Wisconsin Badgers Crew

Wisconsin Badgers Crew
Image showing the rowing club's blade colours
Founded 1874 (1874)
University University of Wisconsin–Madison
Affiliations NCAA Division I

The Wisconsin Badgers Crew is the rowing team that represents the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Rowing at the University dates back to 1874.[1] The women's openweight team is a NCAA Division I team. The men's and lightweight women's programs compete at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) Championship Regatta because the NCAA does not sanction a men's or lightweight women's national championship. Chris Clark has been the men's head coach since 1996 and Bebe Bryans has been the head women's coach since 2004.

History

The first crew is believed to have set out on Lake Mendota in 1874, though the only evidence of this is a letter written in 1912 by a Wisconsin alumnus. By 1878 rowing had become an intramural sport at the university. The Wisconsin freshmen eight won their event's national championship in 1900, the first national championship win for the rowing team. Since then, the Wisconsin crew has won 48 Intercollegiate Rowing Association titles.

The men's varsity eight won its first IRA national championship in 1951, the first of eight such titles. The 1990 win brought an invitation to the Henley Royal Regatta, the fourth visit for Wisconsin. The Wisconsin varsity eight has placed in the top three spots at the IRA National Championship Regatta 20 times since 1950, an achievement only surpassed by the University of Washington. In 2008, the Badgers' varsity eight won the IRA national championship over second-place Washington by 1.72 seconds, capping off an undefeated season.

Wisconsin's women first began actively competing in the early 1970s, when the National Women’s Rowing Association championship served as the national championship for collegiate boats. The women's varsity eight won the club title in 1975, and was the highest placed collegiate boat in 1976, 1977, and 1978. In 1986, the Wisconsin women won the National Collegiate Championship, which first began in 1981. In 2009 the varsity four were runners-up at the D-1 NCAA championships. This was the highest-ever finish for a Wisconsin boat in the history of the NCAA championships.

During the 2010 season, the openweight women won the school's first Big Ten Conference rowing championship, held in Laingsburg, Michigan. The team won four of the six events (1st and 2nd novice 8, varsity 4, and second varsity 8) and finished 2nd in the varsity 8 and 3rd in second varsity four.

Location

Wisconsin's three-story boathouse is located on the southern shore of Lake Mendota in Madison, Wisconsin. The Porter Boathouse spans 50,000 square feet (5,000 m2) and was completed in the spring of 2005. It includes a moving water rowing tank for 24 athletes, five boat bays (including one repair bay) with storage for 100 rowing shells, coaches' offices, and locker rooms for each team. The Porter Boathouse was named in recognition of a donation by the Ben and Cheslee Porter Family for over $1 million toward the facility.

The team's first boathouse, located in front of the Red Gym, stood from 1893 through 1968. The 1967 boathouse, completed in 1967, was located at the site of the current (Porter) boathouse. The 1967 boathouse housed the team's activities until 2003, when construction on the Porter Boathouse began.

Men's varsity coaches

National championships

Men's Varsity Eight

1951, 1959, 1966, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1986, 1990, 2008

Men's Second Varsity Eight

1973, 1974, 1986

Men's Freshman Eight

1900, 1907, 1964, 1972, 1973, 1979, 1983, 1985,

Women's Varsity Eight

1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1986

Women's Lightweight Eight

2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009

Women's Lightweight Four

2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016

Women's Lightweight Double

2015

Notable Regatta Results

D1 NCAA championships

National Collegiate Rowing Championship

NCAA South/Central regionals

Big Ten championship

Eastern Sprints

Head of the Charles Regatta

Midwest Rowing Championship

American Heritage Regatta

Cups and trophies

Cochrane Cup

1963, 1964, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1973–1977, 1980, 1981, 1984–1991, 1996, 1998–2000, 2002, 2008

Walsh Cup

1967-1969, 1985–1989, 1997–2002, 2008

Ten Eyck Trophy

1972-1975, 1979, 1980, 1986–1988, 1997, 1999–2002

References

  1. ↑ Taylor, Bradley F. (May 3, 2005). Wisconsin Where They Row: A History of Varsity Rowing. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 4. ISBN 0-299-20530-4.
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