Varsity is the free Official Digital Magazine of Wisconsin Athletics, covering Badgers football, basketball, hockey and more each week.
Issue link: https://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/i/198000
50 ington said. "By August 2012, BadgerMax had a final product to show to the UW Athletic Department." In addition to its bottled water and newly-developed Protein Boost product, BadgerMax also was ready to offer its sports drink in five varieties: Fruit Punch, Grape, Blue Torrent (blue raspberry), ZeroCalorie Fruit Punch and Zero-Calorie Grape. In particular, Duck and Berns were interested in supplying their product to the Badgers. This required their protein beverage to meet NCAA rules and regulations for nutritional compliance. Essentially, the beverage needed to have a maximum of 30 percent of the calories from protein, which BadgerMax® Protein Boost provides. "Protein-rich recovery drinks are an excellent option for athletes as they generally contain a 4-to-1 or 3-to-1 ratio of carbohydrates and protein," Burrington said. "The combination of carbohydrates and protein equals a better recovery for athletes than just carbohydrates alone, and the isotonic elements provide electrolytes to the athletes." "The BadgerMax partnership was the right thing to do primarily due to the fact that it was in the best interests of our student-athletes," Wisconsin Director of Strength and Conditioning John Dettmann said. "BadgerMax uses all-natural flavors and premium ingredients with a clean label, which is something very unique in the sports beverage market. "BadgerMax has also allowed the athletic department to customize the beverages and has given us and our student-athletes the opportunity to have a say in the final products." After securing Dr. Pepper Snapple Group as a distributor, BadgerMax applied to get the bid for beverage services with Wisconsin Athletics. Prior to the start of the 2013 football season, BadgerMax received the news that they would in fact be the new beverage supplier to the UW Athletic Department. "We're very proud of BadgerMax and its ability to not only provide athletes with an all-natural, protein-rich recovery drink, but also its ability to boost Wisconsin's economy," Berns said. "It's really the triple bottom line here, a win, win, win." "We're extremely happy with our partnership with BadgerMax," UW Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez said. "It's great to be able to use something that was developed on campus by people affiliated with our university. It's a terrific product for our student-athletes, and our fans have been receptive // VARSITY October 24, 2013 to the drinks at our events." BadgerMax is selling its sports drinks and water in all UW athletic facilities and at more than 200 retail locations in Wisconsin. A full list is available at BadgerMax.com. Protein Boost is available exclusively to the student-athletes at this time, but BadgerMax plans to have statewide distribution for all of its products before next spring. • • • • This article was originally published by the Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research. The Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research and University of Wisconsin-Madison, are dedicated to supporting the U.S. dairy industry through innovative research, technical support, training and education. "We're extremely happy with our partnership with BadgerMax®," Alvarez said. "It's great to be able to use something that was developed on campus by people affiliated with our university."