What is the Buckingham Club?
The Buckingham Club, originally formed in 2012 in Chicago, gathers every summer for an opportunity to network and socialize with local Badgers while supporting important causes at UW–Madison. The net revenue and proceeds from Buckingham Club event registrations, donations, and event sponsorship is split between the UW athletic department and another campus philanthropic cause.
What causes are supported?
In 2026, the featured causes are:
- the UW Initiative to End Alzheimer’s Research Fund, advancing critical research that will help UW–Madison and its network of collaborators to end this devastating disease, and
- the Badger Fund, supporting UW athletics.
The 2026 Cocktail Party
This year, the Buckingham Club of Chicago’s Cocktail Party was held on July 30 at 28 Mile Distilling Company. A total of 152 local Badgers registered to reconnect with the university and each other. Together, we raised nearly $70,000.
Featured speakers included:
- Sanjay Asthana — Duncan G. and Lottie H. Ballantine Chair in Geriatrics, founding director of the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, and associate dean for gerontology at the UW–Madison School of Medicine and Public Health
- Shawn Eichorst — UW–Madison athletic director
- Greg Gard — head coach of the UW–Madison men’s basketball program
- Robin Pingeton — head coach of the UW–Madison women’s basketball program
- Marcus Sedberry — deputy athletic director at UW–Madison
- Chris Solinsky ’07 — director of track and field and cross country at UW–Madison
We hope to see you at this event again next year. On, Wisconsin!
Photo Gallery
See photos of great moments from this year’s Buckingham Club Cocktail Party!
Photos by Allison Olson.
Special thanks to the Buckingham Club Committee for their hard work in making this event a success!
- Andrea Bechtel ’89
- Anne Dronen-Holland ’11
- Deb Fluno ’87
- Steve Hansen ’88, MBA’93, JD’94
- Lou Holland ’86
- Tyler Holland ’10
- Shankar Iyer ’93
- Alan Myers ’92
- Max Novak ’14
- Meghan Novak ’18
- Mark Passalino ’86
- Adam Schumacher ’00
- Jenny Shults ’17
- Laurie Fetzer Shults ’83
- Chris Wilcox ’91
