Chaos reigned at 2000 opener

26 suspended in shoe scandal

Arlington, Texas — The 2017 Cotton Bowl on Monday will be the fifth meeting between Wisconsin and Western Michigan.

Memories of the fourth meeting — the 2000 opener on Aug. 31 at Camp Randall Stadium — remain strong.

UW, ranked No. 5 entering the season, learned hours before kickoff that the NCAA had suspended 26 players from one to three games for accepting unadvertised discounts at the Shoe Box in Black Earth.

Eleven players were suspended for three games — including cornerback Jamar Fletcher, wide receiver Chris Chambers, wide receiver/return specialist Nick Davis and offensive tackle Ben Johnson.

Another 15 players were suspended for just one game — including cornerback Mike Echols, tailback Michael Bennett and defensive tackle Wendell Bryant.

“I remember in vivid detail everything leading up to that game,” former UW kicker Vitaly Pisetsky, a senior on the 2000 team, said by phone this week. “Ask me anything about the game itself and all I remember is that it was very close, we were struggling mightily and it was very hot.

“That’s all I remember. I don’t remember any of my kicks — nothing.”

A revamped offensive line contributed to five sacks of quarterback Brooks Bollinger, who completed 6 of 11 passes for 96 yards.

Walk-on Josh Hunt, filling in for Davis, returned a punt 89 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter to help UW take a 10-0 lead.

The Badgers got an 8yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter by Bennett (30 carries, 128 yards) and held on for a 19-7 victory.

Pisetsky remembers the shock the players and coaches felt when they learned of the suspensions and the manner in which then-head coach Barry Alvarez handled the aftermath.

“About five hours before the game, we went for a walk-through,” Pisetsky said, “and it was so hot that he (Alvarez) said: ‘Let’s forget it. Get off the field. Get off your feet.’ ”

By the time the players gathered for the pregame meal, the NCAA had rendered its final decision.

“I do remember the look of anger and despair on the face of Alvarez when the decision was announced,” Pisetsky said. “It was a fiasco.

“I think for the older guys — I was a senior — we didn’t fully realize the implications like we would now as adults. But we knew enough that it was going to be serious.

“We knew we had to come out and play hard and, most important, project a sense of calmness for the younger guys. Because they’ll feed off how the older guys are going to be before they will look toward the coaches.

“I think we realized that collectively and we tried to project the feel of business as usual, that it doesn’t change anything for us who are going to play and we expect to win the game.”

After the game, which UW was expected to win easily, Alvarez tried to prop up the players.

“To Coach Alvarez’s credit, he always recognized the moment,” Pisetsky said. “It was a close game and it was a struggle. Typically we’d be ripped into you know what.

“But because we all battled adversity that day and we found a way to win … he thanked the team. We treated it as a good win. It was a good win.”

Extra points: After taking UW through practices on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at AT&T stadium, head coach Paul Chryst canceled Friday’s session. Instead, the players were scheduled to attend meetings and hold a walkthrough at their hotel ...

Alvarez was named Friday as the 2017 honoree for the 27th annual Vince Lombardi Award of Excellence Dinner. Alvarez, in his 14th year as UW’s athletic director, is scheduled to be recognized at the event on April 8 at The Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee. The award and dinner are sponsored by the Vince Lombardi Cancer Foundation. All proceeds from the dinner go to cancer research and compassionate care at Aurora Cancer Care.