MU 1960, UW 1990

[Tugg Speedman]

I just stumbled across this and thought it worth a post ...

Rick Telender, who in 1994 was a senior writer for SI (now a Sun-Times columnist) wrote this book that year:

From Red Ink to Roses: The Turbulent Transformation of a Big Ten Program
http://www.amazon.com/From-Red-Ink-Roses-Transformation/dp/067174853X

Descriptions of the book:

Telander also weaves in the stories of dozens of Wisconsin athletes, coaches and administrators to trace the changes in the university's athletic department throughout 1991. The year was marked by the department's efforts to cut its budget deficit, an endeavor that included eliminating baseball, fencing and three other sports. In well-written, magazine-style prose, Telander (a senior writer for Sports Illustrated ) puts a human face on the University of Wisconsin's athletic department. And although the year held a number of memorable events, Telander, as it turns out, was too quick off the mark, for in 1993 the football team, which struggled in 1991, went 10-1-1 and won the Rose Bowl.

Here, he examines the workings of the athletic department at the University of Wisconsin, a large, prestigious institution that is attempting to strike a balance between educational goals and winning games. Among the many threads that Telander weaves together are budget cuts, sexual harassment, gender equity, marketing schemes, fund-raising efforts, recruiting adventures, lawsuits, violence, the NCAA, corruption, the tension between major (football and men's basketball) and minor (everything else) sports, and the effects of all of the above on the mental and physical health of the athletes. The result is a detailed picture of big-time college sports.

Its hard to believe that an athletic program in the Big 10 conference was close to bankruptcy in 1990. Lackluster performance on the field and poor fiscal responsibility led the Badgers to the edge of financial ruin.
What turned this program around? It depends on who you ask. Rick Telander (a senior Sports Illustrated writer) lays out the many complexities involved in the decisions made that not only returned Bucky and the UW athletic department to economic solvency, but to the Rose Bowl.

-------------

In all our discussions here I do not recall anyone talking about how big a mess UW athletics were by 1990. losing money, cutting sports, and near financial ruin.  It sounds like they were similar to MU athletic department in the late 1950s.  The only difference is MU never managed a 10-1-1- season and a major bowl bid to turn things around.  So MU dropped football.  Barry Alvarez literally saved UW and without him the entire university might have a completely difference persona.

One time here I commented that in my years at MU and through out the 1980s I remembered UW athletics as a complete joke.  In fact to this day I have a hard time accepting them as a major college power because my formative years recall them being beyond an embarrassment.  This books suggests it was worse than I even imagined.

Can anyone here shed more light on the situation at UW barely 25 years ago?

[keefe]

Wasn't the tenure of Bill Cofield characterized by scandal, shame, and defeat?

[ChicosBailBonds]

I remember it well.  Was a student at the time, had a friend that was going to play on the UW baseball team and ended up playing elsewhere.  We were horrific bad back then, but we still would break out into football cheers during the Wisconsin game and chant "Badger Football" during the MU-UW game.  Shalala decided to put a bunch of money into the department, they hired Alvarez, then UCLA played one of the worst games of football I have ever seen them play (6 turnovers and the Bruins still almost won)...Wisconsin was off and running.

[Eye]

How JJ Stokes didn't totally dominate that game totally boggles my mind 20 years later.

[ChicosBailBonds]

How JJ Stokes didn't totally dominate that game totally boggles my mind 20 years later.

I remind my Bruin friends every year about this time.  They gave legitimacy to a team that didn't really have it and accelerated their growth.  It was awful.  UCLA was a 8 point favorite and should have mopped the turf with them.  Five fumbles, several in the red zone.  It was an awful performance.  UCLA fans selling their tickets left and right made it about 80% Wisconsin fans.  They deserved to lose because of how cocky the fans and the team were.  It amazes me to this day that with 15 seconds left they were at the Wisconsin 18 yard line with a chance to win.  You don't turn the ball over 6 times against anyone of quality and have a chance to win, but that was the deal.  Then Wayne Cook had a mental breakdown and decided to run the ball instead of throwing it away with no timeouts.  It was as if Pat Richter was in the Wiener mobile scripting it. 

[GGGG]

I grew up in Madison.  UW athletics were by and large terrible.  Football games were considered well-attended when they would fill the stadium about 3/4.  Basketball was awful.  Hockey was a national power and played in front of sell-outs, but you can't build an athletic department around hockey.  Frankly the Athletic Department was run like the 1960s by Elroy Hirsch, who was a local legend, but simply a terrible athletic director.

The football coach in the 80s was Dave McClain.  A really good guy and a decent coach who got the Badgers into a couple mid-level bowl games, and believe me this was a BIG deal considering the state of the program.  He died of a heart attack in his office and they installed an interim, who wasn't very good at all.  About this same time, Hirsch decided to retire, and the UW chancellor at the time allowed him not only to hire the new football coach, but the new athletic director as well.  He hired Don Morton as the football coach in a very public search...I know one of the other finalists was Dennis Erickson who was at Wyoming at the time, and I believe Don Nehlen from West Virginia.  Nehlen would lead WVU to the national championship game a few years later and Erickson won national championships at Miami, but was clearly dirty.  Morton came from Tulsa with no experience at the highest levels and was way over his head.

For the athletic director, Hirsh hired Ade Sponberg, who came from North Dakota State (or something like that), and had no clue how to deal with anything.  Football was getting real bad and playing in front of 40,000 people...basketball continued to suck under Steve Yoder...and even hockey was struggling as Bob Johnson left for the NHL.  Sponberg had no real answers as the department was bleeding money.

About this time, Donna Shalala was hired as chancellor.  She understood how important athletics was to a University and fired Sponberg almost immediately, and hired Pat Richter.  Richter, a former UW athlete, was a VP at Oscar Meyer and turned her down a couple times before accepting the position.  People were skeptical about Richter because he had no experience in athletics administration.  One of the first things he did was scrap the baseball program, along with a few other sports.  (And the baseball program was actually semi-competitive at the time - just missing out on the NCAA playoffs the year before.)

He then fired Morton and hired Alvarez and the rest is history.  He also fired Yoder and hired Stu Jackson, who while only there for a couple years, pulled in one of the highest rated recruiting classes in the country and took the Badgers to their first NCAA tournament in something like 40 years.  (This was the same year MU beat Pitino's UK team to get to the Sweet 16.)

So IMO Shalala deserves a great deal of credit for understanding the role of intercollegiate athletics at a place like UW.  Richter deserves a great deal of credit for operating the department under that vision.  Alvarez deserves a great deal of credit for succeeding at the sport most important to the University.

[GGGG]

I remind my Bruin friends every year about this time.  They gave legitimacy to a team that didn't really have it and accelerated their growth.  It was awful.  UCLA was a 8 point favorite and should have mopped the turf with them.  Five fumbles, several in the red zone.  It was an awful performance.  UCLA fans selling their tickets left and right made it about 80% Wisconsin fans.  They deserved to lose because of how cocky the fans and the team were.  It amazes me to this day that with 15 seconds left they were at the Wisconsin 18 yard line with a chance to win.  You don't turn the ball over 6 times against anyone of quality and have a chance to win, but that was the deal.  Then Wayne Cook had a mental breakdown and decided to run the ball instead of throwing it away with no timeouts.  It was as if Pat Richter was in the Wiener mobile scripting it. 

UW also made the Rose Bowl that year under strange circumstances.  After finishing undefeated in non-conference play, they lost early that year to Minnesota in the metrodome.  They then went on a run and beat Michigan at Camp Randall.  (That was the terrible day where fans were crushed when people wanted to rush the field - thankfully no one died.)  The next week they tied Ohio State.  Ohio State went on to lose at Michigan in a game that all they had to do was not-lose to make it to the Rose Bowl.  (I was actually at the BC watching a MU game when the final score was announced, and MU fans cheered the result.)

That set up UW's game against Michigan State a week later that Richter sold to promoters and was played in Japan in order to make some money.  They won of course, and both UW and OSU finished with 9-1-1 records.  Since they tied head to head, it went to the final tie breaker - who hadn't been to Pasadena in the longest time.  Wisconsin.

[injuryBug]

Chicos are you sure you are not mixing up the 1999 UCLA rose Bowl team?  The 1993 team was 8-4 on the year and yes they were favored but they were not a great team.  That game was classic B10 power vs Pac 10 finesse.
My cousin started on the 1993 Rose Bowl team and it was an unreal season to be close to.  They caught a break by getting Mich & OSU at home and not having to play Penn St. 
That UW team was a solid team that never beat themselves.
OSU came to UW ranked #3 in the country.  UW dominated the game.  Had OSU pinned back at the 1.  With Donnie Brady in at CB, cause Messenger was moved to Safety after my cousin cracked some ribs on a punt return, Joey Galloway caught 3 passes to go 99 yards on 3 plays and tie the game.

[GGGG]

Yeah, the '98 UCLA team was actually undefeated headed into the last game of the year and had to travel across the country to Miami to play a game that was delayed due to a hurricane of some sort.  All they had to do was win to go to the first BCS national championship game v. Tennessee.  That was a resurgent Miami team that won the national championship a couple years later, but no way a world-beater.  What Miami exposed in that game with Edgerrin James, is that UCLA could not stop the power run game at all, and Dayne ran all over UCLA in that Rose Bowl.

UCLA losing that game to Miami denied Arizona their first Rose Bowl appearance. 

[ChicosBailBonds]

Chicos are you sure you are not mixing up the 1999 UCLA rose Bowl team?  The 1993 team was 8-4 on the year and yes they were favored but they were not a great team.  That game was classic B10 power vs Pac 10 finesse.
My cousin started on the 1993 Rose Bowl team and it was an unreal season to be close to.  They caught a break by getting Mich & OSU at home and not having to play Penn St. 
That UW team was a solid team that never beat themselves.
OSU came to UW ranked #3 in the country.  UW dominated the game.  Had OSU pinned back at the 1.  With Donnie Brady in at CB, cause Messenger was moved to Safety after my cousin cracked some ribs on a punt return, Joey Galloway caught 3 passes to go 99 yards on 3 plays and tie the game.

You might be right.  I found a website that has past point spreads of past games, but it starts at 1995 so can't find the 1994 spread.  I thought it was 7 or 8, very possible it was lower.  The 93 UCLA team was 8-3 going into that game with one loss to Nebraska 14-13 and another to Cal 27-25.  What was crazy about that team is that all four losses (three regular season and the bowl game) came in the Rose Bowl.  They were 3-4 in Pasadena that year and undefeated on the road.


The '99 UCLA team, that's another one that still gets me riled up.  Favored by 9 points in that game.  Ridiculous.

[muwarrior69]

My time at MU '65-'69 the UW football team if I remember correctly won only one game. They were really bad.

[Tugg Speedman]

My time at MU '65-'69 the UW football team if I remember correctly won only one game. They were really bad.

This reminded me of something I wrote about UW basketball a few years ago ... and I found it!

http://www.muscoop.com/index.php?topic=24378.msg271325#msg271325

Wisconsin NCAA appearances
1947
1994
1997
1999 to date (14 in a row).

From 1947 to 1998:
Last in the B10 = 6 times
9th in the B10 = 11 times
8th in the B10 = 6 times

23 of 51 years they finished 8 to 10.  You could argue that for this 51 year period, they were the worst program in the B10, worse than Northwestern.

I remember the Cofield/Yoder years and they were an absolute embarrassment.  Think the three years of Dukiet times 5.

Since, 1999, they have made 14 straight NCAA's appearances.  11 of them under Bo Ryan (the first three under Bennett and Soderberg).  During Ryan's 11 years, they won the B10 three times, finished second twice and never lower than 4th.

Has any other program been this bad for decades and is now this good?  I cannot think of one.

Props to Bo, he has done a remarkable job.

[mu-rara]

Late 60's, 70's into the 80's football was horrible, but Camp Randall was full.  A large, open air bar.  Stadium security made token effort to keep out carry-in booze.  Copper Grid took in boatloads of cash selling pints of whiskey, brandy and schnaaps.  They had hundreds of cases behind the bar.  This was the era of UW becoming THE Playboy Party School. 

Those full stadiums covered up Elroy's crappity management of the Athletic Department.  McClain came in and started the program headed in the right direction and expectations changed.  Enter Don Morton and the veer offense, 3 wins in 2 years,  attendance in the 40,000s, budget problems, and there you have it.  Shalala had to make big changes, and hiring Richter was a stroke of genius.

[keefe]

...and even hockey was struggling as Bob Johnson left for the NHL.

How did Johnson leaving Madison affect UW?

[GGGG]

How did Johnson leaving Minnesota affect UW?

You mean, leaving Minnesota to become UW's hockey coach?  He was single-handedly responsible for everything Wisconsin hockey became.  They had no program for decades prior to his arrival...no fans...no youth hockey....nothing.

He was a great, innovative coach and a great guy.  You just can't build an athletic department on hockey at a school like Wisconsin.

[Les Nessman]

UW also made the Rose Bowl that year under strange circumstances.  After finishing undefeated in non-conference play, they lost early that year to Minnesota in the metrodome.  They then went on a run and beat Michigan at Camp Randall.  (That was the terrible day where fans were crushed when people wanted to rush the field - thankfully no one died.)  The next week they tied Ohio State.  Ohio State went on to lose at Michigan in a game that all they had to do was not-lose to make it to the Rose Bowl.  (I was actually at the BC watching a MU game when the final score was announced, and MU fans cheered the result.)

That set up UW's game against Michigan State a week later that Richter sold to promoters and was played in Japan in order to make some money.  They won of course, and both UW and OSU finished with 9-1-1 records.  Since they tied head to head, it went to the final tie breaker - who hadn't been to Pasadena in the longest time.  Wisconsin.

Pardon the ignorance here but was that really the final tie-breaker?

[MU82]

Pardon the ignorance here but was that really the final tie-breaker?

Yep, for many, many years.

[jsglow]

This reminded me of something I wrote about UW basketball a few years ago ... and I found it!

http://www.muscoop.com/index.php?topic=24378.msg271325#msg271325

Wisconsin NCAA appearances
1947
1994
1997
1999 to date (14 in a row).

From 1947 to 1998:
Last in the B10 = 6 times
9th in the B10 = 11 times
8th in the B10 = 6 times

23 of 51 years they finished 8 to 10.  You could argue that for this 51 year period, they were the worst program in the B10, worse than Northwestern.

I remember the Cofield/Yoder years and they were an absolute embarrassment.  Think the three years of Dukiet times 5.

Since, 1999, they have made 14 straight NCAA's appearances.  11 of them under Bo Ryan (the first three under Bennett and Soderberg).  During Ryan's 11 years, they won the B10 three times, finished second twice and never lower than 4th.

Has any other program been this bad for decades and is now this good?  I cannot think of one.

Props to Bo, he has done a remarkable job.

Great stuff.  Growing up in Wisconsin it always bothered me that UW absolutely sucked in everything except hockey.  No doubt, Bo has done a wonderful job and kudos to the football team for their success over the past 20+ years.  Those that indicate that Donna's hiring of Pat would seem to represent the inflection point are correct in my mind.

I think it is wonderful that many kids from around the Midwest have UW on their short list.  My daughter very seriously considered it.  It's a fine school and a great city to spend 4 years in.  Good luck in the Rose Bowl.

And it's even more satisfying now when we beat them in hoops! (Gotta watch the Hitler - Vander youtube again.)

[Warrior of Law]

I was at UW in the early 90s, and it was largely due to Barry Alvarez.  He made UW realize you need to spend money to make money.  And the 1993 team was legitimately good.  They had numerous NFL players and they dominated much of the Big Ten (their only loss was @Minnesota due to Darrell Bevell and they gained over 600 yards).

[Norm]

After graduating from Marquette I headed up the road to UW-Madison for grad school. I lived directly across the street from Camp Randall Stadium, and UW had 7-8 home games that year - I woke up each of those Saturday's to the band practicing around 8am. Ughh.

I was there for the last really bad football team under Alvarez and then the team that got them one year away from the Rose Bowl. There was an incident outside of one of the bars where two starting linebackers beat the crap out of a 5'4" kid for supposedly looking at their girlfriends wrong or something like that. Put the kid into the hospital where he was in a come for about a week and had a brain injury afterwards. Their punishment? They couldn't start against Western Illinois the next game. It was also about that time that Alvarez's kid fried the bird in the microwave.

They still weren't very good in basketball then, but I did meet the Fab Five from Michigan after their game at the Fieldhouse because one of my best friends from high school was the walk-on senior captain of that team.

I had season tickets to the hockey team and they still played out at Dane County Coliseum. Those games were pretty fun to attend. We'd grab some beers at one of the bars across the parking lot and walk over 10 minutes before the puck dropped.

I also became friends with a woman in grad school who was an All-American in track and cross country during her undergrad years at UW, and she was best friends with her former teammate Suzy Favor Hamilton, so I had a couple beers with her every once in awhile. I was floored when I read that TSG story about Hamilton and her escapades in Vegas and elsewhere - never would have guessed that back then.

Although I went to both schools, I can't say I'm a big Badger fan at all. Can't stand the basketball team (especially with Bo Ryan) and don't really follow football. UW is a great place to go to school at, but my loyalty to Marquette trumps any Badger leanings I might have had.