Wisconsin Badgers
Since playing their initial football game in 1889, the University of Wisconsin Badgers football software has seen its share of ups and downs. With an overall record of 614 wins and 465 losses, the ups have outweighed the downs, to become sure, but when the program has been down it has been for an extended time period of time. For example, right after their 1901 season, Badger teams suffered through what could only be described like a 35 year period of utter mediocrity – with the one particular exception getting the team’s 1912 undefeated season. Another thirty year period of poor performances and mediocre outcomes occurred right after the Badgers’ 1962 loss from the Rose Bowl. It would not be until Barry Alvarez arrived as the team’s head coach in 1990 that the program’s fortunes would begin to turn around.
Alvarez the man
Barry Alvarez had a strong pedigree in college football when he primary arrived at Wisconsin. Becoming a player within the 1960s, he was coached by the great Bob Devaney. He later tried his hand as becoming a high school coach in both Nebraska and Iowa, until he was given an assistant coaching position at the University of Iowa under the legendary Hawkeye coach Hayden Fry. A brief tenure as an assistant at the University of Notre Dame completed the Alvarez journey for the Badgers’ front door. His arrival in the school in 1990 was to become the beginning in the Badger revival – although the primary 3 seasons of play gave little indication on the outstanding results that would soon follow.
A slow begin
As often happens with new coaches, the early years of the Alvarez era have been something less than spectacular. In truth, the primary season’s campaign saw the Badgers lose all but one particular of their eleven games. The next two seasons were slightly better, with a five win, six loss record in each. Still, there had been already grumblings that the team was not progressing swiftly enough. That all started to change as the 1993 season started.
Success at last
The ’93 campaign saw an impressive Badger team charge by way of the Large Ten Conference by winning 10 of their 12 games, with a single loss and one particular tie. It also saw them head to the Rose Bowl – where they had played and lost three times before in their history. Under Alvarez’ leadership, though, this Badger team not only played well but won the Rose Bowl and ended up getting ranked number six inside the final AP poll on the season. The 1994 season was an 8 game season, and resulted in a postseason victory in the Hall of Fame Bowl. Over the next eleven seasons, the Badgers would suffer only two losing seasons, and would repeatedly receive invites to various bowl games. Most impressively, the program returned for the Rose Bowl soon after the 1998 and 1999 seasons, winning both. When he left the program following the 2005, the most successful coach in the program’s history left behind one unassailable fact: Wisconsin football was back at last!
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