UW awaits Champions Week matchup
MADISON – Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst and his players should learn soon who the Badgers will face during the Big Ten’s Champions Week.
Athletic director Barry Alvarez told the UW athletic board Friday that the match-ups – including the date, time and opponents – should be announced Sunday.
Alvarez reiterated he hopes to see UW host Minnesota. The teams’ regular-season meeting, set for Nov. 28 at Camp Randall Stadium, was called off on Nov. 24 because of rising coronavirus numbers in the Gophers’ program.
“Both Minnesota and us have lobbied to be able to play that game and continue the longest ongoing rivalry in college football,” Alvarez told the athletic board. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to get that done.
“If we play, the game probably will be here at Camp Randall.”
A source told the Journal Sentinel on Nov. 24 that UW officials would push to have the game rescheduled. Minnesota athletic director Mark Coyle told reporters that night he was open to that possibility.
Alvarez first broached the subject Thursday on his radio show.
“I’d hate for us to lose that rivalry game during my watch,” he said. “Hopefully we can solidify that and play them.”
Virtual graduation set for Sunday
More than a dozen of Chryst’s players have a busy weekend planned.
Not only is UW scheduled to close its regular-season schedule at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Iowa, but 16 players are to receive degrees during a virtual winter commencement on Sunday.
They are:
Safety Eric Burrell (Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis — master’s), quarterback Jack Coan (Real Estate & Urban Land Economics), wide receiver Jack Dunn (Finance, Investment & Banking and Real Estate & Urban Land Economics), tailback Garrett Groshek (Personal Finance), defensive end Matt Henningsen (Electrical Engineering), cornerback Kobe Knaak (Agicultural Business Management), wide receiver Adam Krumholz (Communication Arts), defensive end Isaiahh Loudermilk (Personal Finance), safety Tyler Mais (Industrial Engineering), linebacker Mike Maskalunas (Finance, Investment & Banking and Real Estate & Urban Land Economics), safety Scott Nelson (Community & Nonprofit Leadership), defensive end Garrett Rand (Life Sciences Communication), fullback
Mason Stokke (Personal Finance), tackle Cole Van Lanen (Personal Finance), safety Collin Wilder (Communication Arts) and cornerback Caesar Williams (Life Sciences Communication).
Henningsen, Mais and Nelson are the only non-seniors in terms of eligibility in the group. The NCAA announced before the season that any player who chooses to play in 2020 will not lose a season of eligibility, so all seniors have the option to return in 2021.
The majority of the seniors are expected to move on but Chryst, speaking Thursday on his weekly radio show, suggested some will return.
“We’ve got a number of guys who are graduating that still will continue to play here,” Chryst said.
Speaking to reporters earlier Thursday, Chryst noted he and his assistants discussed the topic with many of the seniors before the season.
“A lot of it comes down to where they are with their personal clock, not what the NCAA says they can or can’t do,” Chryst said, adding that several players plan enroll in graduate school. “Where are they at academically?
“You want to talk to them and allow them to have a plan.”