The Wisconsin Badgers Crew is the rowing team that represents the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

Rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...

at the University dates back to 1874. The women's openweight team is an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

Division I team. The men's and lightweight women's programs compete at the

Intercollegiate Rowing Association The Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) governs intercollegiate rowing between varsity men's heavyweight, men's lightweight, and women's lightweight rowing programs across the United States, while the NCAA fulfills this role for women's ope ...

(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 women's head 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

titles. The men's varsity eight won its first IRA national championship in 1951, the first of nine such titles. The 1990 win brought an invitation to the

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It differs from the thr ...

, 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 The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seatt ...

. 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 the Winter/Spring of 1972 as a club sport. After a winter of conditioning, they unofficially beat the national record, in their very first race. Fall of that year, they headed to Boston, for The Head of the Charles Regatta, where they took 2nd place. At that time, 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 The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

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 Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th ...

. The Porter Boathouse spans 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

* Amos W. Marston - 1894 *Andrew M. O'Dea - 1895-1898 *Curran C. McConville - 1899 *Andrew M. O'Dea - 1900-1906 * Edward H. Ten Eyck - 1907-1910 * Harry E. "Dad" Vail - 1911-1928 *George W. "Mike" Murphy - 1929-1934 *Ralph Hunn - 1935-1940 *Allen W. Walz - 1941-1942 *George A. Rea - 1943 *Curt P. Drewes - 1944-1945 *Allen W. Walz - 1946 *Norm Sonju - 1947-1968 *Randal T. "Jabo" Jablonic - 1969-1995 *Chris H. Clark - 1996–present

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

*Women's Varsity 4 - Runners Up 2009 *Women's Second Varsity 8+ - 3rd Place 2006 *Women's Varsity 4 - 3rd Place 2010

National Collegiate Rowing Championship

*Men's: 1986, 1990

NCAA South/Central regionals

*Women's Novice 8+ - 2008 *Women's Novice 8+ (Second Place) - 2009 *Women's Novice 8+ (First Place)- 2010

Big Ten championship

*Women's Second Varsity Eight - 2008 *Women's 1st Novice Eight - 2008 *Women's 2nd Novice Eight - 2008 *Women's 1st Novice Eight - 2009 *Women's 2nd Novice Eight - 2009 *Women's 2nd Varsity Four - 2009 *Women's 2nd Varsity Eight - 2010 *Women's 1st Varsity Four - 2010 *Women's 1st Novice Eight - 2010 *Women's 2nd Novice Eight - 2010 *Big Ten Team Champions - 2010 *Women's 2nd Novice Eight- 2012

Eastern Sprints The Eastern Sprints is the annual rowing championship for the men's Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges (EARC). (Since 1974, the "Women's Eastern Sprints" has been held as the annual championship for the Eastern Association of Women's Rowing Co ...

*Men's Freshman Eight - 2000 *Men's 2nd Freshman Eight - 2000, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 *Men's Varsity Eight - 1946, 2002, 2008 *Men's 2nd Varsity Eight - 1987, 2001, 2007, 2008, 2012 *Men's 3rd Varsity Eight - 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011

Head of the Charles Regatta The Head of the Charles Regatta, also known as HOCR, is a rowing head race held on the penultimate complete weekend of October (i.e., on the Friday that falls between the 16th and the 22nd of the month, and on the Saturday and Sunday immedi ...

*Women's Club Fours - 1998, 2014 *Women's Youth Fours - 1992 *Women's Lightweight Eight - 2000, 2001, 2009, 2010, 2011 *Men's Championship Eight - 1966, 1972, 1973 *Men's Championship Four - 2009, 2011 *Women's Championship Eight - 1977, 1978, 1979, 1988

Midwest Rowing Championship

*Men's Varsity Eight - 1973-1980, 1983–2006

American Heritage Regatta

*Men's Collegiate Eight - 2007 *Men's Novice Eight - 2007 *Men's Novice Four w/coxswain - 2007

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 The Ten Eyck Trophy is given to the rowing team with the highest points score at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association The Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) governs intercollegiate rowing between varsity men's heavyweight, men's light ...

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

References

External links

WiscoRowingHistory.org
— Wisconsin Rowing History

— UW Men's Crew official site {{University of Wisconsin–Madison Rowing clubs in the United States