Campus News - Sports

Computers, cell phones, and podcasts bring the action to eager fans.

The office water cooler — that gathering spot for the most fanatical of sports fans — has relocated to the digital world.

“You used to have to wait for the morning paper or the local [TV] sports to find the results of a game, but now there are Web sites with text alerts and twenty-four-hour television sports networks,” says Benjamin Worgull ’07, editor-in-chief and publisher of Badger Nation, an online sports community. “ESPN has even gone so far as to develop [its] own phone service designed specifically for sports fans that gives them mobile alerts with scores, breaking news, and even the ability to check their fantasy sports teams.”

Badger Nation (wisconsin.scout.com) is one of a group of Web sites owned by Scout.com, which operates sites for some two hundred colleges and every professional football team. Each college and team site contains diverse content designed for diverse audiences.

Catering to an audience of sports nuts who simply can’t get enough of the Badgers, Worgull runs a site that aims to quickly deliver information to make them salivate: game stories, in-depth analysis, Badger recruiting updates, interviews with players, audio clips, picture galleries, and more. The site, which has a companion print magazine, is essentially a one-stop shop for all things Wisconsin-related.

“We have video, audio, interactive rosters — all of the things you would normally have to search several sites for — just one click away on our site,” says Worgull. “We’ve worked very hard to make sure our members get everything they want or need to stay involved with their favorite team.”

And the site provides plenty of juicy water cooler action — albeit virtually. By logging on to Badger Nation’s Badger Maniac forum, fans enter a world where everyone loves sports, and no one is shy about sharing an opinion. Users chat about topics ranging from which recruits the UW will go after next to their own “dream playoff scenarios” for a college football championship. Many members don’t live in the Madison area, so the forum provides immediate gratification, connecting them with others who understand their intense — some might say over-the-top — love of Badger sports.

But Badger Nation is hardly the only way to follow the Badgers’ every move online. The UW athletic department has also jumped on the digital bandwagon. To better cater to their tech-savvy fans, the official Badgers Web site (uwbadgers.com) has gradually become a portal to a host of digital tools.

One of the newest efforts is BuckyText, a service that enables subscribers to receive text messages on their cell phones or handheld PDA devices. The messages include season ticket news, individual game ticket offers and promotions, event notices, and special alerts.

“There are a couple of things that are improved over the way we used to communicate, and the biggest thing is that these programs are customizable — the fans get what they want,” says Adam Ahearn ’00, assistant director of marketing and promotions for the athletic department. “The second thing that’s nice is that [content] is extremely easy to put together and turn around, so if there is that breaking news story, we can send it out as soon as possible, instead of using other tools that might take more time.”

For those who spend more time online than with cell phones, alerts are also available by e-mail through BuckyMail, another customizable tool that allows people to sign up for sports updates or such services as the daily “Badger Basketball Insider,” which provides the inside scoop on the basketball program.

“Depending on your needs and your thirst for Badger athletics, you can get all different kinds of information,” Ahearn says.

UW Athletics is also using Facebook, the social networking site that draws in students who are eager for all kinds of information and gossip. By creating a Facebook profile, the athletic department has joined a world of “friends” who share interests in music, books, and — most importantly — sports teams. Students who become friends with the Badgers can receive ticketing and promotional updates that appear on their Facebook home and events pages. A link on uwbadgers.com allows students with a Facebook profile to “friend” the Badgers with a simple click of the mouse.

“The way students are communicating on campus amongst themselves is changing, so we have to adapt the way that we communicate,” says Ahearn. “On staff here, we have nine students that work in our marketing office, and they were sort of the impetus behind using [Facebook]. They are the ones who maintain and update the profile.”

The Facebook profile lets fans know that UW Athletics has recently updated its favorite music to “anything played by the UW Marching Band,” and one of its top interests is “attending every Badger home game.” While existing “friends” of UW Athletics hail most commonly from the Badgers’ home state (1,131 are members of the Wisconsin Network), other “friends” live in Minneapolis, Chicago, and other cities.

For fans who can’t live without their iPods, UW Athletics offers sports content via downloadable podcasts. Going directly from the field into fans’ headphones, the podcasts provide an insider account of games and practices, and feature the sounds of cleats on the field or the musings of football coach Bret Bielema after a long day of practice.

And if you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to pump iron alongside the football team or what players eat for dinner at the Fetzer Center, the UW Athletics Web site has the answers — and wants you to see for yourself. The site’s audio and video section includes an up-close-and-very-personal view of sports facilities and practices, with free videos and interviews with athletics personnel.

“We also have an incredible historical section that contains moments that many fans have never seen,” says Tam Flarup, director of Web site services for the athletic department. “It’s incredibly interactive.”

For the Badger fan who still can’t get enough, the Web site features funny activities and a trivia section to entertain kids and adults alike — perhaps the perfect thing to spice up a dull day at the office or a gathering to watch a game.

“We have tons of games that you can play, like dress-up Bucky and paper doll Bucky and Bucky’s trivia,” says Flarup, who warns, “It’s addictive!”

— Vanessa de Bruijn x’08

Five things you should know about UW soccer player Victor Diaz x’08:

• Growing up in Toledo, Spain, Diaz played soccer competitively for Real Madrid and several other private clubs before coming to the United States.
• Making the jump from high school to the professional ranks may be the dream of many young athletes, but not for Diaz. Offered the chance to play professionally, he instead chose to make education a priority.
• Diaz chose Wisconsin over several other American universities after a meeting with head coach Jeff Rohrman, who, he notes, showed a lot of interest in him both as a player and as a person.
• Diaz credits a successful 2007 junior season, in which he led the squad in assists and points and was a first-team All-Big Ten selection, to a personal motto: “Anytime I play soccer,” he says, “I want to enjoy soccer. Last season I was more creative and productive because of that mentality.”
• One of four seniors on the Badger squad, Diaz plans on graduating in December and hopes his family will be able to make the trip from Spain to see him play this fall.

Circle the dates: From April 24 to 27, the Badgers will compete in the Big Ten Championships in West Lafayette, Indiana. The NCAA Regionals will follow from May 9 to 11.

Keep an eye on: Emese Kardhordo x’11. This freshman from Budapest was a member of Hungary’s under-eighteen national team and was part of the squad that captured that country’s division I national championship in 2006. In the United States, she’s ranked thirty-sixth nationally in singles and fourteenth in doubles.

Think about this: The Badgers have a new head coach, Brian Fleishman, who led the Wake Forest team from 1999 to 2005 and took them to six NCAA tournament appearances during those seven years.