In sitting down to write about the one-year anniversary of Badger Connect officially launching, my mind began drifting toward, of all things, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
Back when I was a freshman in high school, I would get so hungry during the day before basketball practices or offseason workouts that I began bringing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for a snack. One day turned into two days, which turned into weeks, then months, then the entire school year.
When I find something I like in life, I do my best to stick with it. It wasn’t long after moving to Madison in 2011 to cover University of Wisconsin athletics as a sports writer that I experienced a similar feeling. The city. The community. The opportunity to tell stories about some of the best athletes and teams in the country. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of this for as long as they could? What I didn’t realize then was how difficult it would be to make covering the Badgers a long-term endeavor given all the changes coming in the media industry.
Fifteen years later, I’m still here. And I have Badger Connect and you, the readers, to thank.
Last June, Badger Connect provided me with the perfect platform to continue doing what I love. It marked the fifth media outlet for which I had worked covering Wisconsin because the previous four either performed mass corporate layoffs, folded completely or simply chose to no longer cover the Badgers. I didn’t know exactly what to expect when we launched. But this new venture has been everything I hoped it would be because it has allowed me to keep telling the kinds of stories that I believe matter. Along the way, it has reaffirmed to me how passionate fans remain for quality sports coverage of their favorite Badgers teams.
One year in, I wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude. Thank you for becoming a member and seeing the vision and value we offer. I wrote upon our launch that “my mission is to entertain and inform through storytelling, to take you behind the scenes in new ways.” We have strived to achieve those objectives every day, offering access through a monthly or annual membership that helps to support your favorite Badgers teams. If you’ve been on the fence about joining, I can assure you we have more good stuff on the way, including free content for the next week to showcase our work and celebrate our anniversary.
Some of the memorable stories from Year 1 include an inside look at what it’s like to train with Wisconsin’s football team, going all-access with the volleyball team — including a seat on the bench — for a home match against Texas, examining the ways in which men’s basketball has built its roster through the transfer portal and with international prospects, how Robin Pingeton found early success with women’s basketball and what led men’s hockey on a run to the national championship game.
We introduced a new weekly video “Badger Bites” segment that runs every Wednesday, featuring a mix of 1-on-1 interviews with coaches and players, behind-the-scenes film breakdowns and windows into different sports through competitions against the athletes that display the difficulty of their craft. Some of my favorite videos include Kelly Sheffield, Mike Hastings and Joe Krabbenhoft hitting the film room to dissect the success of their teams. Others include my attempt at running Bascom Hill with the men’s basketball team, suiting up as a hockey goaltender while trying to stop Kirsten Simms and taking the mat in a wrestling singlet after fielding pointers from coach Chris Bono. None of those experiments went in my favor, but they did highlight the fun sports can provide.
Over the past year, we have continued to grow. Badger Connect is committed to producing quality content, which is why we’ve added Mike Heller, who hosts our weekly Badger Connect Podcast on Thursdays that is free for all to view.
We are built on two other pillars in addition to content that help to make this enterprise unique: weekly giveaways and fan experiences for members as well as community outreach. Our members receive entries every week into premium giveaways for football, volleyball, men’s and women’s basketball and men’s hockey that include suite tickets to games, autographed jerseys and exclusive private practice access with three friends. Some of the fan experiences from Year 1 included attending pre-game chalk talks from men’s basketball and volleyball coaches, entrance into the Rose Bowl reunion pregame tailgate and access to live Q&A sessions with athletes.
Most recently, Brian Butch has joined to spearhead Badger Connect Communities, a statewide initiative focused on building stronger connections between Badger athletes and youth communities throughout Wisconsin. Our first program, Junior Badgers, is designed to support local youth sports organizations by creating memorable experiences and meaningful interactions with Badger athletes.
I’m proud of what we’re building at Badger Connect. There’s no place I’d rather be than here, continuing to cover Wisconsin and bringing you the kind of content I’ve consistently wanted to deliver. Thank you again for coming along on the journey. Here’s to finding what matters and seeing where the future takes us.
(Top photo of Bucky Badger courtesy of Wisconsin Athletics)