Wisconsin Athletics Annual Report

2011-12 Wisconsin Athletics Annual Report

Wisconsin Athletics Annual Report

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From the desk of Barry Alvarez T hank you. On behalf of our more than 800 student-athletes and all of our coaches and staff, I want to thank all of our loyal Badger fans. With the 2011-12 academic and athletic year in the books and the 2012-13 school year just ahead of us, it feels like the right time to express our gratitude. There were a number of things Badger fans can be proud of from last year. We added to our trophy case when the men's cross country team, long dominant in the Big Ten Conference, captured its fifth NCAA title. Our women's hockey team continued its magnificent stretch of success, winning the WCHA title and advancing to the NCAA championship game for the sixth time in seven years. We became just the second school in history to earn a trip to a BCS game in football and advance to the Sweet 16 in men's basketball in successive seasons. Coach Bielema's team won the inaugural Big Ten Football Champion- ship game in thrilling fashion for its second-straight conference title, while Coach Ryan's squad once again exceeded expectations in finishing a game out of first place in the Big Ten and advancing to the NCAA's second weekend. In one of the most dramatic moments of the year, our men's track and field team captured the Big Ten Outdoor title in the final race of the three-day event. It was the culmination to a great showcase of our staff, facilities and the city of Madison as we hosted what our longtime coach Ed Nuttycombe called one of the greatest meets in Big Ten history. In all, 16 of our teams advanced to postseason play. But I am just as proud of our work off the field. We had 164 student-athletes earn academic all-conference honors. As a whole, our student-athletes combined for a school- record 3.02 cumulative GPA for the year, a testament to their dedication in the classroom. With all of their success on the field and in the classroom, our student- athletes found substantial time to give back to the community. More than 70 percent of them performed some sort of community service, totaling more than 3,650 hours. Every year it seems that our student-athletes give us new reasons to be proud of them. I never want to take that for granted and I want to celebrate them and their efforts in a fitting manner. The pages of this annual report do just that. Another element present in the following pages is evidence of the tre- mendous support of our fans, donors and ticket holders. We have a number of capital projects nearing completion or in the works, including the magnificent La Bahn Arena, which will open in October; the Student-Athlete Performance Center, which will provide our student-athletes with state-of-the-art support; the softball training center; and the golf training center. To all of you who have helped make these projects possible, again I say thanks. On, Wisconsin! Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez

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