Varsity - The Official Digital Magazine of Wisconsin Athletics

Varsity - June 14, 2011

Varsity is the free Official Digital Magazine of Wisconsin Athletics, covering Badgers football, basketball, hockey and more each week.

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BEHIND THE DESK BY DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS BARRY ALVAREZ Another successful season across the board is one for fans to remember Overall, I look for balance in our program. Whenever I’m at booster func- tion or at a speaking engagement, one of the comments that I get about our sports programs is, “You know, you’re pretty good in every- thing at Wisconsin.” That’s the type of year we’ve had, a great year; from our wom- en’s hockey team dominating and winning the national championship to our wrestling team finishing once again in the top 10. People are very impressed, and they want to talk about the total program. Naturally, they also want to talk about football and men’s basketball and how much success we’ve had in those two sports. And I’m quick to tell them that since the 2002-03 season we have been to more bowl games and have more NCAA tournament appearances combined than any- one else in the country. I’ve said this for years: there hasn’t been game in football or basketball where our fans didn’t think we had a chance to compete with our opponent and win. That really says it all. But I’m also smart enough to know that those two revenue- producing sports are the ones that drive the engine that drives the program and we have to be suc- cessful in those two. Not everybody is successful do- ing that and, consequently, they’re not selling out. That puts a lot of strain on your budget and your administration to deal with the situ- ation. Our Badger fans are great. Always have been. They want to be competitive; they want to see a good product on the field or on the court. And I think we’re providing that. Getting to the Rose Bowl again was a crowning achievement. Take a look at the team that Bret Bielema took to Pasadena. His first recruiting class wasn’t ranked very high but we had five players who were finalists for ma- jor national awards. Three of them – Scott Tolzien, Gabe Carimi and J.J. Watt – won the award, too. That speaks volumes for Bret and his coaches as far as picking the right guys through the recruit- ing process and developing them into good players once they get them on campus. Reflecting on the 2010 season, you can’t help but focus on how many players got better and im- proved throughout the year. Think about it? We beat San Jose State by only 13 points at home. How many games did they wind up winning? They went 1-12. We weren’t blowing out any- body early. But as we progressed, the team got better and better. And even when we had a series of key injuries, the players found a way to win. Iowa comes to mind. In my office I’ve got canvas on the wall of Camp Randall Sta- dium and the Kohl Center and it captures all the memories from our wins over No. 1 Ohio State in football and basketball. In either case, I don’t think we’ve ever had a better atmo- sphere. The crowds were electric. When the fans spilled on to the field and court after we won those games, it was just awesome. Every time I walk into my office and I look up at that canvas, it puts a smile on my face.

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