Fun Facts

  • Bucky Badger's full name is Buckingham U. Badger.
  • Annual tuition in 1900 was $20.
  • Graduating law students toss white canes over the goalpost at Homecoming. Legend has it that if they catch the canes on the other side, they'll win their first case.
  • The Marching Band started wearing their caps backward after a Badger win in the 1920s to symbolize looking back at their victory.
  • Freshmen were forced to wear green Eton caps in 1901 as part of a dress code.
  • The university has 10,649 acres of land and some 850 buildings.
  • 17 Nobel Prizes and 24 Pulitzer Prizes have been awarded to UW faculty or alumni.
  • More than 30,000 doctorates have been awarded by UW-Madison. Few institutions in the world can match that record.