Badgers line up some heavyweight battles
UW, Alabama will play games in 2024, 2025
MADISON - When Wisconsin and Alabama opened the 2015 season at AT&T Stadium in Texas, some UW fans understandably wondered whether the Badgers could ever face the Crimson Tide at Camp Randall Stadium.
That scenario moved closer to reality Monday when UW officials announced the schools had reached a home-and-home agreement for the 2024 and ’25 seasons.
Alabama is set to visit Camp Randall Stadium on Sept. 14, 2024. UW visits Alabama on Sept. 23, 2015.
UW athletic director Barry Alvarez told UWbadgers.com that Alabama officials inquired last year about a possible agreement.
“It’s exciting and healthy for everyone,” Alvarez told UWbadgers.com, “When we were contacted to see if we would be interested in a home-and-home with Alabama, I told them: ‘Let me check first with Paul.’
“Naturally, I would be interested.” Paul Chryst, whose first game as UW head coach was against Alabama in 2015, was eager for a homeand-home agreement.
“And we both really liked the fact that the first game is going to be here.”
The 2024 home game against the
Crimson Tide will be only the fourth time a Southeastern Conference team visits Camp Randall Stadium and the first since Sept. 25, 1971, when LSU recorded a 38-28 victory over UW.
UW hosted Alabama in 1928 and Auburn in 1931. UW defeated Alabama, 15-0, and battled Auburn to a 7-7 tie.
The Badgers have played just one game in an SEC venue – against LSU on Sept. 30, 1972. LSU recorded a 27-7 victory.
UW and Alabama have met only two times – the 1928 game in Madison and
the 2015 opener in Texas.
Alabama won the rematch in Texas, 35-17, in the 2015 opener and went on to win the national title. The Crimson Tide routed No. 3 Michigan State, 38-0, in the Cotton Bowl and then held off No. 1 Clemson, 40-35, in the College Football Playoff title game.
Nick Saban is preparing for his 13th season at Alabama. His record there is 80-13 in SEC games and 141-20 overall. The Crimson Tide has won five national titles under Saban, with the last coming in 2017.
“We are excited to add another highcaliber, non-conference game to our future schedule,” Saban said in an Alabama release. “We played a great game with Wisconsin in Arlington a few years
back and this home-and-home series will be a tremendous opportunity for our programs to play in two of the best atmospheres in college football.
“Match-ups like this are so important to the health of college football because it provides fans exciting match-ups and players new challenges.”
UW's agreement with Alabama is the latest involving a Power 5 program.
The Badgers face Notre Dame (2020 and 2021), Washington State (2022 and 2023), Pittsburgh (2026 and 2027), UCLA (2029 and 2030) and Virginia Tech (2031 and 2032).
UW's game against Notre Dame will be on neutral fields. The Badgers and Irish meet at Lambeau Field in 2020 and at Soldier Field in Chicago in 2021.
Wisconsin owns a 5-11-1 record alltime against SEC teams, including 2-4-1 in regular-season games. UW is 4-4 against SEC teams since 2005, however, with all four victories coming against teams ranked in the top 20 at the time.
UW opened the 2016 season with a 16-14 victory over No. 5 LSU at Lambeau Field. The Badgers lost to Penn State in the Big Ten title game but bounced back to defeat previously unbeaten Western Michigan in the Cotton Bowl, 24-16, to finish 11-3.
“Players come here to play in big games against the best teams – it's a way to measure themselves,” Alvarez told UWbadgers.com. “A match-up like this excites your team. It picks up the tempo during your off-season.”