Sports
New Ownership
Bret Bielema puts his stamp on the UW football program.
There’s a little Methodist church about a mile and a half down the road from the farmhouse where Bret Bielema grew up, outside of Prophetstown, Illinois. On Sunday mornings, pastor Dan Swenson diagrammed plays — plays for life — from the pulpit.
It’s a place where Bielema, who this fall succeeds Barry Alvarez as Wisconsin’s head football coach, absorbed Swenson’s teachings about morals, principles, and ownership.
Those lessons will be evident as Bielema enters his first season as the man in charge of Wisconsin’s football program. The thirty-six-year-old coach, who spent the past two seasons as Alvarez’s defensive coordinator, is sure to be second-guessed and scrutinized like no other coach in UW history. He will need to take ownership of a program that bears the unmistakable signature of Alvarez, the UW’s most successful coach and now athletic director.
As he readies himself and his team for that challenge, Bielema recalls one of Swenson’s sermons.
There’s a little Methodist church about a mile and a half down the road from the farmhouse where Bret Bielema grew up, outside of Prophetstown, Illinois. On Sunday mornings, pastor Dan Swenson diagrammed plays — plays for life — from the pulpit.
It’s a place where Bielema, who this fall succeeds Barry Alvarez as Wisconsin’s head football coach, absorbed Swenson’s teachings about morals, principles, and ownership.
Those lessons will be evident as Bielema enters his first season as the man in charge of Wisconsin’s football program. The thirty-six-year-old coach, who spent the past two seasons as Alvarez’s defensive coordinator, is sure to be second-guessed and scrutinized like no other coach in UW history. He will need to take ownership of a program that bears the unmistakable signature of Alvarez, the UW’s most successful coach and now athletic director.
As he readies himself and his team for that challenge, Bielema recalls one of Swenson’s sermons.
“Pastor Swenson said, ‘The one thing you are guaranteed in life is your name. You have to take ownership of that,’” Bielema says. “Kids who are eighteen to twenty-two have not been put in an ownership position. They don’t know what it’s about. They might own a pair of sneakers. They’ve never worked to gain ownership of something important. My message is, we own one thing commonly: we’re the Wisconsin football team. Individually, they are [seniors] Joe Thomas, John Stocco, and Mark Zalewski — but what they do will build value in that name.”
To underscore that interconnection, Bielema plans to give each graduating player a white brick, emblazoned with a red motion W and a personal message from the coach. The bricks are symbolic of a legacy under construction, with each player adding a piece.
It’s just one of many ways that Bielema is making his mark on the UW program. He has surrounded himself with several new assistant coaches and has made connections with recruits and high-school coaches. By all signs, he’s ready to tackle the high expectations of the Badger faithful.
“Bret’s a difference-maker,” says Bob Davie, an ESPN football analyst and former coach at Notre Dame. “I saw that in the first five minutes. He has intensity, competitiveness, and a certain energy. He reminds me of [University of Florida coach] Urban Meyer, who was on my staff for five years at Notre Dame.”
To underscore that interconnection, Bielema plans to give each graduating player a white brick, emblazoned with a red motion W and a personal message from the coach. The bricks are symbolic of a legacy under construction, with each player adding a piece.
It’s just one of many ways that Bielema is making his mark on the UW program. He has surrounded himself with several new assistant coaches and has made connections with recruits and high-school coaches. By all signs, he’s ready to tackle the high expectations of the Badger faithful.
“Bret’s a difference-maker,” says Bob Davie, an ESPN football analyst and former coach at Notre Dame. “I saw that in the first five minutes. He has intensity, competitiveness, and a certain energy. He reminds me of [University of Florida coach] Urban Meyer, who was on my staff for five years at Notre Dame.”
Davie, who followed Lou Holtz at Notre Dame, understands the challenge of succeeding a legend. But he says Bielema’s seasoning under coaches such as Hayden Fry, Kirk Ferentz, and Bill Snyder — all of whom employed Bielema as an assistant — will serve him well. In fact, Bielema remembers the advice he received from Snyder, the former Kansas State coach, on the day he was announced to succeed Alvarez.
“He told me, ‘Bret, you need to understand that you’re replacing Barry Alvarez, but you’re not Barry Alvarez. You’re in this position because of who you are and what you’ve done,’” Bielema recalls. “You have to be true to yourself, your philosophy, your ideas.”
For Bielema, that means staying true to the bedrock principles of his rural upbringing amid the rich agricultural fields of northwestern Illinois. It was there that he gained the work ethic of farm life, spending Sunday afternoons at the nine-hole Prophetstown Hills Golf Course as his reward for completing the week’s chores.
Bielema surprised some people when he returned to Prophetstown this summer for a community golf outing there. It shouldn’t have been a surprise — he also went home to attend a retirement party for his family’s veterinarian.
“A guy came up to me and said, ‘It’s really neat you haven’t forgotten the people you grew up with.’ I didn’t know what to say,” says Bielema. “I hadn’t even thought of that. It never occurred to me not to be there.”
“He told me, ‘Bret, you need to understand that you’re replacing Barry Alvarez, but you’re not Barry Alvarez. You’re in this position because of who you are and what you’ve done,’” Bielema recalls. “You have to be true to yourself, your philosophy, your ideas.”
For Bielema, that means staying true to the bedrock principles of his rural upbringing amid the rich agricultural fields of northwestern Illinois. It was there that he gained the work ethic of farm life, spending Sunday afternoons at the nine-hole Prophetstown Hills Golf Course as his reward for completing the week’s chores.
Bielema surprised some people when he returned to Prophetstown this summer for a community golf outing there. It shouldn’t have been a surprise — he also went home to attend a retirement party for his family’s veterinarian.
“A guy came up to me and said, ‘It’s really neat you haven’t forgotten the people you grew up with.’ I didn’t know what to say,” says Bielema. “I hadn’t even thought of that. It never occurred to me not to be there.”
Another reminder of his past has caused him some problems. As a player at Iowa, Bielema got a three-inch tattoo of the Hawkeye logo on his left calf, an adornment that has caused him grief with some Badger fans. “To me, it’s part of me and part of where I’m from,” he says. “Abraham Lincoln said that he’d never met a successful man who wasn’t proud of where he came from.”
The tattoo controversy, however, underscores the heightened scrutiny on Bielema, who is the second-youngest coach in the NCAA. “It’s a lot easier to make suggestions as an assistant coach than it is to make decisions as a head coach,” says Davie. “The Xs and Os decisions and the day-today stuff he can handle right away. But there’s personnel and staff chemistry and political and public relations aspects that are huge. Being able to bounce things off of Barry when he needs to gives him a big advantage.”
Seated on a sofa in his office overlooking Camp Randall Stadium, Bielema acknowledges the peculiarity of taking over for Alvarez, a legend who is also his boss. It seems fitting that their offices are one hundred yards apart, on opposite ends of the stadium. The two enjoy a strong relationship and are often in touch on a daily basis, but Alvarez has been careful to avoid meddling — he intentionally stayed away from spring practices, fearing that Bielema’s staff would see him as a snoop.
The tattoo controversy, however, underscores the heightened scrutiny on Bielema, who is the second-youngest coach in the NCAA. “It’s a lot easier to make suggestions as an assistant coach than it is to make decisions as a head coach,” says Davie. “The Xs and Os decisions and the day-today stuff he can handle right away. But there’s personnel and staff chemistry and political and public relations aspects that are huge. Being able to bounce things off of Barry when he needs to gives him a big advantage.”
Seated on a sofa in his office overlooking Camp Randall Stadium, Bielema acknowledges the peculiarity of taking over for Alvarez, a legend who is also his boss. It seems fitting that their offices are one hundred yards apart, on opposite ends of the stadium. The two enjoy a strong relationship and are often in touch on a daily basis, but Alvarez has been careful to avoid meddling — he intentionally stayed away from spring practices, fearing that Bielema’s staff would see him as a snoop.
Alvarez may sneak in for a few practices this fall, but he says “by no means am I running the football program. I’m here as a sounding board for him, and Bret’s not bashful. Let him weigh it out and make a decision.”
It didn’t take long for Bielema to prove he can make the call. Just two days after he officially took over in February, he dismissed running back Booker Stanley x’08, who faced multiple criminal charges. Shortly afterward, he posted copies of three newspaper headlines on each player’s locker. One described the Badgers’ upset victory in the Capital One Bowl on New Year’s Day. Two others topped stories about Badger players who were in trouble with the law. All were the same size.
“I wanted them to understand that people take as much enjoyment out of publicizing negative ownership as they do in publicizing positive ownership,” Bielema says. “Everything you do determines the value of your name.”
— Dennis Chaptman ‘80
It didn’t take long for Bielema to prove he can make the call. Just two days after he officially took over in February, he dismissed running back Booker Stanley x’08, who faced multiple criminal charges. Shortly afterward, he posted copies of three newspaper headlines on each player’s locker. One described the Badgers’ upset victory in the Capital One Bowl on New Year’s Day. Two others topped stories about Badger players who were in trouble with the law. All were the same size.
“I wanted them to understand that people take as much enjoyment out of publicizing negative ownership as they do in publicizing positive ownership,” Bielema says. “Everything you do determines the value of your name.”
— Dennis Chaptman ‘80
TEAM PLAYER: Amber Jackson
Five things you need to know about Amber Jackson x’07, a member of the UW Dance Team:
- A Madison native, Jackson is co-captain of the team, which performs during home football and basketball games and also competes in national dance events.
- She began ballet at the age of four and spent a year after high school with a professional dance company in Louisville, Kentucky. Realizing she “needed the transition” of being around people closer to her age, she enrolled at the UW and tried out for the dance team.
- Jackson and the team practice three to four nights a week during the school year and twice a day during the summer. All that dancing pays off — the squad’s jazz routine placed second at a national competition in 2005.
- An elementary education major and an aspiring kindergarten teacher, Jackson combines her love of dancing and love of children by teaching ballet and enrichment classes for Madison-area kids.
- When she needs a break from all that dancing, Jackson says she’s happiest hanging out at the Terrace or watching TV — “anything where you’re not moving a lot!”
IN SEASON: Rowing
Wisconsin’s rowing programs have storied histories and a slew of national titles, and yet they still don’t get much public attention. The exception is the Head of the Charles Regatta, the world’s largest rowing event, held in Boston for the forty-second year this October. With hundreds of collegiate and professional teams competing, the regatta takes on a festival atmosphere, complete with bands and a rowing and fitness expo — all of which makes it “by far the most coveted trip for our student athletes,” says men’s crew coach Chris Clark. “Apart from being very competitive, the crowds are huge, and it has the feel of a real happening.” The UW’s women’s lightweight and men’s teams will compete, as will several alumni rowing for professional clubs.
Circle the dates: The Head of the Charles takes place October 21–22. The UW’s three rowing teams compete in other river regattas during the fall and dual meets and championships in spring.
Keep an eye on: The women’s lightweight varsity eight boat, which has won the past three Intercollegiate Rowing Association championships and placed third on the three-mile course last year.
Think about this: Some three hundred thousand fans are expected to take in the Head of the Charles this year, more than three times as many as pack into Camp Randall Stadium on a sold-out football Saturday.
Circle the dates: The Head of the Charles takes place October 21–22. The UW’s three rowing teams compete in other river regattas during the fall and dual meets and championships in spring.
Keep an eye on: The women’s lightweight varsity eight boat, which has won the past three Intercollegiate Rowing Association championships and placed third on the three-mile course last year.
Think about this: Some three hundred thousand fans are expected to take in the Head of the Charles this year, more than three times as many as pack into Camp Randall Stadium on a sold-out football Saturday.
BADGER TICKER
At the climax of the spring track and field season, Badger runner Chris Solinsky proved he was as fast outdoors as indoors. The junior, a two-time national champion during the indoor season, won the 5,000 meters at the June championship meet to claim his first national title outdoors. The victory helped propel the Badger team to an eighth-place finish at the final meet, its best showing since 1997.
Thanks in part to his loyal entourage of fans, Bucky Badger earned a place in the national Mascot Hall of Fame. Honoring such mascot legends as the San Diego Chicken and the Phillie Phanatic, the Philadelphia-based hall tabbed Bucky as one of five inductees for 2006. Helping the irascible mustelid earn the nod was the fact that Bucky was the runaway winner of an online fan ballot, garnering more than 400,000 votes and beating second-place Michigan State’s Sparty by more than 125,000 votes.
The Big Ten announced plans to launch a nationwide cable network devoted to a variety of conference athletic and academic programs. Planned to debut in August 2007, the Big Ten Channel will show football and basketball games previously aired on ESPN’s regional telecasts, as well as lower-profile sports and championships. The channel will be part of DirecTV’s Total Choice package, and the conference is negotiating with other distributors to carry it after its launch.
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Thanks in part to his loyal entourage of fans, Bucky Badger earned a place in the national Mascot Hall of Fame. Honoring such mascot legends as the San Diego Chicken and the Phillie Phanatic, the Philadelphia-based hall tabbed Bucky as one of five inductees for 2006. Helping the irascible mustelid earn the nod was the fact that Bucky was the runaway winner of an online fan ballot, garnering more than 400,000 votes and beating second-place Michigan State’s Sparty by more than 125,000 votes.
The Big Ten announced plans to launch a nationwide cable network devoted to a variety of conference athletic and academic programs. Planned to debut in August 2007, the Big Ten Channel will show football and basketball games previously aired on ESPN’s regional telecasts, as well as lower-profile sports and championships. The channel will be part of DirecTV’s Total Choice package, and the conference is negotiating with other distributors to carry it after its launch.
For a printer-friendly version of this section, click here [pdf]
