The men’s basketball Badgers jerseys come in two colors. The white home uniform has red numbers in the center of each jersey and a red stripe down each leg of the shorts. The away jersey is inverted: a red shirt with white numbers and red shorts with white stripes. Several Wisconsin basketball players have gone on to play in the NBA, including Alondo Tucker, Devin Harris, and Michael Finley.