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Badgers fans can look back with pride BEHIND THE DESK BARRY ALVAREZ • UW DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS I 've always talked about the importance of tradition, and embracing that tradi- tion. That's why our Legends of Wisconsin Classic at University Ridge is one of my favorite golf outings. Look at all the great athletes who have come through here and gone on to be very success- ful, and you can understand why we want them to keep a bond with the athletic department and university. The Legends Classic is a way for them to come back to Madison and renew some of the friendships they made dur- ing their playing days, while catching up on what's going on around here. Monday's golf outing also gives our donors an opportunity to meet these athletes and rub shoulders with them in a casual setting that includes lunch and dinner at the Ridge. Whether they've gone on to become the best in their sport — or they've gained prominence in other fields — you want your for- mer athletes to feel like they can always come back to campus. You also want them to feel proud of what we're continuing to do here in athletics. In the same respect, you want to make sure they know that we still care about them and what they're do- ing now. After golf on Monday, they'll all come over to my place and 16 » VARSITY JUNE 21, 2012 we'll visit. The feedback that I've received over the years is that they're very appreciative to be asked back. Most of them follow our teams very closely, and our proud of what we've maintained. It's a diverse group, too — covering many different generations and decades of Badger athletics. There's a very fine balance between winning and losing; so you'd better keep that edge and take nothing for granted. I know that I always look forward to seeing some of my former players. Darrell Bevell was the quarterback of our first Rose Bowl team and is now the offensive coordinator in Seattle. I think I've got a very good feeling of what Darrell is going to tell me about Russell Wilson. I remember Darrell telling me before the draft that he was con- cerned about Russell's height. I told him, 'If you want to be a good coach, get this guy. It's pretty simple.'' So many of our former ath- letes have accomplished so much in many different areas. All of them recognize how tough it is to sustain success. I've consis- tently sent that message to our alumni base. Success is not automatic, or guaranteed — even with schools that have more tradition than we have. Take a look at the dips that Michigan had in both basketball and football for three years. Other prominent schools have had the same dips. There's a very fine balance between win- ning and losing; so you'd better keep that edge and take nothing for granted. We can all be proud of what we've achieved here over this past year. There was another trip to the Rose Bowl, a national title in cross country, and another Sweet 16 in basketball. I've had a chance to speak to some different alumni groups this spring and summer and the reception has been very good. People are excited and proud of what we're doing. Now when our fans come on campus in the fall, they will no- tice some changes; mostly they'll notice a lot of construction at Camp Randall Stadium. Everything is going to be a little disjointed while we go through this building phase, but I'm positive that everybody will be happy with the results. That will be the expectation with our teams, too. I don't set the goals for them, but I'm sure they will be set very high. It should be another interesting year.