Nice natinonal attention

This is a really nice article from ESPN.com last week showcasing Wisconsin's athletics. The article was written about last weekend, when it was homecoming and the hockey team opened at home.

It's a really good article and a good homage to Wisconsin athletics. If you want to get an idea of what it's like in Madison, take the 5 minutes to read this.

There was also a sidebar with a link to this article, coverage of the hockey games themselves. Nice to see college hockey, at UW specifically, get some press.

Some highlights (I admitably got carried away with the highlights):

Kickoff between the host Badgers and border rival Minnesota is still nearly three hours away. On the line are bragging rights in the most-played series in Division I-A (116 games and counting) and a not-so-little wooden trophy known as Paul Bunyan's Axe.

But it's more than that: This picturesque campus, the centerpiece of Wisconsin's capital city, will host six sporting events over three days.

It's Homecoming in Madison. And it might be the perfect college sports weekend.

...

Take a 10-minute walk down Dayton Street and you'll arrive at the Kohl Center, a $76 million state-of-the-art building that is the home of the Wisconsin basketball and hockey teams.

As the hockey team prepared to play North Dakota, the nearly 15,000 who would be in attendance for the home opener were just as anxious for what would happen before the puck was dropped as they were for the latest renewal of one of the WCHA's best rivalries.

Wisconsin, the No. 2-ranked team in the country, celebrated its 2006 national championship one final time when it unveiled the latest championship banner.

...

At the opposite end of the shiny glass and steel superstructure spectrum is the Wisconsin Field House, home of the Badgers' volleyball and wrestling teams.

Opened in 1930 and adjacent to the south end of Camp Randall, the cream-colored brick building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

...

"Playing in the Field House is one of the greatest parts of Badger volleyball," head coach Pete Waite said. "The size of our crowds and the history of the building are known nationwide. The Field House and the fans are two of the major reasons that top recruits say they want to play for Wisconsin."

...

Wisconsin is averaging 4,341 fans per match at the Field House, which ranks second nationally behind Hawaii.

It should be noted that there are hundreds of Division I men's basketball teams that don't average 4,300 fans.

...

It's barely 7:30 Saturday morning, but most of the Wisconsin men's basketball players are already dressed and ready 15 minutes early for a team meeting that will mark the official start of practice for the 2006-07 season.

One of the first players out of the dressing area is the Badgers' all-everything forward, Alando Tucker. The senior from Lockport, Ill., is a leading candidate for Big Ten Player of the Year and should show up on several All-America teams.

...

In his five years in Madison, Ryan's teams have won at least 19 games a season, including a school-record 25 wins in back-to-back seasons (2003-04 and 2004-05). But the Badgers are coming off of what some have described as a disappointing 19-win season -- which included the first winless postseason in Ryan's tenure.

When 19 wins and an NCAA Tournament appearance are viewed as negatives, the expectations surrounding this program have clearly changed. ...

Most preseason publications predict the Badgers to finish at or near the top of the Big Ten and also have them well into the upper half of the national top 25.

That helps to explain why Wisconsin's sellout streak will hit 71 games this season.

...

The highlight of homecoming weekend centered around football, and the centerpiece of the Badgers' football program is venerable Camp Randall Stadium.

Built in 1917, and originally a training ground for Civil War soldiers, it's the fourth oldest college-owned stadium. It recently received a nearly $110 million renovation, giving it a perfect blend of history and modern amenities...

Since 2004, Wisconsin is a Big Ten best 15-1 at home, with the only loss coming last season versus Iowa in Alvarez's final home game. ..

The easy win improved Wisconsin to 6-1 (3-1 Big Ten) and made the Badgers bowl-eligible on the earliest date in school history.